Photographing the stars. How to photograph the starry sky - my experience

Anyone who has ever tried to photograph a starry sky knows that simply turning on automatic mode will not get you a good shot. It goes without saying what to shoot in manual modes, but if your camera settings are not optimal, you will also not achieve a great shot, as there are quite a few pitfalls hidden in the camera settings for capturing stars. In this photography tutorial, we will give you the best settings for taking great night sky photos.

So, as I said, if the camera settings are not optimal, then you can get a dark photo in which the stars will not be visible, or blurry. Things get even more complicated if you want a sharp foreground, or if you're trying to photograph the Milky Way.

Before diving into specific guidelines, keep in mind that the techniques in this tutorial are ideal for capturing sharp stars from a vantage point. landscape photography(where the stars are not the only subject). If you're interested in astrophotography with a telescope, or capturing star tracks in landscape shots, then that's a slightly different story.

Choice of focal length

You can take night photos with any focal length, but it depends on the type of image you want to take.

If your goal is a classic landscape labeled "Milky Way" and you want everything to be as sharp as possible, the best option is to use a wide-angle lens. Ultra wide-angle lenses provide several major benefits for shooting night skies. First, because their field of view is so wide, you will be able to include more of the Milky Way in your shots. Second, since wide-angle lenses have a greater depth of field, it will be easier for you to get the foreground in sharp focus. And third, wide-angle lenses allow you to use slower shutter speeds before you see star tracks (star motion blur), allowing you to capture more light.

My personal favorite focal length for shooting landscapes with stars, this is 20mm and wider, but longer focal lengths can also work. And if you don't mind star tracks - or you're intentionally trying to capture that effect - you might prefer a longer focal length. For example, I shot the photo below with a FR-86mm (and used a particularly slow shutter speed) to get the movement of the stars:

NIKON D800E+ 70-200mm f/4, 86mm FR, ISO 100, 136 seconds, f/5.6

And if you're shooting deep space, trying to capture distant objects in the sky, a telephoto lens is the way to go.

Aperture selection

Aperture is usually one of the things you have to worry about the most, at least when it comes to landscape photography. With astrophotography, things are a bit easier as you will almost always be using the widest aperture on your lens.

The stars are so dim for your camera's dynamic range that you need to do your best to make them as bright as possible. Ideally, your aperture will be f/2.8 or wider, although lenses with a maximum aperture of f/4 may work just as well, but open wider if possible.

Unfortunately, using the widest lens aperture comes with several problems. First of all, the image quality will not be as good as at aperture down to, say, f/7.1, especially in the corners of the photo. And, if you include the foreground in your shot, a shallower depth of field can ruin the shot.

So, if your lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.4 or f/1.8, you can test and see how sharp your shots come out at those apertures. Pay close attention for vignetting (dark corners) and smeared stars in the corners. If things get particularly bad with this, you can use an aperture that is 1/3 or 2/3 stop narrower. But if your lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or f/4, it's generally not recommended to adjust more than 1/3 stop.

Here you are balancing between getting sharper edges of the frame and getting more light, which means faster shutter speeds. Where better to tip the scales there is no right answer, it all depends on your lens and personal preferences. If you are not sure what to choose, then I recommend taking pictures with several aperture settings.

Since my main wide-angle lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.8, this is my main aperture for astrophotography. But when I take photos of the Milky Way with my Nikon 20mm f/1.8 lens, I use apertures ranging from f/1.8 to f/2.2, depending on the compromise I'm willing to make on that day of shooting.

NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8, 20mm FR, ISO 3200, 20 sec, f/2.2

Shooting at the widest aperture is possible if your lens has a maximum aperture between f/2.8 and f/4.

If your lens's maximum aperture is in the f/1.4 to f/2 range, this advice still applies, but make sure you're happy with the sharp corners of the frame, as well as the vignetting in the photo. To get a slightly sharper picture in the corners, use an aperture that is 1/3 to 2/3 stops narrower.

Shutter speed selection

The next setting of great importance is shutter speed. It makes all the difference how bright your photo will be and whether you get tracks of stars or, as we intended, they will remain dots.

The stars move across the sky faster than you think. It would be nice to use multi-minute exposures to capture the Milky Way in order to capture as much light as possible, but due to the rotation of the earth, we are limited more short exposures, if we want to get the stars as points. (*If you are not using an “Equatorial mount”, a special device that compensates for the rotation of the earth)

So, how long can you keep the shutter open so that the stars stay in dots instead of blurring into tracks due to the rotation of the earth? It depends on a number of factors.

First, as mentioned earlier, this is affected by the focal length of your lens. Wide angle lenses allow you to use slower shutter speeds before you get the movement of the stars in the frame. The second factor is the direction you are going to shoot, as the stars rotate more slowly relative to the earth around Celestial North and Celestial South (essentially the North Star if you are in the Northern Hemisphere).

Another factor that affects exposure is your personal willingness to let the stars move in your photos. I know some photographers who can't stand any movement at all. Their exposure at night can be no more than five or ten seconds. Other photographers don't mind a little movement in the stars and are more inclined to set shutter speeds in the 20-30 second range for the same shot.

Rule 600 (six hundred) was also invented. With different FR, the stars will visually look different at the same shutter speed. For example, with a shutter speed of 25 seconds at a 20 mm DF, the stars will remain dots, and with a 200 mm DF, they will already “float”. In fact, in fact, they will float by 20 mm, but we just won’t notice this because of the small approximation. Therefore, the 600 rule was invented, it makes it possible to calculate the maximum possible shutter speed for the selected FR at which the stars will visually remain dots. To calculate, divide 600 by the FR that you are going to use, this will be the maximum shutter speed. For example, FR 24mm, we divide 600/24=25 sec is the maximum shutter speed that can be used so that the stars do not visually “float”

But I end up not always sticking to this rule, and my shutter speed will be 10-25 seconds for most night work. Personally, with my 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, I tend to use a shutter speed of 20 or 25 seconds, i.e. I don’t go beyond the 600 rule, but I don’t follow the numbers exactly either.

NIKON D800E+ 14-24mm f/2.8 14mm, ISO 3200, 25 seconds, f/2.8

Perhaps the best decision when choosing a shutter speed is trial and error. Just take a couple of test shots to make sure you like the level of blur in the movement of the stars, and then move on to the creative part (choosing a good framing, etc.)

ISO selection

It can often be difficult to choose the perfect ISO to capture a quality starry sky shot. There are two options here:

1) Shoot at an ISO that gives you a photograph of the correct brightness - usually in the 1600 to 6400 range, but be prepared to deal with noise unless you're using a low noise sensor camera

2) Shoot at an ISO that will keep the stars from blowing out - usually in the 100 to 400 range, but be prepared to seriously pull your stars out of the dark in post*

*It's usually best to shoot at a high ISO. However, while it sounds crazy, there are some cases where you can take photos of stars at a low ISO (resulting in a very dark photo) and then brighten it up in a photo editor. Many will say that nothing can be pulled out of such a photo. This is not entirely true.

Some cameras, more precisely the matrices of some cameras are close to ISO-invariant at low ISOs. This means you won't see any difference between the two shots (one taken at high ISO and the other at low ISO, but it's brightened up when the RAW file was developed in Lightroom or Photoshop).

The idea is that some cameras shooting at high ISOs will "blow out" the stars, so you can shoot at a lower ISO and then lighten up the shot. Again, if your camera is ISO invariant, you won't lose any image quality by doing so. (It should be noted that most cameras are notISO-invariant to that extent, but some of them are close!!!).

NIKON D800E+ 14-24mm f/2.8 14mm, ISO 200, 25 seconds, f/2.8

Personally, my Nikon D800e is close to ISO-invariant, so I periodically use low ISO to shoot the starry sky. However, it is not completely invariant for lower ISOs, so I don't do it often. And mostly I just shoot at higher ISOs (1600-6400)

Other settings and nuances

While these are the most important camera settings for astrophotography, there are still things to remember. The most important thing is to shoot RAW, not JPEG. This will give you the highest possible quality in post-processing.

NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 20mm, ISO 1600, 15 seconds, f/1.8

But most importantly, do not forget about the composition, if your shot is technically correct, but the angle is bad, your photo will not be a success. Good luck and I wish you great photos of the starry sky

light pollution

The thing is that for a good photograph of the stars in the night sky, you need to move away from light sources.
After all, a small number of lampposts is enough to get light pollution in a wide range of the atmosphere. Cities all the more need to be avoided, leaving them for kilometers.
Exactly this important rule when photographing the night sky. Therefore, every photo shoot at night is an exciting trip that will give wonderful impressions.

The best locations for shooting the night sky are mountains or places where civilization has not yet arrived. Gorgeous pictures are taken by our guys in the Caucasus Mountains on Bermamyt, in the Elbrus region and in the Crimea. Be sure to read my report about . Many have seen a wonderful timelapse video shot on the slopes of the Teide volcano or pictures from Nepal.
But it is not necessary to rush to the other end of the world, for example, to shoot the Perseid stream, it is enough to leave in August in the suburbs, to the country house or to the field.

The darker the location, the better the celestial bodies will be visible in the picture!

So, remember that the main thing in night photography is the shoot place.

Tripod

Everything is simple here. Without a good camera fixation, you will not get sharp pictures, but blur. I use Manfrotto, but you can choose any with stable legs and wind-proof. I recommend that there is a level on the tripod, with it there will be less chance of filling up the horizon in the dark. =)

For additional stability, you can attach a briefcase or equipment bag to the tripod.

wide angle lens

Not required, but highly recommended: the shorter the focal length, the more time to fix the stars.
For example, for 16 mm, you can set the shutter speed to 30 seconds on a full-frame camera, and on a 50 mm lens, after 15 seconds, the stars will turn into tracks (star trails) and will be blurry. I will provide focal length tables at the end of my guide to photographing the night sky.
For a beginner, the whale lens that came with your DSLR, for example, the Nikkor 18-55 or 18-105, is enough.

The ideal lens for shooting stars and the night sky is a wide-angle lens with good aperture: for Nikon it can be Nikkor 16-35 or Nikkor 14-24, and for Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L USM. Personally, I now shoot at 16-35 and don't worry about the fact that I can only open the aperture to f4;).

Why is luminosity needed?

The more you open the aperture on the lens, the more light the matrix will receive per unit of time, which means it will be able to well expose a frame with stars or the Milky Way.

A small aperture can be replaced by a high ISO or vice versa. Do not shoot with lenses with a long focal length, the longer the focal length, the slower the shutter speed you can use so as not to get blurry.

The lens is number three in shooting stars.

Camera Light Sensitivity - ISO

A simple rule - the more the better, but do not forget about the noise!
Each camera has its own ISO value at which you can take high-quality pictures. For full-frame cameras, ISO can be driven much higher than for non-full-frame amateur cameras.

For example, on a Nikon D800 or Canon Mark III, you can safely set the ISO value to 6400. And for cameras like the Nikon D90 or Canon 7D, it’s better not to raise the ISO above 1250.

To get an exposed photo of the night sky and stars, you need to increase the ISO sensitivity of the matrix in addition to shutter speed.
The higher the ISO value, the better the stars are visible and the more noise in the photo.

I hope you shoot in RAW, then you can remove the noise a little in graphic editors like Adobe Lightroom.

Excerpt

How to determine the exposure time so as not to get the movement of stars in the frame. Everything is simple.

Use the 600 rule. Divide 600 by the number of your focal length and you will get the exposure time that you should set when taking a picture. For example, 600/18=33 seconds. For a non-full-frame camera, the number still needs to be divided by the crop factor of the matrix - 1.6. For example, 600/18/1.6=20 seconds. I recommend subtracting an additional 1 second from the resulting value.

Moon in the sky!

Remember the important rule that if you want to photograph the stars in the night sky, the Moon will get in the way. The solution is simple - avoid the full moon and the average values of the moon. The best shots are obtained when the month is very small or is over the horizon.

Sometimes the moon can be in place, and sometimes not at all. The light from it does not allow us to see the stars =(

But get to the point!
You're at the place! We chose a location and a shooting point. I recommend arriving before dark, as it is quite possible to break a leg or neck at dusk, which means that the instinct of self-preservation will not allow you to find the most delicious locations and angles.

A short step-by-step guide to shooting stars at night

After installing the camera on a tripod, put it in manual mode - M.
If you haven't shot in RAW yet, now is the time to start!
Open the aperture as wide as possible, such as f2.8 or f4, depending on your lens.
Focus at infinity or a far-off lit subject for autofocus to work. In general, it is good to have a small sticker on the lens, with the focus point marked at infinity, then there will be no problems when trying to focus on the stars in the sky (the standard mark on the lenses is a bit of a lie).
After focusing at infinity, switch the lens to manual mode. In this way, you will solve the problem of focusing on the entire shooting.
Raise the ISO to the maximum value in the camera. This will make it possible not to take extra frames with long shutter speeds to compose the composition. After finding the composition, lower the ISO to get enough light in the frame, usually around 800-1250 on non-full frame cameras or 3200-6400 on full frame cameras.
Set your shutter speed to the 600 rule to get a shot of the stars without movement. Divide 600 by the focal length of the lens (and for non-full/crop sensors by another 1.6). For example, for 16mm at full frame, I use a shutter speed of about 30-35 seconds. Below I will give the values for the main focal lengths.
If the shutter speed is more than 30 seconds, then you need to switch to BULB mode, install the cable release and set the shutter speed through it.
After taking several shots with different white balance, choose the WB at which the photo is more in line with the ideas.
To illuminate the foreground and the surrounding landscape - use a flashlight with a red filter.
Take several shots with slight changes in ISO and shutter speed until the result is satisfactory. (don't forget the composition!)
At home, process the image in a photo editor such as Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, removing noise and increasing brightness. I will cover this in more detail in future posts.
Show the photo to your friends, collect likes, and of course share my guide to shooting stars in the night sky =). Don't be greedy.

And now I will give 10 great tips that you will not find elsewhere. By following the tips, you will significantly increase the quality of night photos! So, attention, like and read the secret knowledge:

Be sure to shoot in RAW. Then you can make the photo brighter and remove the noise!
Don't forget to take a couple of spare batteries as they run out pretty quickly.
Do not forget about the composition and landscape elements in the frame. Light up with a red light.
To avoid blurring and camera shake when you press the shutter release, I recommend using a cable, and if not, then simply put the camera in timer shooting mode. So you can safely press the button and take your hands away from it =).
Don't forget to dress warmly, pour tea into a thermos and take a couple of sandwiches =) The night will be long.
To know in advance which stars and constellations you want to capture, where they will be located, and also what time the Moon will leave the firmament, use applications for phones and tablets. I recommend Photopills and Star Walk.
Be sure to bring a bright flashlight with you so as not to break your legs.
Don't forget to pick up your phone to read these tips again while shooting!
If you want to get tracks of stars in the night sky, then set a slow shutter speed, for example, 2-5-15-30 minutes. But for this you need a remote control or a cable, since it costs mere pennies, up to 10 bucks on eBay. I will tell you more about shooting tracks.
Don't delay for tomorrow! Go shoot today!

For the coolest night sky shots: get higher above sea level, shoot after rain and no moon, close to the equator and no clouds! =)

Please share this guide to capturing stars and the Milky Way in the night sky at in social networks! This will encourage me to share some more great how-to scenarios.

I look forward to your photos and observations in the comments! Ask questions, don't be shy! Share the post with your friends on social networks.

In one of the following posts, I will tell you how to properly shoot star tracks - star trails and take epic pictures with the movement of the Earth. Don't get lost!

The second part of the article by Anton Yankovy "All about night photography and photography of the starry sky".

Within the framework of night photography, there are 2 main approaches to photographing stars:

1) Shooting static stars when in the final picture we see the stars the same as our eye perceives them (in the form of many dots in the sky);
2) Shooting tracks- photography using very slow shutter speeds, in which the photograph captures the trajectory of the movement of stars across the sky around the South / North Pole of the World

So let's take a closer look at each of these types of photography ...

Shooting static stars

In astrophotography for imaging static stars, star clusters, galaxies, nebulae, etc. use such a device as a parallax mount with the possibility of guiding.

A parallax mount is such a mount, one of the axes of which can be installed parallel to the axis of the world, which is directed to the north pole.

Guiding is the process of controlling and correcting the camera/telescope tracking of the movement of celestial objects (as a rule, as a result of the daily rotation of the sky) during the exposure.

This, of course, is all very interesting, but for some reason it seems to me that most ordinary photographers do not have such specials. fixtures. Therefore, in this article we will consider photography only using a simple tripod, and those who are interested in astrophotography can easily find a lot of information on this topic on the Internet.

Nepal, Sagarmatha National Park (Everest), Kongde Ri (6187 m), ~3900 m | 30 sec, f/4, ISO 400, 24mm FR, full moon (Canon EOS 5D + Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM)

So, what do we need to know in order to take a picture with a static (without tracks) starry sky?

The most important thing to remember is the simple "600" rule, which is this: if you divide 600 by the focal length of your lens (35mm equivalent), you get the fastest shutter speed at which the stars look like dots (not dashes). ) in the sky.

So for 15 mm the maximum shutter speed for shooting static stars will be 600/15=40 sec, and for 50 mm 600/50=12 sec.

Based on this rule, we set the resulting shutter speed in the camera and, if possible, set the maximum open aperture, which would give an acceptable picture quality.

Now it remains for us to choose only the ISO value at which we will get a balanced-exposed image.

Note. Mirror blocking can significantly improve sharpness for exposures comparable in duration to mirror positioning time (~1/30 to 2 seconds). On the other hand, mirror shake is negligible for shutter speeds that are much longer; as a result, in most cases, KB is not critical for night photography.

Shooting tracks

Shooting the rotation of the starry sky requires the longest exposures - from 10 minutes to several hours, depending on the focal length and how long the trajectories you want to get in the picture.

The exact value of shutter speed is difficult to somehow calculate, it can only be determined based on your personal experience and preferences in track length.

For example, I know that at 50 mm for beautiful tracks (according to my taste) an exposure of 20-40 minutes is needed, for 24 mm somewhere around 90-120 minutes, etc.

Nepal, Annapurna National Park, dizzying Himalayas, 2010 | 1 h 43 min (199 fps x 30 sec), f/1.8, 24mm (Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 II L USM)

There are 2 main approaches when shooting such scenes:

1) Shooting "one frame";
2) Shooting a continuous series of images with their subsequent stitching in specialized software.

Until recently, almost all photographers who wanted to capture the circular rotation of the stars in the picture used the first “single frame” method.

So, the disadvantages of shooting "one frame":

The difficulty of calculating the correct exposure pair at which the picture would be balanced worked out both in the shadows and in the highlights.
It is sad to find an overexposed or underexposed image even after a half-hour exposure, not to mention several hours of exposure;
When using even the most modern digital technology at ultra-long exposures, strong, sometimes simply unbearable digital noise appears in the pictures (even at relatively low ISO values);
High risk of movement with such long exposures;
If we didn’t notice in time how our front lens fogged up, “write goodbye”.

Nepal, Annapurna National Park, Annapurna South (7219 m), 2010 | 3461 sec (single frame), f/4, ISO 100, 100mm AF (Canon EOS 5D Mark II + Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM)

The advantages of taking a series of shots with relatively fast shutter speeds and then combining them into one frame:

Ease of calculating exposure pairs for shots with a short shutter speed (usually no more than 30-60 seconds), of which our series will consist;
The possibility of overexposure / underexposure is excluded;
Relatively imperceptible digital noise in the pictures, which after stitching all the frames becomes even more uniform, if not completely indistinguishable;
When selecting frames for final stitching, you can simply exclude frames with movement, or stitch together only the number of shots that was before / after the camera shift. Thus, we are completely insured against this problem;
Ability to control the length of star tracks. If we don't like the excessive length of the trajectories of the stars in the final image, we can simply exclude some of the images from the series, thereby changing the length of the tracks;
As a result, we get not only one final frame with star tracks, but also a large number of shots with a static starry sky, some of which can be very successful;
If during the shooting of the series we did not notice how the front lens fogged up, then we can use only successful frames when stitching, excluding defective ones;
The possibility of using a series of obtained photographs for editing videos with the rapid movement of stars across the sky

Note. When shooting a series of night shots, do not forget to uncheck the "Long Exposure Noise Reduction" in the camera settings, otherwise the shutter speed you set will be doubled (the second half of the shutter speed will be noise reduction, subtracting the noise map from the picture you took).

As we can see from this comparison, the advantages of the second approach are much greater. It remains only to make out a few nuances of shooting such series.

To begin with, it is worth noting that it is desirable to shoot all series in RAW format with duplication in JPG of low quality (in order to make it easier and faster to experiment with stitching different numbers of frames without their preliminary scrupulous conversion).

If we talk about the duration of exposures, then I personally advise using shutter speeds calculated according to the “600” rule for shooting a series of night shots.

Next, we set all other exposure parameters (ISO and aperture), connect the programmable cable release to the camera, which was already described earlier, set the minimum interval between shots (1 sec) and the number of shots in the series (if set to 0, then shooting will continue indefinitely, until the battery in the camera or in the cable itself is exhausted).

That's all! We press the start button and get comfortable for the next "n" hours.

Finding the poles

If you need to get pronounced circles of rotation in the picture, then the lens should be directed to the North Star (in the northern hemisphere) or Sigma Octant (in the southern hemisphere).

For shooting landscapes with a starry sky, it is good to have basic knowledge of astronomy, in particular, to be able to determine the direction of rotation of the Earth relative to the starry sky.

North Pole of the World

Since the majority of the Russian-speaking population lives and travels mainly in the northern hemisphere, let's look at it first.

Due to the rotation of the Earth around its axis, it seems to us that it is the starry sky that is rotating.

In the northern hemisphere, this rotation occurs counterclockwise around a point called north pole peace. And next to this point is the North Star.

Everyone knows that the Earth rotates around its axis with a rotation period of ~24 hours. The Earth rotates about 0.25 degrees per minute.

Therefore, in one hour, a 15-degree arc for each star comes out. The arc is longer if the star is at a greater distance from the polar one.

The North Star is a supergiant, but finding it is not always easy, since its distance from Earth is 472 light years.

Therefore, in order to find the North Star, you must first find a characteristic configuration of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major, resembling a ladle (asterism Big Dipper), then through two stars of the "wall" of the ladle, opposite the "handle", mentally draw a line on which to lay five times the distance between these extreme stars.

Approximately at the end of this line is the North Star, which is also the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, which also looks like a kind of bucket, not so pronounced and noticeable in the sky.

The North Star is always located above the northern point of the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere, which makes it possible to use it for orientation on the ground, and by height above the horizon we can determine at what geographical latitude we are.

Do you want to compare the Polar with the Sun? So Polar:

Heavier than the Sun 6 times;
More than the Sun 120 times;
Radiates heat and light 10,000 times more than the Sun;
The color is yellow - the same as that of the sun

But a ray of light from the Sun reaches the Earth in just 8 minutes, and from the Polar - in 472 years, which means that at the present time we see the star as it was in the time of Columbus.

South Pole of the World

In the southern hemisphere, the only star that points to the south celestial pole is Sigma Octanta.
But even it is barely distinguishable and does not stand out among the other stars at all - it is absolutely impossible to use it for navigational purposes, as the North Star is used in the constellation Ursa Minor.

You can find the position of a star only with the help of a pointer - the constellation Southern Cross, whose long crossbar points to the South Pole of the World (a line drawn through the stars? and? The Southern Cross approximately passes through the South Pole of the World at a distance of 4.5 times farther than the distance between stars).

The Southern Cross (lat. Crux) is the most famous constellation in the southern hemisphere and at the same time the smallest constellation in the sky in terms of area. It borders the constellations Centaurus and Mukha. Four bright stars form an easily recognizable asterism. The constellation is easy to find in the sky, as it is located near the Coalsack Nebula, which is visible to the naked eye as dark spot against the backdrop of the Milky Way.

Useful programs

Screenshot of "Startrails Version 1.1." In action

If you know of any other programs that could be useful for a night photographer, send their names in the comments with an accompanying description and I will add information about them to this article.

Work examples

For inspiration, in addition to my works, I will give an example of another 10 the best photos stars that I managed to find on the Internet. Links to good star photos and your first experiences after reading this article are also welcome.

Experiment and you will succeed! 😉

© Yuri Beletsky | A laser beam from the dome of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. A laser beam creates an artificial star in the sky, which is how astronomers try to measure the distortion caused by Earth's turbulent atmosphere.

Conclusion

OK it's all over Now! Now you know what stars are and what they eat with how to shoot them.

I will be glad to any questions and comments.

In conclusion, I would like to say that in addition to the fact that night is a great time for photography, night is also an amazing, mystical time when you can be alone with yourself, get away from everyday life and worldly fuss, plunge into the dark abyss of the night, so that rethink your life values, and just look at your life from the outside 🙂

An article about how to photograph the Milky Way and the starry sky in general. In this type of shooting there are some features, knowing which, you can get an excellent result.

First we need to take care of the camera. Almost any modern SLR camera with a whale lens is suitable for photographing stars. We will not judge digital compacts with non-replaceable optics, this is a separate issue.

Advanced devices will have one significant advantage - a high allowable light sensitivity (ISO). For example, the photo below was taken at ISO6400, which is unacceptable for cheap cameras.

Lens for night shooting

As for the lens, for shooting meteors and stars, aperture is extremely desirable, which, as you know, does not happen much. f/2.8 is good enough. f / 3.5 - it's already a bit dark, but you can still live. The width of the angle is also of great importance: the stars are constantly moving, and this must be reckoned with. If you have a lens with a focal length (FR) of 18-24mm on a full-frame camera (or 12-16mm on a crop), then the shutter speed that you can set does not exceed 20 seconds.

Take a test shot, look at 100% zoom, and you'll see star tracks (the stars take on the appearance of lines instead of dots). If you do not need a high resolution of the final image, then you can increase the exposure length to 30 seconds, and subsequently reduce the size and publish it on the Internet - no one will guess that the exposure was long. for example, 30-second exposure shots can be shot with a 10mm fisheye attached to a full-frame camera to avoid trailing. Or rather, they are, but visible only at 100% magnification.

For convenience, a table has been compiled. If you don't know what camera you have, see the third column

Focal length - Shutter speed for FF - Shutter speed for crop

10mm - 40s - 30s

14mm - 35s - 25s

18mm - 25s - 15s

24mm - 20s - 12s

35mm - 12s - 8s

50mm - 8s - 6s

How to use the table? Very simple. Find the focal length of your lens in the left column (for example, 18mm), then if you have a full-frame camera (if so, then you already know this), then look at the second column - this will be the maximum shutter speed for you. If you have a cropped camera (Nikon d90, d60, d3000, d5000, d7000, etc., Canon 1000d, 50d, 7d, etc.), then look at the third column, your maximum shutter speed will be indicated there.

But you don't have to blindly follow the rules described above! If you want to capture the movement of stars, then the shutter speed, on the contrary, should be increased up to 60 minutes. Accordingly, the ISO will have to be reduced, and the aperture should be covered so as not to overexpose the frames.

Elbrus at night, exposure 10 minutes. The sun has just set

Now let's talk about light sensitivity (ISO) for photographing the night sky

The higher it is, the better. But don't be foolish! Explore the possibilities of the camera! Nikon d7000 can safely set ISO3200, or carefully 6400. My Nikon d600 can safely set 6400. Almost all shots of the Bermamyt starfall were shot at ISO6400. But each camera has its upper limit, when the amount of noise starts to grow faster than new details of the starry sky are added. For example, on the d90, never set the sensitivity above 1600, and then you would have to thoroughly reduce noise. A low ISO can be compensated for with a wider angle and slower shutter speeds, so go for it!

Aperture when shooting stars

When shooting a starry sky, and especially meteors, we need to get the maximum amount of light in the shortest periods of time, so the aperture will have to be opened. All lenses have their own maximum aperture, usually f / 1.4, 1.8, 2.8, 3.5, 4 - if you do not know what this is, then take a closer look at your lens. It's written there

The lower the number, the more light hits the matrix. BUT! For all lenses, at the maximum aperture, the image quality is worse than when it is closed. For example, shooting the sky at f / 1.4, you can be very disappointed: instead of stars, you get sad blobs. Once you've taken one frame, zoom it in 100% and examine it carefully. If the stars are not sharp and look like blobs, then first check the focusing accuracy, and only then cover the aperture, for example, to 2.8. Pictures will become darker, but picture quality will improve. If you have a cheap whale lens, then don't worry, set the maximum allowable 3.5 and shoot! You won't make it any worse.

Focusing when shooting the sky

There are problems with this, and big ones. The fact is that for most lenses, the position of the “infinity” icon on the focus ring does not correspond to real infinity. This is very easy to verify: on a sunny day, go outside, find the most distant object or horizon, focus and look at the focus ring. You will be surprised that the infinity icon does not exactly match the mark. Remember this position, but rather stick a strip of plaster on the lens, on which make a mark with a marker. In the dark, you don't have to take thirty-five thousand frames, frantically turning the focus ring from side to side, trying to catch the sharpness and missing the falling meteors. And do not hope that in complete darkness the camera will be able to focus on the machine. Only pens!

You will also need a tripod and a remote. remote control(well, or at least a delay in the descent). But I hope you figured it out anyway. However, you can shoot stars without a remote control and not use the shutter delay: you will need a very rigid tripod, firm hands, and when shooting a black sky, small vibrations of the camera during the first second do not affect anything at all.

Well, we have studied the technical part of the issue, now let's get down to practice.

Where to shoot stars and the Milky Way?

First of all, when you are going to photograph the stars, remember: there is nothing to catch in the city. The city creates a lot of light, which highlights the moisture and dust suspended in the atmosphere. In itself, this phenomenon does not prevent us from seeing the brightest stars, but it is impossible to see the Milky Way from the city (unless there was an energy catastrophe with a total shutdown of everything and everyone). Therefore, first of all, take care of the shooting location. From settlements you need to go as far as possible, further, and further. Even from Bermamyt you can clearly see the light pollution from CMS cities:

As you can see, the lower part of the sky above the horizon turned out to be illuminated by the lights of cities (and in the cities there was a haze in general, and the stars were almost invisible, ha ha). Although in Bermamyt such a phenomenon is no longer able to interfere, but only decorates the frame. In the city, with the same shooting parameters, we would get a bright yellow sky without a single star.

When is the best time to photograph the starry sky?

When on starry sky no moon!

Yes, the moon can really spoil your nightlife, especially full moon at Zenith. Therefore, when planning to go on a star hunt, check out the lunar calendar. For example, during a trip to Bermamyt, the month was very young and hung low above the horizon, and then completely disappeared, leaving only an interesting orange stripe on the horizon and a beautiful reflection on the slopes of Elbrus. And this is good.

View from the top of the plateau after sunset

In addition to the moon, you will have to take care of good weather. How you will do this, no one knows. Someone helps to make a sacrifice to the gods, someone to pray, some luck helps if you stroke a cat, and some eccentrics even use weather forecasts. But the fact remains: we need clear skies!

Where in the sky are you looking for shooting stars?

They say that the most successful part of the sky for shooting falling meteors is 45 degrees from the zenith. This is somewhere in the middle between the horizon and the line going exactly up (forgive my denseness, astronomers). However, interesting results can be achieved if you shoot vertically upwards with a wide-angle lens. And if you are shooting the Perseids, then it would be logical to turn the lens towards the constellation Perseus, here is an example:

The above shot was taken on Nikon d7000, ISO6400, shutter speed 15 seconds. BUT! Make no mistake, not all meteors hit the frame at once. More on this below. That's exactly where you should not look for falling meteors - on the horizon. Firstly, the optical properties of the atmosphere will not allow you to see almost anything, and secondly, the horizon is usually bright.

How to find the constellation Perseus? Here's a picture from the internet:

How to find the constellation Perseus

How to capture a meteor in a frame?

Point the camera at one point, make it continuously shoot, and wait, and wait, and wait. Sooner or later, meteors will start to fall into your lens, and you will have to choose the very 30 pieces with tracks of falling space debris from thousands of frames, and bring them together. And it's not a joke! In the example above, the author took about 1200 frames, selected 38 of them with meteors, and then combined the pictures together. This is possible if you are shooting in the direction of the North Star. Then, when the frames are rotated around an imaginary center - the North Star - they will be exactly aligned with each other. We cut something superfluous, and such a rosette of a meteor shower will remain.

In any case, patience, work and a dead shutter will grind everything!))

Successful shots!

Text and photo Pavel Bogdanov

Photographing the night sky may seem like an impossible task and a real challenge for beginners, but I assure you, everything is much easier than you might think. Modern camera settings include incredible ISO settings, allowing photographers to dramatically increase their sensors' sensitivity to light, and capture the light of the stars like never before.

In this vein, I want to talk about the equipment you will need; how to install the camera correctly; I will also talk a little about composition and lighting. If you're ready to level up your shooting for the stars, let's get started!

What equipment will you need

At the most basic level, it will be enough for you: cameras (DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, soap dishes) capable of photographing in manual mode, a wide-angle lens, and a tripod.

However, most amateur-grade cameras are unable to capture high-quality long exposures and do not have good dynamic range. In order to get amazing photos of the Milky Way, try investing in vehicles by class, which are described below:

Camera selection

The best cameras on the market for photographing the night sky are cameras with full frame sensors. This is because they are able to work at high ISO and at the same time get a result acceptable in terms of noise, which is impossible to achieve when shooting from some primitive device. The higher your ISO, the brighter the night sky will look, and you just need a camera that shoots cleanly without any noise whatsoever.

Good cameras would be:

Nikon: D810A, D750;

These recommendations are top brands and they don't come cheap, but they aren't necessary to get great photos. For example, the photo below was taken with the Sony DSC-RX100, which can be purchased for less than $500. To choose a camera, you need to decide what budget you are targeting, and build on that.

Lens selection

As well as in landscape photography, you'll want to have a wide-angle lens capable of capturing as much of the sky as possible. The faster the lens, that is, the smaller its f / aperture (f / 2.8 or less is excellent), the more light you can let in in a certain period of time to get good. Personally, I prefer Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 (for cameras with APS-C sensors); for its cost, its sharpness satisfies me.

Selecting camera settings

You will start to notice that the choice of settings for long exposures at night usually stays the same. This is because the first rule of shooting the night sky is to find a dark place that cancels out the dirty colors and allows the camera to draw the maximum amount of light from the sky; for this, the characteristics of our camera are simply increased to the maximum in order to get the best image. Rule #1: shoot in manual mode!

Aperture selection

Becomes much less visible at night, and in order to take in as much light as possible, make sure your aperture is wide open.

Excerpt

This feature is very important because most lenses begin to pick up star trails after 25 seconds of exposure. I used to shoot with a shutter speed of 30 seconds, but the movement of the stars was noticeable, so the faster the shutter speed, the clearer the stars will look.

ISO

The choice of ISO value depends on what kind of camera you have, or what kind of camera you want to buy. For example, Sony a7S shoots with clean exposure, up to 12000 ISO, while my Canon 6D can shoot up to 6400 ISO with minimal noise, which can then be leveled out in Lightroom.

Focus

One of the biggest challenges people face is focusing images when shooting at night. Many lenses have an "infinity focus" (manual focus), which is a point at an infinite distance at which the lens will focus. This is ideal for night photography as it is very difficult to see what you are focusing on in the dark.

Composition and light painting

Once you get the hang of the exposure process, the fun part is creating dynamic compositions and using light painting techniques to bring objects in the foreground to life.

Like landscape photography, you want the audience to feel separate from the picture. When shooting stars, it would be ideal to capture the scenery around you, then the night sky looks even more incredible.

To do this, find a good place so that you can focus on the object in the foreground. Further, using a flashlight or even a smartphone screen, you can “draw” the object that you planned to light in your picture. This only takes a few seconds, as the reflected light is exposed very quickly in the case of night photography.

Tip: If you're using , position it in complete darkness, or take a short exposure to get it clearly. You can always stack 2 exposures one on top of the other and thus mix different ranges of light.

What to do after taking photos

Of course, handle them! Photographs of the night sky change drastically even with small fluctuations in white balance or contrast.

Almost every photo of the night sky I edit twice (once for the sky, once for the foreground) and then blend them. (Some photographers use the remote control to make the exposure much longer than the camera will allow, and use that for the foreground to add shadows.)

In the end, enjoy and develop a style that is unique to your preferences. Returning home with photos of stars, you experience incredible sensations!