Night Sky Guide

ESSENTIAL REFERENCE GUIDE TO NIGHT SKY PHOTOGRAPHY GRAHAM CLARK 2018

INTRODUCTION V4

Night Sky photography transports you to another dimension. But from an exposure settings standpoint it’s very simple. In each chapter you’ll learn the essentials for capturing beautiful Night Sky images. CHAPTER 1: SETTINGS In Chapter 1 you’ll discover the best exposure settings for shooting night sky. I’ll show you which settings you’ll need to capture frozen stars. CHAPTER 2: WHEN TO CAPTURE NIGHT SKY Over 50% of capturing a beautiful Night Sky image comes down to location and timing. In Chapter 2 you’ll discover when and where to shoot. CHAPTER 3: EQUIPMENT In Chapter 3 you’ll discover the essential equipment necessary for getting the best results. I’ll go over the essential setup, as well as considerations for the optimal setup. I’ll also discuss camera bodies, lenses, and if the Pro’s outweigh the Con’s for Super Wide Angle lenses. CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PROFESSIONAL NIGHT SKY PHOTOGRAPHERS In Chapter 4 you’ll hear directly from professional Night Sky photographers who work day in and day out shooting. They share with you their perspective on Night Sky and what equipment they use. At the end of this guide you’ll be able to easily capture well exposed Night Sky images, and create wonderful other- dimensional images yourself. 2























ULTRA WIDE 16-24MM If you shoot a natively at 16mm it’s much sharper and you don’t have to apply software lens corrections when Ultra Wide Angle (UWA) lenses (between 16 and 24mm) compared to shooting at 14mm with profile corrections are the best for getting a “big sky” composition. The enabled. wider the focal length the more stars you’ll see in your final image. If you don’t mind extreme distortion then Super Wide lenses are great! But if you would like to remove extreme SUPER WIDE 11-14MM distortion from your images (flat horizons) it’s better to shoot at a native 16mm or 17mm focal length. I love my Nikon 14-24, Canon 11-24, Sigma 12-24 and Tamron 15-30. They’re all incredible lenses, except I prefer to shoot at the equivalent focal length without where extreme distortion (flat horizons) is concerned. lens profile corrections for a number of other reasons as well. However there is an easy solution: lens profile correc- tions in post-processing produce distortion free images, rendering your horizons realistic and flat. But consider this: after profile corrections 14mm is effec- tively 16mm. So why not just shoot 16mm natively and not introduce software lens corrections? 14



























MARK SMITH

EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST Before I go out I make sure I pack my bag with everything I will need for the night and double check it. Always make sure you have extra batteries, a spare memory card and a power bank in the bag at all times. From a young age I can remember sitting outside my par- • Camera (2 x Canon 6D) ents’ house at night counting shooting stars. Being outside • Lenses (Samyang 14mm f2.8 and Samyang 24mm on a clear night is something truly special and think we all f1.4 are my go to lenses for astrophotography) should try to appreciate more often. • Tripod (Slik 700DX and Manfrotto 190XB with Ball Heads) Planning and location scouting is a big part of astrophotogra- • Lowepro Pro Runner BP 450 AW II Camera back- phy. I am always on the lookout for new places to shoot and pack when you find somewhere new it is very exciting. You only • 2 x Dew straps. These are great to avoid getting con- get a few days in a year to capture shots in each area and densation on your lens, as once dew starts to form you this is due to the milky way moving each month, moon cycles are going to find it hard to stop it. and the weather. So when you get the right conditions and • Plenty of warm clothes. When you are out being cold your planning comes off you get a huge sense of achieve- is the last thing you want to be worrying about. ment. The night sky and astrophotography is the perfect play- • Camera related mobile apps - PhotoPills is a must ground. have app. I use it all the time for planning shots and really useful when you are at your location. SkyView is great for identifying planets and stars. Click here to see more images by Mark Smith. 29