ISS Commander Hadfield’s photographs of Earth, shared through social media, have received a lot of attention, but it’s only this week that he has shared his technique for capturing them.

A quality lens is key to capturing the detail of Earth, and Hadfield uses a huge 400mm one for his photographs. Given the contrast between the brightness of our planet and the blackness of surrounding space, it’s important to set the camera to manual so f-stop, ISO, focus and other settings can be completely controlled. The photos are captured in high-quality raw format – about 10 MB per photo.

For framing, Hadfield keeps an eye out for landscapes with distinctive changes, borders, textures, colours and shades – anything that will make for an impressive, unusual photograph (no Instagram required). The Sahara is one of Hadfield's favourite environments due to its unique land formations.

And the final step integral to getting that perfect photo? Patience. If one day doesn’t present the opportunity to get the snap you want, the next day, week or month will – time is one luxury the ISS astronauts do have.

Once transferred back to Earth, Hadfield’s NASA & Canadian Space Agency colleagues co-ordinate with Hadfield’s sons to get the photos out to the world via social media.

Some of Hadfield's most recent photographic efforts:

Tonight's Finale: New York City, incredibly clear, before the trees have filled with leaves. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) April 23, 2013

Ireland, Wales and Mann silhouetted in the setting sun. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) April 23, 2013

A glance out the Space Station window is worth taking. twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/…

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) April 22, 2013