Field Photography · PhotoPills · Lesson 4 Planning the Moon
1 / 10
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Planning the Moon
Same tools you just learned for the Sun, now aimed at the Moon — plus a couple of Moon-only tricks, like finding SuperMoon dates months in advance.

The Moon Pill gives you fast, offline access to moonrise/moonset times, moon phase, a full calendar, and an augmented reality view — everything you need to plan a shot with the Moon in it.

🔁
Sound familiar?
The Moon Pill mirrors the Sun Pill from Lesson 3 tab for tab: Info, Calendar, AR, and Action — plus one new one, Distances.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Why The Moon Phase Matters
🌑
New Moon
Darkest skies — best for Milky Way and star photography.
🌕
Full Moon
Bright enough to light up a landscape at night, or to shoot as the subject itself.
🌗
Quarter Moon
A middle ground — some ambient light without washing out the stars.
💡
Rule of thumb
Shooting the Milky Way? Check the Moon phase first — even a half Moon can wash out fainter stars.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Moon Pill: Today's Timeline
Moon pill Info screen showing a timeline including Galactic Center visibility, New Moon, sunrise, and moonrise
Moon → Info: moonrise, moonset, phase, and even Galactic Center visibility

Just like the Sun Pill's Info tab, this lays out every Moon-related event for the day in order — including how much of the Moon's disc is lit, down to the percent.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Moon Pill: Calendar
Moon pill Calendar screen showing a two-month grid of moon phase thumbnails for every day
A visual month of moon phases — today is circled in blue

This is the fastest way to eyeball an upcoming Full or New Moon. Scroll month by month and look for the phase you want, then tap any date to jump to its Info screen.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Moon Pill: See It In AR
Augmented reality view showing the Moon's path overlaid on a real photo of a monument
Point your phone at the scene to see exactly where the Moon will be

Same idea as the Sun's AR view from Lesson 3 — point your phone at the real scene and PhotoPills overlays the Moon's path with time markers, so you can compose the shot before the Moon even rises.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Moon Pill: Distances
Moon pill Distances screen showing a table of SuperMoon and perigee dates with distances in kilometers
SuperMoons and perigees for the whole year, at a glance
  1. 🌕
    SuperMoons
    Full Moons that happen close to perigee — when the Moon looks biggest and brightest.
  2. 📉
    Perigees & Apogees
    The Moon's closest and farthest points from Earth all year — perigee makes the Moon appear noticeably larger.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Reading The Moon Picture's Color
On the Info, Calendar, and Distances screens, the background color behind a Moon icon tells you the light it happened in.
🌗
Daytime
Light blue
🌗
Golden hour
Orange
🌗
Blue hour
Blue
🌗
Night-time
Black
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Putting It Together: A Full Moon Shot
  1. 1
    Find the date
    Open the Moon Pill's Calendar and scroll for the next Full Moon — or check Distances for a SuperMoon.
  2. 2
    Check the exact times
    Tap that date to open Info and see the exact moonrise time and azimuth.
  3. 3
    Compose with AR
    Once you're at your shooting spot, use AR to see exactly where the Moon will rise relative to your subject.
  4. 4
    Save it as a Plan
    Send it to the Planner (Action button) so you can revisit and fine-tune the shot later.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Don't Forget The Planner
🗺️
Everything here also lives in the Planner
Back in Lesson 3, Panels 3 and 4 already showed you Moon azimuth, elevation, and rise/set times — tied to a specific spot on the map, not just your current location.

Use the Moon Pill for a fast daily check. Use the Planner when you're lining the Moon up with a specific building, mountain, or landmark — that's where the Red Pin and Black Pin from Lesson 2 come back into play.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
You Can Plan Around The Moon Now
1
Info
Today's full timeline
2
Calendar
Spot phases at a glance
3
AR
See it before you shoot
4
Distances
Find SuperMoons
UP NEXT
Lesson 5: Finding & Planning the Milky Way
Now that you know how to check the Moon phase, it's time to use that knowledge — dark, New-Moon skies are exactly when the Milky Way lesson picks up.
⌂ Index