• Astrophotography requires you to become an amateur astronomer and meteorologist to properly plan a successful shoot!Start with every tool at your disposal, including phone Apps! • Find a nice, dark location away from light pollution. • Go to darksitefinder.com and use the interactive map to help you find an ideal location in your area. Then scout that location thoroughly to make sure you'll have access on the night of your shoot. • Use Photopills to check your desired location for time of sunset, time of moonrise / set, as well as the positioning of the Galactic Core of the Milky Way. *The best time to view the Milky Way is during the summer months in the northern hemisphere, between late May and Late September. • Use Accuweather or other reliable weather App to check the weather forecast. Study how the conditions may change throughout the day and night into your shoot. • Use Clear Outside to check for fog. *Hazy evenings or high humidity can impact star visibility, especially the fine details of the Milky Way. • Also consider other people and activity when planning your location. RV parks, campsites and areas near municipal facilities may produce unwanted light pollution. Try to face away from any light source.
CHECKLIST FOR CAMERA & E UIPMENT: Charge your stinking batteries! Then dont’ forget to pack them. (+your charger/ car adapter too) Clean & pack your camera, lenses & filters, then check your sensor for dust. If it’s dirty, clean it! (TIP: Take a shot of the sky at f22 or highest aperture you have, then review the shot on a big screen to help find dust.) Pack your Widest angle lens with the lowest aperture. Pack clean lens cloths, “rocket”/ bulb air puffer, sensor cleaning tools, lens brush, etc. Clear & pack ample memory cards! Pack your laptop if needed & any card readers/ external hard drives/ cables/ chargers associated. Pack your tripod & head, plus any camera support needed. I.E. Tripod shoe, gimbal head, adapters, straps, etc. Pack a flashlight or head lamp with red glow night light, plus any additional equipment needed on location. (Tip: For light painting, take an “old school” tungsten bulb flashlight. The CRI is not too great on many LED flashlights. It’s easier to correct an improper white balance on a good CRI light source than correct white balance plus color shift in post.) Remember to pack your remote trigger device if you plan to use one.
CHECKLIST FOR YOURSELF: Pack clothing layers appropriate for your location & the anticipated conditions. Remember to pack a jacket, hat and gloves if the night time low temperature will drop significantly. Pack the food & snacks you need to sustain you on the trail. Don’t forget your source of sodium & electrolytes. Also remember any daily supplements or medication you will need. Pack plenty of water, plus extra. Or for longer treks, pack your water purifier. Pack your bug spray! Remember the proper footwear! Remember your snake-proof boots if you’re trudging through brush in warmer climates, or water shoes if you plan to stand in rocky shallow water. (Keeping comfortable is key as you’ll be on your feet for an extended period of time.) Charge your phone! Pack your charger too. Make sure you leave with a fresh charge. Consider wearing clothing with pockets, so you can keep your lens cloths, bulb, etc on your person, rather than putting it on the ground, as items can be difficult to keep track of in the pitch dark. Remember your reading glasses! They will come in handy if you need assistance seeing the fine detail on your camera back during focusing.
• Even though you’re doing night photography, make sure you arrive at your desired location in broad daylight. Use Photopills’ Augmented Reality feature to see in realtime where the Milky Way is and where it will be in your composition once the sun sets. • When you arrive on location, walk around & explore it thoroughly. Take preview shots with your phone to get an idea for compositions. Try to find a good anchor point or interesting foreground element for your composition. • Once you find your composition, lock down your tripod and clear the area around it from limbs and debris that can become a tripping hazard in the dark. Familiarize yourself with the area, dangerous obstacles, rocks, cacti, or uneven ground that you’ll be walking over later. • If you plan to do light painting, determine your position and clear your path of obstacles. *Tip: If there are local sources of light, such as night lights on power poles, municipal lighting, campsites, or other, try to position yourself so that a tree, rocks or shrubs block that light from your camera position.
• Allow your camera to acclimate to the outside conditions/ humidity of your location to reduce condensation. • Choose the right file format and size for Astrophotography. RAW is best! Raw+Jpeg is good but takes up more space. • TURN OFF Vibration Reduction on your lens, camera or both (If applicable).
• TURN ON MANUAL FOCUS! Consider setting your focus to infinity or locating your hyperfocal distance before it gets dark, so you can check the horizon/ subject to confirm focus before dark. • To locate your Hyperfocal distance for your lens, pull up the chart and plug in the information for your camera/ lens/ Aperture in Photopills. • Use the Widest lens and the Lowest Aperture you have available to you. (As a general rule) If you have a more advanced camera body, you may not want to shoot on the lowest aperture, as you may have ample performance at higher ISOs. • Set your White Balance to Daylight, or try the Kelvin setting and experiment with 4500K to 5000K to account for light pollution. • TURN ON Shutter Release Timer to 2s or more, so you can make sure you’re not touching the tripod when the shutter is open. • TURN DOWN your camera screen/ monitor brightness. Otherwise you’ll think your shots are brighter than they actually are because of the low ambient light during reviewing. • Determine the length of your exposure using one of the following methods:
500 RULE:
A great formula to memorize in a pinch.
Use the formula: 500 ÷ (your focal length) = shutter speed in seconds This is less effective with newer cameras with higher resolution and pixel count. Tip: Subtract a few seconds from the result for better results and less apparent "Star Trails"
NFP RULE:
More precise, for minimizing star trails
Use the formula: (35 x aperture + 30 x pixel pitch) ÷ focal length = shutter speed in seconds. To find the pixel pitch of your camera, simply type in the name of your camera body and “pixel pitch” into Google and look for the camera specifications. You should find your camera’s data and you’re looking for a small number like “4.35 microns” Also remember your math teacher’s rules: Multiply before adding. Example for Nikon Z7 and 14-30 f4.0 set @ 14mm focal length: (35 x 4 +30 x 4.35) ÷ 14 = 19.32 seconds. Set your shutter speed as close as possible to the target shutter speed, or use a remote trigger to dial in a specific shutter speed.
focus. Set your lens to the desired focal length. Ideally the widest. With your lens/ camera set to MANUAL FOCUS, find a bright star, or planet such as Jupiter or Venus that's visible on your display or in your viewfinder. PUNCH IN (not zoom in) on the screen in live view and center the target star in the window where you can see it clearly. Slowly rotate the focusing ring toward the infinity setting and carefully bring the star into sharp focus. Fine tune your focus by slowly dialing back and forth with smaller and smaller adjustments until you get the star "dot" as small as possible. Once it's as small as you can get it, you've achieved sharp focus!
SHOOT! •Take several test shots and review for focus, brightness, clarity, noise and overall composition. Adjust your ISO as needed to ensure you have a properly exposed shot.
• Consider Turning ON, both Long exposure Noise Reduction AND High ISO noise reduction if those settings are available. • Rembmer to turn off all light sources including your red light light head lamp while shooting!
REVIEW. • Don't forget to review and analyze your shots! Confirm you nailed sharp focus, the right exposure. Punch in to examine the shot to see if you have an acceptable amount of noise.
Additional Tips: • Remember, the wider your lens, the longer your shutter speed can be without the appearance of star trails. • Check your lens OFTEN for condensation, and bugs! • Watch out for air traffic, as the lights on planes can make streaks or dotted lines in your shot. Consider waiting until planes have left your angle of view. (This can sometimes be minutes!) • Try multiple exposures. Really change up the settings in your camera and try different things to see what settings give you the best result. • If you're light painting, remember to try it many times to perfect your final result. It may take multiple attempts to get your subject lit properly without being too bright or too dark. • Shoot the Milky Way earlier in the night to get the full arch in frame. Otherwise it will be too high overhead to include in your shot.
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