How to photograph the starry sky – my experience

In the last year, from time to time you could see in my articles photos of stars. Some asked me questions, they say, what aperture, what the shutter speed and so on. Therefore, I have already published myself photos in a separate post Photos of the starry sky with their parameters, and here I want to lay out a detailed description of how to photograph starry sky I have long wanted to write a similar article, but the experience was very little. After reading this manual, you can at least make the same photos as mine.

Immediately I warn not a pro in this case, and something drastically you will not discover for yourself, especially if you yourself are similar shootings. However, it will be helpful for beginners to learn Some nuances that I did not know in my time.

The content of the article

• 1 All parts of my FAQ for beginner photographers
• 2 What you need to shoot a starry sky
• 3 My set for shooting the starry sky
• 4 My typical mistakes
• 5 Options for how to shoot a starry sky
• 6 How to photograph the starry sky – static stars
  • 6.1 Exposure
  • 6.2 aperture
  • 6.3 Manual Focus
  • 6.4 Focal length
• 7 How to photograph the starry sky – the rotation of the sky, tracks
  • 7.1 Exposure
  • 7.2 aperture
  • 7.3 Focal length
  • 7.4 Determination of the center of rotation of stars
• 8 How to photograph the starry sky – the tracks in the program
• 9 How to shoot timelapse
• 10 Some nuances when shooting a starry sky

All parts of my FAQ for beginner photographers

I wrote a series of articles related to photography and were designed for the same lovers as me. Here is a list of them, you can read.

1. Which camera to choose a novice photographer 2. What what lens is needed and what to choose 3. Basic settings digital camera 4. How to photograph in travels 5. How process photos in Lightroom and how to store them 6. Example photography bags and photo backpack for a traveler 7. How to photograph starry sky 0. What I photograph in travels

What you need to shoot the starry sky

How to photograph the starry sky | ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8,30sec

• First of all, a tripod. Exposure long and without a tripod anywhere. It is important that it withstands the weight of the camera along with the lens and I didn’t stagger, but it wasn’t too heavy, otherwise it’s not a trip want to take it, well, if you’re not on a car of course.
• A camera with manual settings and preferably shooting in Raw, for this format gives great opportunities for photo processing. Same It would be nice if the ISO could be set to 800-1600 without much damage to the picture.
• Wide aperture lens for shooting static stars and a large coverage area of the starry sky.
• The panel for exhibiting long exposures, in common – cable.
• Spare battery, as it consumes enough quickly.

My set for shooting the starry sky

In general, I already wrote about my wife and I with a set of photographic equipment in the article Than we take pictures. But there was a whole list, namely snapshots night sky at the moment I do:

• Canon 7d camera
• Wide-angle and high-aperture lens Tokina 11-16 F2.8
• Programmable Remote
• Tripod Slik Sprint Pro II 3W CG

Photograph the starry sky, I think, it is possible and soap box, if it allows you to do some things, such as: set shutter speed in 30 seconds or connect a remote control to it, fasten a tripod, set higher ISO without brutal noise, open wide aperture. Otherwise opportunities you will be very limited, and it is unlikely that work out.

My typical mistakes

I recently started trying to shoot a starry sky. But first my photos did not work at all, since I was sure that it will be enough just a long exposure in 30 seconds. Usually, All DSLRs allow you to shoot with a shutter speed of 30 without a remote control. seconds

So, for such shutter speeds you can not pinch the aperture, although I want to make everything sharp. Light from the stars in this case is not at all enough so that they can normally appear in the sky. On the contrary open it to the maximum! In my lens this is F2.8, Some buy lenses even more high-aperture. But not only the diaphragm needs to be opened, preferably another ISO 800-1600.

Options for how to shoot a starry sky

1. Shooting static stars. Exposure 10-40 seconds. They look like points, that is, as we see them with an ordinary eye.

2. Shooting the rotation of the starry sky (stars in the form of stripes) or otherwise, tracks. Exposure length from several minutes to several hours Absolutely unreal photos, but they look funny.

3. Shooting tracks, but in a different way. Done great number of photographs of the same piece of sky by technology shooting static stars with an interval of 1 sec, and then glued together in special program in one photo. Visually, it looks like option 2, but more colorful and with less noise. When shooting tracks for option 3, we get and glued the final photo, and opportunity to rivet video timelapse.

4. Timelapse. More static photos are being taken. stars, and then comes down to the video. Very beautiful videos are made, as the stars move across the sky.

How to photograph the starry sky – static stars

Static stars. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec

Exposure

Well, let’s move on to the photos and direct shooting. how you already understand, because the stars are moving, they remain in the form fixed points only up to a certain shutter speed. And if she will make more difference then they turn into stripes. And in order to calculate that critical shutter value exists rule “600”.

You need to divide the 600 into the focal length of your lens and we get the maximum shutter speed at which the stars will still points. This formula is valid for full-frame cameras, Crop factor 1:

15 mm – 40 seconds 24 mm – 25 seconds 35 mm – 17 seconds 50 mm – 12 seconds 85 mm – 7 s 135 mm – 4 s 200 mm – 3 s 300 mm – 2 s 600 mm – 1 sec

Most often, everything including myself, does not use full-frame by cameras. So, we need an amendment – we also divide 600 by your Crop factor. For Canon cameras, this is 1.6:

10 mm – 38 seconds 11 mm – 34 seconds 12 mm – 32 seconds 15 mm – 25 seconds 16 mm – 24 seconds 17 mm -22 seconds 24 mm – 15 seconds 35 mm – 10 seconds 50 mm – 8 sec

Obviously, the full-frame sensor and wide-angle lenses have a greater margin for exposure. That is, removing the lens 50 mm on the crooked matrix, you have only 8 seconds, and this is very very few stars will not be visible. Moreover, such a lens can not enough viewing angle.

According to my observations, the exposure can still be increased times one and a half. Yes, when zooming on the computer, the stars will already be dashes, but in small photographs (for blog, for printout 10×15) this may not be particularly visible.

Exposure is longer than 34 seconds. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 59sec

Diaphragm

The diaphragm is best opened as wide as possible. If the lens allows you to open at 1.6-1.8, it will be possible and the exposure is not increase above critical and ISO not to set above 800. Falls sharpness, but what to do.

Manual focus

In the night, you can forget about the automatic focus, so will have to use only manual focus. Usually advised to bet in extreme position at infinity, because the stars are shooting. But I faced with the fact that my lenses almost never do twist the focus to infinity in the automaton mode. Checked focusing on the moon, on distant lanterns (these are, by the way, options for autofocus in the night). It remained quite a bit to the extreme provisions, I used it in the future.

Focal length

Once again, the greater the focal length, the shorter there must be an exposure, the stars are getting closer, which means that Do not allow tracks, you need to reduce the time of shooting. Besides you may not be enough viewing angle, will not you just one sky shoot without anything. And the density of stars decreases with approximation.

How to photograph the starry sky – the rotation of the sky, tracks

Rotation of the sky. ISO400, 11mm, f5, 1793sec

I shot the tracks quite a bit for the second option (without the use of additional programs).

Exposure

From 10 minutes to several hours. The longer it is, the longer lines drawn by stars. Requires a remote to install such values and a good tripod so that it does not sway by the wind for so long time. Consider only that with such Exposure is very difficult to calculate the correct exposure.

Diaphragm

It’s hard to write specific values, since I don’t know how You can calculate the exposure, most likely only by experience. AND there is always the risk that after half an hour of waiting, you will get illuminated frame. I put on the eye, for example, so – an 11 mm lens, Shutter speed 30 minutes, aperture 7.1, ISO 400.

Focal length

In this case, it cannot be said that it is better when minimal, because precious seconds of exposure are not so important, there is enough light anyway, the score goes not for seconds, but for dozens minutes Therefore, if the composition of the frame is good at normal, rather than a wide-angle lens (grabs the angle), it’s even better since waiting until the frame is taken will have much less. But you need to understand that the stars will be closer and their tracks will become less round. A lens larger than 50 mm is unlikely to be needed.

Determination of the center of rotation of stars

As the stars in the sky rotate, their tracks represent circles that naturally have a center. And if you you build a frame composition in a certain way, where this very center, it will be useful to know. Therefore, in the northern hemisphere we direct the lens to the Polar Star, and in the south to the Sigma Octant. Revolving, in half an hour the star forms an arc of 7.5 degrees, and this the arc is longer than a star farther from the Polaris or Sigma Octants

In the center of rotation is the Polar Star. ISO400, 11mm, f7.1,1793sec

Now about how to search for the stars we need. The easiest to find Polaris by means of the Big Dipper. Find the constellation on horizon, mentally we connect two stars of the bucket, forming one of its walls, opposite the bucket handle, and we get a line. Mentally we postpone 5 distances along this line from the bucket (from its top and forth) and we rest on the Polar Star.

Sigma Octant in the southern hemisphere seems to me to find almost unreal. Simply follow the constellation of the Southern Cross. We find it first in the sky, and then the long crossbar extend down by 4.5 the distance of this very crossbar. About in this place will be Sigma Octant.

How to photograph the starry sky – the tracks in the program

All settings are set in the same way as in the first paragraph. when shooting static stars. I will not repeat. But actually longer exposures can be used when visible slightly offset stars. All the same, in the program, all this will be stick together. But in this case, as separate photos they will not very beautiful, and the timelapse then you can not do.

Software for gluing tracks

Surely there are different programs, but I know only one – Startrails Version 1.1, it is very simple and not understand it complicated. Download files and make tracks. If they turned out too long, then you can remove some of the photos from processing.

How to shoot timelapse

Timelapse with the stars I did only once, as this quite a long lesson. And then, having made 99 frames, I left tents and realized that the sky is overcast, and nothing shines anymore, offensively. Up to this point I only shot timelapse in the afternoon, like the sun sits down or people move, and it was a video on the soap dish (she does it well with me), speeding up later in Premier. And for shooting the sky you need a camera, a video camera at night can not shoot with such a long exposure.

99 frames were used in the video (ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 27 sec) with an interval of 1 second. Total shooting time 46 minutes. That was enough for 4-7 seconds of video. If you make it slower, then it will already be noticeable as the image is interrupted.

Here is a small calculation of how many photos you need to have. 1-minute video with the rotation of the starry sky. Video contains in 1 second there are 25 frames, and if it is a minute, then it will already be 25 * 60 = 1500 frames. We take every photo, let’s say, with a shutter speed of 30 seconds and an interval between frames of 1 second, which means for shooting 1500 shots we have to spend 31 * 1500 = 46500 seconds, or 775 minutes, or ~ 13 hours.

Some nuances when shooting a starry sky

1. If the moon shines brightly in the sky, then the stars will be faded on blue sky background Therefore, you need to shoot before the moon rise, or time and in the place where the moon is not visible, as well as in the new moon. For example, in August in the Crimea for 5 days of a hike, I never I saw her, and the sky was black and black. But in fact, the moon landscapes can be quite beautiful, the night light is very good light all around.

Stars can be seen very badly. ISO800, 16mm, f7.1, 30sec

2. The lights of the big city just as well illuminate the sky, and inside the city to shoot the starry sky is generally not realistic, you need depart for tens of kilometers. And only if the city is visible somewhere in the distance, you might get an interesting highlight.

The sky illuminated by the village. ISO400, 84mm, f8, 298sec

– It is necessary to take into account that at night there is a chance of fogging front lens. Therefore, if it is wet, then super long exposure and Shooting tracks is not always possible.

3. At long exposures of ten minutes, the matrix heats up. and terrible noises appear in the photo. At the expense of all the DSLRs I will not say but in my Canon 7d it is very noticeable – a lot of multi-colored dots on the picture. But it saves the noise reduction function during long excerpts, they are somehow subtracted from the image. there is only such a moment, the noise level works as long as it lasted Exposure, which means the duration of shooting a single frame increases twice, for example, instead of 30 minutes, a whole hour. Option shooting tracks by gluing photos in a specialized software is deprived of this deficiency, the matrix does not have time to heat up.

Color noise without built-in noise level appears. ISO400, 11mm,f8, 5381 sec

4. Just starry sky is enough to take off once. Further want to make more interesting photos, but for them you need objects in the foreground. Therefore, there is the problem of choosing a place for shooting, the usual field or forest look so-so, you need experiment and incorporate fantasy. Personally, I most I like the mountains in this regard, but since I don’t go there often, I don’t have many frames of the starry sky.

Hike in the Crimea. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec

Beautiful Sword, Tula region. ISO1600, 11mm, f2.8, 30sec

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