Last Updated on May 26, 2026 by Erin Donahue

Most people don’t realize this, but the New York City area is one of the best places in the world to photograph the moon. Any full moon that aligns with a famous building or rises over the Manhattan skyline makes for a stunning shot. In this guide, I’ll walk you through some of the best locations in NYC and New Jersey, the camera gear you need, the exact settings I use, and how to plan for supermoons and lunar eclipses.

The Difference Between Full Moon, Supermoon, & Lunar Eclipse

Before planning a shoot, it helps to know what you’re actually photographing. A full moon occurs roughly once a month when the moon’s illuminated side faces Earth fully. According to NASA, a supermoon occurs when the moon is at its closest point to Earth (perigee) during a full moon, making it appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than a typical full moon. Then, there’s a lunar eclipse, which occurs when Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that turns the moon a deep amber or blood red. The latter two aren’t as rare as it seems. Supermoons happen 3–4 times a year, and lunar eclipses occur roughly twice a year.

Best Time of Year for Moon Photography in NYC

This is completely personal preference, but summer is my favorite time of year for moonrise photography in New York City. During the warmer months, the moonrise follows closely after sunset, so you can catch the moon against a colorful sky rather than darkness. The night before the actual full moon is the best for this.

For precise and well-composed shots, I rely on planning apps like PhotoPills or PlanIt Pro. Both apps include a Virtual Reality Viewfinder that lets you preview exactly where the moon will rise relative to a specific building. While they may seem technical at first, practice will help you master these tools and enhance your astrophotography skills.

Best Locations to Photograph the Moon With the NYC Skyline

Where you shoot from determines whether the moon looks enormous against the skyline or just a small dot in the corner. Distance is everything — the farther you stand from the skyline while pointing a telephoto lens toward it, the more compression you get, and the bigger the moon appears relative to the buildings.

New Jersey

Shooting from New Jersey gives you the best compression shots of the moon with the Manhattan skyline. My go-to areas are Weehawken and Liberty State Park. To get there, you can drive, take a bus from Port Authority, or, my personal favorite, the NY Waterway ferry. If you photograph the moon in the summer, the ferry ride often lines up with golden hour, so you get a beautiful crossing on the way over.

For the most dramatic compression, though, Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange is the spot. Standing that far back with a long telephoto makes the moon appear larger than the skyline itself. The tradeoff, though, is that it requires a car, clear weather, and clear air. The atmospheric haze between you and the city can soften the shot significantly.

New York City (Queens and Brooklyn)

If crossing into New Jersey isn’t an option, Queens and Brooklyn both work well. I’ve shot from Gantry Plaza State Park in Queens many times. The limitation is that you’ll typically wait until later in the night for the moon to rise fully into your frame. Also, because it’s closer, the moon won’t be as big against the skyline.

Camera Gear Needed To Photograph the Moon

To photograph the moon with a city skyline, you need a telephoto lens for its compression. At minimum, 200mm works, but ideally a 400–600mm lens is best. Using a tripod is also recommended in order to remove any shutter shake in low light.

Telephoto Lens

To capture the moon and NYC skyline effectively, a telephoto lens with a minimum focal length of 200mm is needed. One of my go-to lenses is the Sony 70-350mm F4.5-6.3 G OSS lens, which is an APS-C lens. With its 35mm equivalent, it is 525mm when fully zoomed. That being said, many of my shots are also captured with the 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens. Originally launched back in 2010 for NEX cameras, this was one of my main travel cameras for the longest time because of its wide range, and before I started upgrading to full-frame. With its 35mm equivalent, it can go from 27mm to 300mm!

When I was at my first Sony Kando Trip, I got to test out the $13,000 600mm f4 GM, but since it’s a prime lens, there’s no ability to incorporate any foreground. I prefer the Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS telephoto lens and keep the zoom around 500mm.

Tripod

Using a tripod is advisable, as moonrise photography often takes place at night, and the moon is surprisingly fast during moonrise. A tripod ensures stability and allows you to set up time-lapse shots to capture the moon’s movement across the sky.

Moonrise Camera Settings

Depending on the hour, photographing the moon veers into long exposure territory. For settings, the first thing to do is switch over to manual focus. As the light dims, the camera might have a hard time focusing while in auto. Save time by setting up the focus manually.

Aperture

The aperture should preferably be as close to f/8 as possible, but going down to f/5.6 is completely fine. Ideally, keeping the aperture small will allow a relatively wide depth of field to keep most of the cityscape shot in focus.

Shutterspeed

Shutter speed is the variable to experiment with in this scenario. I typically stay around 1/200 in many photography situations, but have done 1/100 and even as low as 1/20 without motion blur. This is why giving someone exact camera settings doesn’t matter since the available light is always different!

ISO

While it’s preferred to stay close to 100, I’ve been pushing ISO higher because I really need the light. Sony is known for its low-light capabilities, so pushing the ISO high has become normal since there isn’t that much noticeable noise until after 5000.

How to Photograph a Supermoon With the NYC Skyline

A supermoon is the perfect opportunity to attempt a moon-skyline alignment shot, but it also comes with more pressure since it only happens a few times a year. Everything you would do photographing a regular full-moon is the exact same as what you would do to photograph a supermoon. The key difference is you’ll have a little bit more surface area show up in the shot since the moon is technically closer.

How to Photograph a Total Lunar Eclipse With the NYC Skyline

A lunar eclipse is one of the most dramatic events you can photograph in New York City. The moon turns red as Earth’s shadow passes over it, and it’s the coolest thing to see. During the partial phases (before and after totality), the moon is still partially lit and you can use similar settings to a regular full moon, fast shutter, lower ISO. During totality, the moon becomes dimmer, which means you need to drop your shutter speed significantly, push the ISO higher.

The other consideration is that lunar eclipses have historically happened during the worst hours in the night. Totally is usually during the graveyard hours between 2-4 am.

---

FAQs About How to Photograph the Moon with the NYC Skyline

Where is the best place to photograph the moon in New York City?
The New Jersey waterfront gives you the strongest Manhattan skyline compression, especially from Weehawken, Jersey City, and Liberty State Park.

What time should I photograph the moon over NYC?
The best time is around moonrise, when the moon sits low on the horizon and the skyline still has some glow.

What lens do I need to photograph the moon with the skyline?
A telephoto lens of at least 200mm works, but 400mm to 600mm gives you much stronger compression and makes the moon appear larger behind the skyline.

What camera settings should I use to photograph the moon?
Start in manual mode at f/5.6 to f/8, a shutter speed around 1/100, and ISO 100 to 400. Adjust exposure based on the ambient light in the scene.

How do I make the moon look bigger in the photo?
Use a longer focal length and shoot from farther away so the skyline compresses. The farther your viewpoint is from Manhattan, the larger the moon will appear relative to the buildings.