August’s supermoon will be the first of 2024 and will be visible in the night sky around the world. Many will head to their patios to try and capture the beautiful celestial event in all its glory. Capturing the moon is a little tricky, however, and requires a few steps to snap sharp, accurately exposed photos – especially when using a phone.

Here are some tips on how to best capture the last supermoon with your mobile phone. These tips can be incorporated into your photography workflow immediately and without a learning curve.

Reduce exposure

Usually, it’s recommended that you expose your photos just right, neither overexposing nor underexposing. However, for something like the moon, it may be necessary to underexpose your image to bring out details. This tip can be especially useful for iPhones, as they tend to overexpose the moon. On the other hand, phones like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a 100x hybrid zoom, use AI to properly optimize moon photos. The Google Pixel 8 Pro or the Xiaomi 14 Ultra can also capture the event.

Switch to telephoto lens

Have you noticed that distant objects like the sun and moon appear small in photos taken with the main lens of your smartphone camera or a professional wide-angle lens? As a rule of thumb, switch to the longest lens when photographing distant objects.

The new 5x telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and the 10x optical zoom on the Galaxy S24 Ultra are ideal for this. To capture objects like the moon in detail, switch to the telephoto lens to achieve that “compressed” look for your photos. Simply put, when you use a telephoto lens, the moon appears larger in your photos.

Use a tripod and a remote shutter release

A tripod makes it easy to adjust your framing. A tripod not only prevents camera shake, but also holds your phone or camera in the position you want. You can also use a remote shutter with your camera. If you don’t have one handy, with iPhones, for example, you can use your Apple Watch as a viewfinder and shutter button. Various selfie sticks also have remote shutter buttons. The idea is to avoid unwanted camera shake that can occur when you press the shutter button. You can also set up built-in timers to take photos when you don’t have access to a remote shutter button.

Recording in RAW format

Nowadays, smartphones and professional cameras can not only shoot in RAW format, but also have a wide enough dynamic range for post-processing. By using RAW, you can further enhance your images by adjusting the highlights and shadows to your liking. In addition, when shooting the moon, it is important to preserve the highlights and shadows data to preserve the fine crater details of the moon. By using RAW, you can ensure that you have enough leeway to correct your photo, even if it is not the best straight out of the camera.