A sturdy tripod that can hold the camera-lens combination and withstand windy conditions.Do not hesitate to experiment with longer lenses like the 50mm, 85mm or the 135mm as they can tell a different story.If you have a fisheye lens, go for it as they can include a lot of the sky and foreground in the frame and this can lead to impressive images. Shoot at the widest aperture possible for a given focal length). A wide angle lens ( 14mm to 24mm, the wider the better) with a wide aperture of at least f2.8 for better images ( But kit lenses are good for a start till you upgrade.An intervalometer if you camera does not have an inbuilt one.Please note that cameras with better low light performance and high iso performance are preferred for night sky photography. So, you will need a camera that can shoot manual mode and if it has an inbuilt intervalometer, you can make use of it to take photos continuously.Any camera with a manual mode, bulb mode and lens combination can be used for star trails photography.Image by Walid Ahmad on Pexels Gear Required To Capture Dazzling Star Trails The very best locations for a clear sky would be high up and away from any congested cities, and take on a night with very low humidity. Keep an eye on the weather and make sure that you go out to shoot on a day when the skies are clear. Obviously, you don't want to photograph star trails under a cloudy sky, but other atmospheric filters can interfere with your night photography – air pollution and humidity being the top annoyances. However, if you are looking for little ambient light to illuminate the landscape, a quarter moon is fine – but make sure it is out of the frame that you are composing. You will also need to make sure the moon isn't shining brightly. These give information for both the sun and the moon.Įxperimenting with atmospheric light can be a creative way to make a unique star trail image – just be aware that the lighter your sky is, the less contrast your star trails will have. Note: If you are unsure of the astronomical times, use apps like PhotoPills, Magic Hour, Golden Hour, Solar Watch to find out the times. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though – in fact, it may add to the ambiance of your photo, such as a star trail image that begins during the blue hours ( shoot after the astronomical twilight ends). Whether from a nearby city or the street lamp at the end of your driveway, light pollution can greatly affect long exposures. So to achieve this you will need to first look for a location that is free from light pollution and a long way from the city lights. the stars) by using extra long exposures. When thinking about how to photograph star trails, your goal is to allow your camera to pick up light it wouldn’t normally (i.e. Image by Andrew Stawarz on Flickr First Up – Understand The Location You Need For Star Trail Photography And Keep An Eye On The Weather The poles on the celestial sphere are called the celestial poles and the equator is called the celestial equator. ![]() ![]() Note: A celestial sphere is a dome that you see when you look up in the sky and this is what astronomers use to project stars, planets, and other objects in the sky. ![]() If you are looking for circular star trails, you will need to locate the North and South Celestial poles ( depending on where you live), which is the pole along which the earth rotates. For Circular Star Trails Locate The Polaris or Southern Cross:Īs you may have noticed, several of the example images used here have a circular pattern. Here are some basic things that you need to learn before photographing star trails. Sometimes you may be looking to create circumpolar star trails, which means you will need to point your camera in a specific direction depending on where you live. Just pointing the camera towards any location or point in the night sky will not help you get the star trails that you desire. Understanding The Basics For Photographing Star Trails:īefore you photograph star trails, you need to get the basics right. Indeed, if you do have the patience, (particularly if you are going to take a 2-hour long single exposure) you can turn an otherwise mundane shot into an otherworldly image. Interestingly, the Milky Way Galaxy is home to billions of stars out of which we are able to see only a fraction in the night sky from where we live ( around 2,500 to 5,000 stars at any given time). Attention: Grab your free cheat sheet for Milky Way photography! Click Here
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