How To Photograph It With A Smartphone And Camera

The best way to enjoy the “blood moon” total lunar eclipse on March 13-14, 2025, is to watch it through a pair of binoculars — but who can resist trying for a souvenir image?

From smartphones to manual cameras and telescopes, there are myriad ways to take spectacular photos of the first “blood moon” since 2022. From tools to techniques, here’s how to get the best shots.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Planning And Preparation

Preparation is key when photographing any night sky event. The most important aspect is clear skies, so watch the weather and let that dictate your final choice of location. If you just want to take images of the “blood moon” itself, you can do that just as easily from a light-polluted backyard as from a remote dark sky destination. However, few appreciate how dark the night sky gets when the light of a full moon is blotted out for a few hours. A bleached night sky will gradually reveal more stars, making a wide-angle shot featuring star fields possible — but only from a remote region.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Timings And Schedule

Get to your chosen location early to set up your equipment, preferably having checked it out in the daytime beforehand.

Although the penumbral eclipse phase — during which the moon’s light is dimmed as it enters the outer part of Earth’s shadow — is pretty, it’s not until the partial phase that any hint of red will appear. The partial eclipse begins at 1:09 a.m. EDT/10:09 p.m. PDT, during which the lunar surface will become increasingly reddish. Totality—when the whole of the moon is inside Earth’s darkest umbral shadow — will occur between 2:26 a.m. and 3:32 a.m. EDT/11:26 p.m. to 12:32 a.m. PDT.

Plan to start capturing images during the partial phase to document the moon’s transition into the Earth’s umbra, but save most of your efforts for totality. The journey of the moon through the top half of Earth’s shadow means its southern half, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, is expected to get darkest and reddest.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Using A Smartphone

The latest smartphones have fabulous ‘night modes’ and much better sensors, though with the moon being so small in the night, a souvenir image is all you’re going to get. That said, there are ways of ensuring your shot is as sharp and impressive as possible.

• Tripod: It’s a pain, but keeping your smartphone stable during a long exposure is the very best way of improving the shot. A small, compact and portable tripod is ideal.
• Telephoto Lens Attachment: A clip-on telephoto lens can magnify the moon, making it appear larger and more detailed in your images.
• Remote Shutter: Using a remote shutter reduces vibrations caused by pressing the capture button. In a pinch, the shutter delay option works well.
• Apps: NightCap or ProCamera allow you to manually adjust settings such as ISO, shutter speed, and focus for best results. Expect to experiment.
• Telescope: If you can get your hands on any kind of telescope, this is the night to do so. With the telescope trained on the moon, simply position your smartphone’s lens over the eyepiece and take a shot. The results can be fabulous.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Using A DSLR Or Mirrorless Camera

For those with DSLR or mirrorless cameras, capturing the “blood moon” is an unmissable opportunity for anyone interested in landscape, nature and astrophotography.

The most popular shot will be a close-up of the totally eclipsed moon. For that, a telephoto lens is essential, with 200mm usable, but 500mm is preferred for detailed close-ups. A tripod is recommended, though not essential.

Here are some basic settings to consider, though much will depend on the brightness of the moon during the various phases.

• ISO: Set the ISO to 400-800 for clear images with minimal noise.
• Aperture: Use a wide aperture (a low f-number) to let in as much light as possible.
• Shutter speed: During the partial phases, use faster shutter speeds (1/125 to 1/500 seconds). During totality, slower speeds (1 to 5 seconds) are necessary to capture the dim red hues.
• RAW: Shoot in lossless format to allow for greater flexibility during post-processing.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Post-Processing

If you do shoot in RAW, post-processing — using software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop — can transform a good photo into a stunning one. Consider upping the contrast and clarity, sharpening and pushing the saturation and luminance to bolster the red colors of totality — but be so careful not to overdo it. A bright red moon looks fake.

Photograph The Blood Moon: Being Creative

A straight shot of the totally eclipsed moon is something to cherish, but it won’t stand out — it will be one of the millions of near-identical images taken on March 13/14.

To make your close-up photos unique, consider framing the eclipsed moon in windows, doorways or between branches of a tree. Use a wide-angle lens to capture it beside a famous landmark, a flag or between people, adding foreground elements to add a sense of scale and depth. Other creative ideas include time-lapse sequences showing all of the phases, thus capturing the moon’s dramatic progression through the Earth’s shadow.

Finally, don’t forget to dress warmly, bring extra batteries, and enjoy the night sky around the full moon as it waxes and wanes right in front of your eyes.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.