Do you want to be able to take amazing photos of stars in the night sky? Well, this article is an introduction to astrophotography tips for beginners. In this article, we want to discuss the gear and the camera settings. As usual, we have heaps of tips to share to help you take amazing photos of the stars in the night sky.
Gear & Equipment
Okay, so let’s begin by talking about the gear you’re going to need, and the good news is you don’t need heaps of expensive equipment to take great photos of the night sky. A camera is essential, so a DSLR or mirrorless camera with manual functions is required. Next lens: now you can use a standard lens, no problem at all, but if you have a wide lens, that will be a bonus. It will allow you to capture a large expanse of the sky, in addition, if you want, you can capture some foreground detail as well. Now, if that lens has a wider aperture, that will be a bonus, but to be fair, it’s not essential when taking photos in the evening and at night. You’re going to need to leave the camera shutter open longer. The term for this is long exposure photography, and for that reason, the camera can’t move, so you’re going to also need a solid, sturdy tripod.
Select a perfect location
So, now let’s talk about location. Of course, the darker the sky is, the brighter the stars will appear, so a remote location with little or no light pollution would be ideal, if you can get yourself out of the city, great. We appreciate that for some of you, this may be tricky. A very handy resource that you might want to check out is the light pollution website, which allows you to check out the levels of light pollution in and around where you live.
Light pollution
In winter, evenings are mostly cool and the nights are clear. It’s a great time for astrophotography. Of course, depending on where you are in the world, it may be different. You should also consider the moon, which is a form of light pollution. Ideally, you want only about 25 percent or less of the moon visible to get good results, so that’s a few days before or after what is often called the new moon. If it’s a full moon, we would probably forget it. If, however, you want to photograph the moon, then it’s relatively easy.
Camera settings
Now, let’s talk about camera settings. To get the most from your camera and to have full creative control, you’ll need to use the manual mode. This will allow you to adjust the camera’s shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.
Let’s start with the aperture. To let more light pass through the lens, you’ll want to open the aperture to its widest setting. If you’re using a kit lens, this might be around f/3.5, but lenses with a wider aperture are always popular with astrophotographers.
Next, let’s consider the camera’s shutter speed. The longer the shutter is open, the more light the camera can capture. Generally, 10 to 20 seconds is about right for astrophotography, a technique known as long-exposure photography. However, if you go beyond 20 seconds, you may notice that stars appear as streaks of light, rather than points. This effect is known as star trails.
Finally, there’s ISO. This setting may require some experimentation. Normally, we keep the ISO low to avoid digital noise, but in astrophotography, increasing the ISO is essential. You might start with ISO 500 or 800, but it’s not unusual to go as high as 3200 or 6400 or even higher, depending on how dark the night sky is.
Focusing
Next up is focusing, and this can be a tricky one if you have a subject in the foreground and your camera’s struggling to focus on it. My tip is to take along a torch. Shine the torch on the subject so your camera can focus on the subject, then turn the torch off just before pressing the shutter button and taking the picture. If you want to specifically focus on the stars, then you’ll probably find that autofocus will struggle, so the solution is to use manual focus, and my tip is to use the camera’s live view to help you nail the focus.
Tips & tricks for astrophotography
Now for some tips to make your first experience, or getting back into the field shooting astrophotography, as seamless as possible. First and foremost, we highly recommend the app PhotoPills. You can easily download it from your App Store and Play Store, and it has several tools that make astrophotography much easier.
The first tool is the Planner, which allows you to see when the core of the Milky Way is visible. It provides details like blue hour, golden hour, and other essential information to help you scout your shoot location without being there in person. Within the Planner, you can access Night AR (augmented reality), which shows where the Milky Way will rise, allowing you to frame your shot perfectly every time.
Lastly, the app includes a Moon Calendar. You can schedule all your trips around new moons during the peak Milky Way season and monitor when the moon will be the smallest. If you’re out shooting during a full moon, its brightness can obscure the visibility of the Milky Way core by introducing a lot of extra light.
So, where should you go to capture stunning Milky Way images like this? The key is to get as far away from city lights as possible, as light pollution greatly hinders your ability to capture beautiful Milky Way core details. Using tools like specific websites can help you decide where to head for your Milky Way shots.
Another important tip for astrophotography outings: checks the weather. It may seem self-explanatory, but clouds are not your friend when it comes to astrophotography. Do yourself a favor and do a thorough weather check before you head out to a location.