The Magic of Moonlight

Moonlight offers tremendous possibilities for night photographers—but those possibilities are often overlooked.

Maybe that’s because people usually think of photographing under the full moon, with the moon high overhead. But that’s the least interesting kind of moonlight. You wouldn’t photograph with the sun high in the sky, would you? Of course not. The light is much more interesting when the sun is low, raking across the landscape and casting warm colors like gold, orange and red. The same is true of moonlight. Low-angle moonlight can create all the same wonderful effects as low-angle sunlight—but with stars in the sky to add some nighttime mystery and magic.

And a less-than-full moon adds more stars to the scene. The weaker the moonlight, the more stars you’ll see. You can even capture a vivid Milky Way with the right kind of moonlight.

In this presentation Michael Frye will show you some of the beautiful, creative possibilities of moonlight. He will also cover how to execute your own moonlit ideas, including how to plan photos with PhotoPills and The Photographer’s Ephemeris, and how to expose for moonlit scenes.