Tips to get million-view photos of the Mid-Autumn Festival Super Moon

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival is also a supermoon, and millions of people are eager to capture this amazing natural moment. The phenomenon of the maximum full moon on October 7 is called the Hunter Supermoon. However, many people were disappointed when the photo taken with their phone was just a faint dot of light.

Taking pictures of the moon with a smartphone is no longer strange, however, not everyone understands the key points to be able to own the most optimal photos.

The first thing to note for astrophotography in general and taking pictures of distant objects is the tripod. Whether it is a smartphone or a professional camera, to get the best results you must place the camera firmly on a tripod. Therefore, this is considered the most important equipment to have.

A tripod is an essential tool when taking photos of the supermoon with your phone because it helps keep the camera steady, limiting hand shake that causes blurry photos. Especially when having to expose for a long time or zoom in, a tripod helps the photo to be sharper and clearer. If you don't have a tripod, you can take advantage of fixed places such as rocks, railings or windows to place your phone stably.

A phone lens is a useful accessory if you want to take clearer pictures of the supermoon without losing image quality due to digital zoom. This lens helps increase the focal length, optically zooming in on distant objects, providing more detailed and sharper images.

When choosing a phone to take pictures of the supermoon, you should prioritize models with high-quality cameras, optical zoom support and manual shooting mode. You can also download additional camera editing and adjustment applications such as Lightroom CC to customize ISO, exposure and white balance for the best photos.

Don't be offended if you own the latest and most expensive iPhone but can't take a photo of the supermoon to show off to your friends. Without an external telephoto lens, the ability to take a photo of the supermoon with the iPhone 16, 17 is very limited. The latest iPhone 16 or 17 Series can only zoom 25x digitally.

In contrast, many Android flagships such as Samsung Galaxy Ultra, vivo X Series, Huawei P Series, Xiaomi or Google Pixel all support 100x zoom or more. In addition, these companies all have specialized AI to support astrophotography, especially moon photography.

To make the supermoon photo more vivid and have depth, you should choose a shooting position near the horizon when the Moon rises or sets. In this position, due to the illusion effect, the Moon looks much larger. At the same time, you can add objects such as trees or buildings to the frame to create a vivid artistic composition, avoiding taking a photo of only a monotonous supermoon. This is the secret to making the supermoon photo more impressive and feel more large-scale.

Use manual shooting mode on your phone (if available): Since many Android devices now allow you to adjust parameters such as ISO, shutter speed and focal length. You should reduce the ISO to about 25 to 64 to limit the graininess in the photo. At the same time, adjust the shutter speed to match the light of the Moon so that the photo is not overexposed or underexposed. With these adjustments, the supermoon photo will become sharper and clearer.

When taking photos of the supermoon with your phone, you should turn off the flash because the flash only works to illuminate nearby objects in low light conditions, but the Moon is so far away that the flash does not affect the light of the Moon. If you turn on the flash, the strong light from the lamp will cause the photo to be overexposed, losing detail and image quality. Therefore, turning off the flash will help you capture a more natural and clear image of the supermoon.

Manual focus: Tap and hold the Moon on the screen to lock the focus, then adjust the brightness by dragging the brightness bar up or down until the details on the Moon are clear.

The time when the Moon is at its most orange or red is usually when it just rises above the horizon after sunset or when it is about to set before dawn. At that time, the light has to pass through a thicker layer of air than usual, causing the blue light to be strongly scattered and only the red and orange light to reach the observer's eyes, creating a special and unforgettable color for the Moon.

To keep the most natural and beautiful colors when taking photos of the supermoon, you should limit the use of excessive color filters. It is best to take photos with original colors, then only lightly edit the contrast and color tones with photo editing applications such as Snapseed or Lightroom to make the photo more vivid while still maintaining the natural and magical look.

Taking pictures of the super moon with your phone is no longer too difficult if you know how to take advantage of the features and prepare well in terms of technique. With the simple tips mentioned above, you can completely record sparkling, sharp images of the super moon to share with friends and relatives.

Prepare your equipment and choose the right location so you don't miss the opportunity to enjoy and capture the magical beauty of the October 2025 supermoon - a fascinating astronomical phenomenon.