We’ve all had the disappointing experience of pulling out our iPhone to take a picture of a gorgeous Full Moon, only for it to look like an oversaturated blob in the sky. We try again the next time we see a beautiful night sky, and it never improves.
iPhone cameras have come a long way, but when it comes to astrophotography, most people feel disappointed with the images they capture of the night sky. For most of us, our smartphone cameras are the only ones we have, and even those with great DSLR cameras still use the smartphone that is always in their pockets.
Apple has made some improvements by giving us night mode cameras with automatic long exposure, but it still can’t serve up DSLR-quality images. While they work on that technology, there are some ways to capture better night sky photos with simple tricks.
CAMERA SETTINGS
iPhone Settings
TURN OFF THE FLASH
The most important setting for nighttime images is the flash. Turn that thing off. It is useless when taking pictures of the Moon and stars and ruins everyone’s night vision with five yards of you.
TURN ON NIGHT MODE
Your camera should automatically switch to night mode, but if it doesn’t, tap the button in the upper left corner of the screen to turn it on. It will turn yellow when on.
ADJUST EXPOSURE
The night mode camera will automatically select the exposure time based on the amount of light it detects bouncing off the subject. You can change it if you want something different. The amount of time offered depends on how much light is already available. You can usually go as high as 10 seconds, but it may allow up to 30 seconds in really dark situations. You can stop in the middle of a long exposure picture by tapping the shutter button.
The longer the exposure, the more camera movement will blur your image. For best results, prop your camera against something solid to stabilize it, or hold your elbows close to your body. I often hold my breath. Better yet, use a tripod and trigger the shutter with a remote or by selecting a 3-second delay.
MOON SHOTS
LOWER EXPOSURE
The Moon is tricky because it’s an incredibly bright object against a dark background. The strong contrast between light and dark confuses the camera. Sometimes, you can improve the quality of the Moon by lowering the exposure. Tap and hold your finger over the Moon until a square pops up with an icon of the sun. Slide your finger down repeatedly to lower the exposure. Experiment with varying amounts of exposure to see if you can capture something you like.
TUCK IT BEHIND SOMETHING
Full Moon behind desert plant. ©Vicky Derksen
My very favorite moon photography tip is to tuck the Moon behind something. I like to get a flower, or leaves, or trees in the foreground so that it looks like the bright Moon is trying to peek out from behind it. This creates interesting images and lessens the disappointing quality of the Moon. Generally, buildings don’t make good foreground for moon images because you can only see the outline of the building. A building is okay if it has a great silhouette.
CONSTELLATIONS & PLANETS
Orion constellation. ©Vicky Derksen
My best constellation photos were taken on moonless nights with the camera mounted on a tripod. I zoomed in, set the exposure to the longest available, and did a 3-second delay on the shutter so the camera wouldn’t shake when I touched it. Orion is my favorite subject for this because of the 3 distinct belt stars, the 3 distinct sword stars, and the variation in brightness between the stars.
You can also capture constellations with a landscape at the bottom of the screen. It’s tricky to get the constellation to stand out from the other stars, so some experimenting may be necessary, depending on your level of light pollution.
When taken with an iPhone, every planet will look like a star. No smartphone can zoom in enough to see the characteristics of a planet. You’ll need to look through a telescope for a better planet photo.
MILKY WAY
SUPER DARK LOCATION
Milky Way at the Grand Canyon Star Party. ©Vicky Derksen
I live in the International Dark Sky Community of Fountain Hills, Arizona, yet we have enough skyglow from Phoenix and Mesa that I can’t get photos of the Milky Way here with an iPhone. You need to be in a dark location on a moonless night to get great Milky Way photos with an iPhone.
LONG EXPOSURE
If you can see the Milky Way with your naked eye, even if it’s really faint, you can capture a long-exposure photo of it with the iPhone. A tripod will give you the best results, but I’ve never had a tripod with me when I’ve photographed our home galaxy. The trick is to put it on the longest exposure offered, lean your elbows on something or hold them against your sides, and hold your breath.
ADD SOME FOREGROUND
Milky Way in Greer, Arizona. ©Vicky Derksen
When looking through my camera roll, I’ve found that my favorite Milky Way photos are the ones that have something in the foreground. It could be a mountain, a TV antenna, or trees.
AURORA
GO NORTH
The darker the skies, the better the aurora, both for naked-eye viewing and iPhone astrophotography.
LONG EXPOSURE
Aurora from Fountain Hills, Arizona. ©Vicky Derksen
The secret to great aurora images is long exposure. In the fall of 2024, the Northern Lights stretched all the way to Arizona. I couldn’t see them with the naked eye, but my iPhone picked them up with a 10-second exposure. Using a tripod will give the best results.
THROUGH A TELESCOPE
ZOOM IN
Near Full Moon through telescope. ©Vicky Derksen
The easiest thing to photograph through a telescope is the Moon. But even that’s not always easy. The problem is that your camera tries to focus through a tube and mirrors that bounce the image around. You can purchase a gadget that mounts to the telescope eyepiece where you can connect your phone. I have one, but my patience isn’t strong enough to use it. When taking images through the telescope eyepiece, zoom in. That often results in better photos.
RECORD
Sometimes, you can get a better image if you record while you’re trying to line your phone up with the image in the telescope eyepiece. You can replay the video and take a screenshot of the best view.
LOWER EXPOSURE FOR PLANETS
Jupiter with the Galilean moons through a telescope. ©Vicky Derksen
Photos of planets in the telescope are tricky. You might look through the eyepiece and see the rings of Saturn, but your camera picks up an oversaturated football-shaped blob. Zoom in and then lower the exposure to see if you can get a better image. It’s not easy!
PATIENCE
Moon photos are pretty easy with a telescope, but planet photos will leave you holding your breath, sweating, and cursing. If you’re determined, turn up the patience and experiment with different settings on your phone.
DON’T FORGET TWILIGHT
Twilight at Grand Teton National Park. ©Vicky Derksen
Twilight images can look like magic with the iPhone. Some of my best night photos were taken at twilight. Find a beautiful scene and look for a strong subject. The automatic exposure time is usually just right for a beautiful twilight photo.
EDITING
I’ve learned a good lesson about editing nighttime photos, and that is to wait until daytime to edit them. If you’re like me and have your phone’s night shift scheduled, your screen has a reddish hue at night. Editing in night shift mode results in ridiculous images that you swear looked great when you edited.
Experiment with various editing options. Sometimes, a bit more exposure helps, or brightening an image can bring out the foreground. Often, the black point can be altered to improve the contrast between the stars and the sky. If you don’t like it, cancel and start over. Twilight photos usually benefit from some light editing.
