041 - How to Capture the Night’s Sky
With the nights getting longer here in North America, I thought now would be a great time to talk about how to do astrophotography. That excellent photography style where you capture the night's sky and light coming from millions and billions of kilometres away.
Have you ever wondered how the pros create images of the night sky that look out of this world? How they capture images of stars with no trails or and little noise? Then today's episode is for you! The tips here should help you shoot the milky way, the northern lights, a full moon or galaxies of stars. And all it takes is a little patience, the right gear, and some time.
Tip #1 Planning
As always, it all starts with planning. But in astrophotography, this can be so much more important. The milky way is only visible at certain times of the year, the moon runs on cycles, and you won't be able to see landscapes to compose shots. So you will need to plan ahead to get the astrophotos that you want.
Planning around moon cycles is particularly important. A full moon can heavily impact your ability to capture stars, so you will want to head out when the moon is close to new. I've done plenty of backpacking trips where we had full moons, and it made it nearly impossible to capture all the stars in the sky. This is particularly important if you want crisp shots of the milky way, as the moon can eliminate the light coming from many of the smaller stars in the sky, thus making your image less full.
Planning will also impact how you compose your scene. If you plan on including any elements on the ground (like plants or valleys), you will want to scout them beforehand to understand what they look like. At night, especially during a new moon - you won't be able to clearly see the details in the landscape to plan your photo.
Photopills is a top-rated photo-planning app that will tell you things like the moon cycles and when and where the milky way will be visible.
Tip #2 Dark Skies
While you can certainly capture amazing night photos from within city limits, your best bet is going to be to get away from artificial light. The further away, the better. This is because artificial lights cause light pollution, limiting our ability to see and capture the stars. Light pollution is why we can't see as many stars in the city as we can from the backcountry. If you plan a trip specifically for night photos, check out the Dark Sky Preserves worldwide. These are designated areas that are protected so people can view and photograph the night's sky. Having a dark sky will dramatically improve how many stars you can capture.
Tip #3 Tripod
This is a must. Night photography is all about long exposures and/or multiple exposures from the exact same spot, and the only way to accomplish this is to use a sturdy tripod. This is the one piece of photography gear that will make or break a night shot. A flimsy, wobbly tripod will make your images unusable, so get one that can hold your camera's weight (and then some) and that doesn't fall over with a slight gust of wind.
To get the best night photos, you are going to end up using exposures of a few seconds or more, meaning you will need your camera to stay still for that entire time (to understand more about shutter speed and long exposures, check out our episode on the exposure triangle). But, even if you use the best settings, a flimsy tripod can ruin your image. So, invest heavily in a good tripod if you love astrophotography.
Tip #4 Lenses
Lenses are what make the most significant difference in astrophotography. You will want a lens with a fast aperture (around f/2.8 or lower is the best) to allow in the most light. When you are just getting started with astrophotography, you will also want to stick to wide-angle lenses (around 16 to 24mm on full-frame cameras). This will lessen the stars' movement, and you will be able to use longer exposure times without creating star trails (those streaks of light that follow stars). Generally speaking, the longer the focal length, the shorter your exposure needs to be to stop light trails from occurring.
Staying with lenses, ensure to stop-up your lens by about a stop (on an f/2.8 lens, shoot around f/3.5-f/4). This will give you sharper stars and reduce the aberrations and comas that sometimes occur around pin-prick stars.
Tip #5 The 500 Rule
You can use this rule as a general guide to avoiding star trails. Take the focal length of your lens and divide 500 by it. The outcome will give you approximately how long your shutter can be open before star trails appear. So if you are using a 50mm lens, 500/50 = 10, which means you can have a 10-second exposure. Or if you are using 16mm, 500/16 = 31, meaning you can have a 31-second exposure. Of course, this is just a starting point, and you may need to adjust by a second or two.
Tip #6 Get a Headlamp with a Red Light
First off, anyone who travels or adventures should own a headlamp. They should be a staple in your bag when you head out. No more carrying around a flashlight and only having one hand to use or needing to hold it in your teeth. Get a headlamp. And while you are at it. Get one that has a red bulb function. Red light doesn't affect your night vision, meaning you can turn on your headlamp to see settings or grab a piece of gear and still be able to see your surroundings and all the amazing stars. Using a device with white light will cause a reduction in your night vision. The same goes for using LCD screens. Try to avoid using your phone, and don't spend too long looking at your camera screen as these will also affect your night vision.
Tip #7 Foreground Objects
Astrophotography in itself is pretty impressive, but to take it to the next level, try to incorporate a foreground element into your image. This can be a mountain, trees, building, your tent, anything really that will add interesting detail. Having a foreground element gives people a sense of scale in your image and, having the right placement of the object and the night sky gives you an added compositional element.
Tip #8 Rest up
Try to get some rest before heading out for a night of shooting. Too often, I've gone to do night photography at 1 or 2 am, but I haven't gotten any rest for the entire day. Then when shooting rolls around, I'm tired and cranky and just don't want to head out. So I either go and create terrible images, or I curl up in bed and sleep. What I suggest is catching a quick nap a few hours before you need to head out. This way, you will be energized and ready to go. I also suggest packing your bag fully beforehand and laying out all your clothing to encourage you to go. This way, all you need to do is wake up, grab your kit and head out the door.
Tip #9 Safety
This applies at all times, but even more so at night. Be aware of your surroundings. When it's very dark, it is easy to step off an edge or trip on a rock and be seriously injured. It's also easier for wildlife to come near and for you to be startled by each other's presence. I remember a moment when I was doing some night photography on the Isle of Skye in Scotland when I started hearing all these strange noises coming from the water right beside me. Like less than two feet away. There was a lot of slapping of the water and some heavy breathing, and it made me jump about a foot in the air. I quickly turned on my headlamp and looked towards the sounds, and a seal was coming up out of the water right beside me. It also seemed to jump when my lit hit it, and it froze for a moment before swinging down the beach and sliding right past my camera and out of sight. This exchange startled me so much; I had no idea there was a seal in the water right beside where I had set up. This isn't to say don't go out, just be prepared and aware of what's around you.
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