Paparazzi to the Stars

 

Dave's Free Star Photography Tutorial 

Overview: Star photography seems like a daunting task, but trust me it's much easier than you think. When I first picked up a camera and decided to capture some shots of the night sky I could barely see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, a few months and a few hundred shots later that light is shining bright and I’m here to share with you the information and experiences I gained along the way. But wait, there is one problem, from your vantage point there may be a million and one factors keeping you from seeing the mesmerizing beauty of space or the Milky Way. Most of us live in locations where cloud cover, smog and light pollution are the number one enemy of the night sky photographer. That’s where I come in, armed with my tutorials, presets, and simple tricks you will have all the ammunition necessary to defeat the odds and capture the beauty of space and the galaxy that lies beyond. I do have a few small errands for everyone to run prior to departing on our trip, so grab a sturdy tripod, wide angle lens, a camera with manual mode functionality and your imagination, let’s head for the stars. 

I'll start out by answering the most frequently asked question of all, "How do I find the Milky Way in the sky?". Well unfortunately it is a very easy answer,  if you can’t see the Milky Way with your naked eye, it will be very hard to capture any better on camera. That being said let's get started!

What You Need:

-A very dark night. I always check the moon phase prior to shooting. If the moon is out you are not going to capture the Milky Way very well. The less “light pollution” the better. This link should help you to find some dark spots in your part of the world.

Light Pollution Map

-Tripod, the sturdier & taller the better. I have a 72” tripod by Really Right Stuff which is great for shooting stars due to the fact that I can look up at my camera while shooting.

If your interested in all the equipment I use head on over to the What's in My Camera Bag section of the website.

-A Camera with Manual Mode functionality.

Here are a few great apps & computer programs that I like to use prior to going out for a star shoot as well as in the field.

PhotoPills - If you want one amazing app that does it all for photography, THIS IS IT! I have been using it for the past few weeks and fell in love.Click on the link above for full functionality, there is a lot of it, packaged in a really nice & user friendly app.

Star Walk Astronomy Guide for "i" Devices - Recently this is my go to for finding where the Milky Way will rise on the horizon. Using this app and holding it up to the sky you will be able to see, in real time, where all the constellations & other planitary bodies lie within the sky.

The Photographers Ephemeris - I use this program nearly every time I shoot for sunrise and sunset. For star photography it is always good to know when the moons rises and sets and how bright/big it will be on any given night, this program also provides that functionality.  You can also pick it up on your iPhone for 7.99$, which is well worth it, trust me!

Stellarium - This is a free program which allows you to plan were the stars you want to shoot will appear in the sky. The learning curve is a bit steep, but well worth the effort. Plus you learn a lot about our Universe in the process.

The next few items will extremely improve your star shots but are not necessary.

-A timer, especially if you do not have a 35mm sensor. This is key for taking exposures longer than 30 seconds.

-A wide angle lens with a very “fast” aperture. Meaning the number under the “f” is low.  This will help you to pick up as much light as possible. 

-I shoot with my Nikkor14-24mm f/2.8G or Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens for all my star shots. At f/2.8 they are both VERY fast lenses.

The 500 Rule:

Some people call this the 600 rule, but 500 is much more conservative for a sharper image which makes a great baseline to start with & is key to getting clear star or Milky Way shots. To obtain the maximum exposure time you can shoot, without getting visible "trails" behind your stars, take the number 500 and divide it by the focal length you will be shooting at. For those of you that are not shooting with full frame cameras make sure to take this into account. I have provided a chart that gives a few common sensor sizes and their maximum exposure times. This will also help you understand how the rule works. If you exceed the noted maximum exposure time the picture will exhibit "star trails". Keep in mind that this max exposure time is just a baseline ( rule of thumb ), feel free to move up or down from it depending on your camera setup, experimentation is once again key. Feel free to print out this chart and keep it in your camera bag when going out to shoot the night sky.

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