Shooting steps
G et your timing right
If you want to take images of a full moon that’s far less bright than usual, go outside at 2.30am on 21 January 2019 as the moon enters Earth’s outer shadow. However, if you just want to capture the ‘blood moon’, the key time to be outside is 4.40am. The moon will be completely red at around 5.10am (a moment called totality), and will have lost its colour by 5.45am. You can check out the exact times at www.timeanddate.com/eclipse
Use a long lens and focus
The easiest way to photograph a total lunar eclipse is to use a DSLR with as long a telephoto lens as possible (200mm at least; 400mm or more if you can get your hands on it). That way, you can capture some detail on the moon’s surface. Autofocus on the moon itself using the LCD screen and Live View, then switch to manual focus to prevent any changes. Instead, you could focus manually on infinity.
E xperiment with exposures
During the partial phases, the moon will be partly bright, partly coloured. Set the camera at ISO 200 and the aperture to f/4, and try exposures of 1/2,000 second down to 1/60 second. Since all eclipses vary in brightness and colour, bracket your exposures to be safe. As the moon goes completely coloured – totality – at 5.10am, it gets easier. Try exposures from 1/2 second to three seconds. You should also see stars around the moon during totality.
Create a collage
Since the total lunar eclipse is the process of the moon entering first the Earth’s outer shadow, then its darker inner shadow, and finally its outer shadow once again, the light and colour on the moon changes constantly. A great way of showing this is to take your images and create a collage that shows those colour changes.