Star photography is a unique photographic technique, which can be enjoyed by any keen amateur photographer. The technique is similar to landscape photography, but the subject is often a meteor, which is an atmospheric object that travels through our atmosphere.
A meteor shower occurs when small pieces of a comet collide with our atmosphere and vaporise into fragments of ice and rock particles. These tiny meteors streak across our sky and are visible for several minutes. A single meteor might burn up entirely, creating a flash of light, or it may disintegrate before reaching the Earth’s surface.
The earth’s rotation around the sun means that the meteors appear from the opposite direction in the sky every day, as the Earth moves through space. Meteors travel at speeds between 50km per second and 60km per second. At these speeds the meteor trails become blurred and difficult to photograph. However, the trails will be clearer and brighter if the camera is held steady.
When the meteors are traveling faster than our atmosphere, they create a glowing trail called a shooting star. Shooting stars also leave a bright trail which can be photographed. If you are lucky, you may find yourself in the right place at the right time and a meteor will streak across the sky. If you are not in the best location to capture the meteor, you can use a high speed shutter speed to freeze the motion of the meteor in your photos. The higher the shutter speed, the greater the chance of capturing a meteor. However, it is important to remember that using a long exposure times can cause camera shake and blur the photograph.
Using a telephoto lens will increase the magnification and help to capture the entire meteor trail, as it can appear very large. A zoom lens will help you to capture the entire trail, but you may need to switch to manual focus, as this will enable you to focus on the trail.
Meteor photography can be enjoyed by any keen amateur photographer and can be a fun activity for family evenings. When the conditions are right, the sky is clear and the stars are bright, you will see shooting stars every day.
We will go over some of the basics of taking great photographs of the night sky. Our goal is to help you capture some of the amazing sights that you will see during your lifetime.
Table of Contents
Plan ahead!
Know what you are doing.
First of all, learn the basics. You need to understand how your camera works, what the shutter speed and aperture are, and what f/stop (or f-number) means. The shutter speed controls how long the camera’s shutter stays open. This tells the camera how long light will fall on the sensor inside the camera before it is closed. The aperture is the size of the lens opening in the lens, and this affects the amount of light that passes through the lens and onto the sensor. It is usually measured as a number that is expressed as a ratio of the focal length of the lens, which is the distance from the camera to the subject. When you look through a telescope, you change the focal length by using a finder scope or eyepiece.
You need to be able to adjust these settings to suit the weather, the time of day, and the lighting conditions. Take some time to practise setting the correct settings on your camera.
Learn about exposure and aperture.
When the camera is shooting a bright object like the moon, it needs a smaller aperture to let more light in than when shooting a dark object like a star or a planet. The camera can’t tell the difference between a star and a planet. A star appears much brighter than a planet. If the aperture is small and the camera is adjusted to allow enough light into the lens, the star will appear too bright and you won’t be able to capture the star as well. Conversely, if the aperture is large and the camera is set to accept less light, then the star will be too dim and you won’t be able to get a good photograph.
The aperture is expressed as a f-stop, or ‘f-number’. It is a ratio of the focal length of the lens to the size of the aperture. A larger number is a wider opening in the lens and lets more light through.
The smaller the f-stop, the faster the shutter speed you can use, so a smaller number will allow more time for the shutter to close before the light that has been captured by the sensor hits the ground. The longer the exposure time, the darker the image will appear.
Aperture affects exposure.
The size of the aperture also affects the depth of field. The depth of field is the area that the camera can focus on and make sharp, in other words, how much of your image is sharp. You can use this to blur the background of a landscape if you want to create a more surreal image. You can also use it to make objects in a photograph stand out.
Try a shallow depth of field to make an image of a subject stand out, or try a deeper depth of field to blur the background.
Shutter speed affects exposure.
Shutter speed refers to how long the shutter stays open. This controls how long the light hits the sensor, which in turn affects how bright an object will appear in the photograph. A longer exposure time will make the object appear brighter. If you have chosen a low f-stop number, the object will appear brighter because the camera will need less time to close the shutter before the light hits the ground.
You can use this to make a star or a planet stand out by using a very short exposure time and opening up your lens as much as possible.
You can also use a slower shutter speed to blur the background of a landscape. This technique is often used when photographing landscapes at night.
Shutter speed affects exposure.
It’s important to know how to work the shutter speed and aperture of your camera. These are the settings that determine the amount of light coming through the lens and onto the sensor. You might need to adjust these settings depending on what you want to do, but you will need to be aware of what you have set them to.
If you want to shoot a landscape at night, for example, you can set the aperture to a small number so the landscape will appear very dark. However, you can leave the shutter speed set to a long time to allow enough light in for the landscape to appear bright. If you want to capture the moon, set the shutter speed to a very fast time. Then set the aperture to a large number to let as much light into the lens as possible. This will make the moon appear much brighter.
The ISO setting controls how sensitive the sensor is to light. You should always have a low ISO number when you are shooting at night.
You can also use this to keep your camera from making any noise when you are taking photographs, so that you get better images without any distracting noise.
ISO affects exposure.
It’s also important to be able to select the correct ISO setting for your camera, which controls how sensitive the sensor is to light. For example, when photographing the moon, you need a very high ISO setting so that
Shooting stars are brilliant, magical events which appear, then disappear almost instantaneously. This type of star photography is extremely challenging. The brief moment of brilliance and the need to capture the star in its entirety against the night sky are only two of many factors that make this a difficult photographic event. But if you have the right equipment and a little luck, it can be rewarding.
The best time to photograph shooting stars is as soon as you see one. Although they appear, it takes around 40 minutes for them to reach the earth’s surface, so it’s unlikely that you’ll get another chance. As you watch, you’ll see more stars appear, giving you the opportunity to capture them. You’ll also be able to capture some of the planets and satellites in the night sky.
Equipment
Shooting star photography requires a dark sky. This means it’s important to have a clear, moonless night. It’s also good to have a good pair of binoculars or a telescope. A tripod is useful but not essential. You’ll need a camera with a large zoom lens and an SLR (single-lens reflex) body with manual focus control. The fastest film or digital camera will be fine.
A steady camera is essential. If you use a tripod, make sure that the camera is locked down firmly on the tripod, otherwise the star will slip out of focus. A shutter release cable will enable you to hold the camera over your head and fire the shutter at the right moment.
For best results, the camera should be aimed at the sky in front of you. You’ll need to keep the shutter open for several seconds. To do this you’ll need to use a remote release, such as a cable or infrared wireless system. The best way is to aim the camera away from you and at the same height as the shooting stars. This gives you a wide-angle lens to capture the entire scene and allows you to move the camera without losing the shot.
There are many other things you need to consider. You’ll need to decide on your exposure settings – the time the shutter stays open (the duration) and the amount of light allowed to reach the film or sensor (ISO). The ISO setting will be dependent on the amount of light available, so you’ll need to use a fast film, such as ISO 100. You may also need to change the aperture setting (f-stop) to allow more or less light to reach the film or sensor.
Finally, you’ll need to make sure that your tripod and camera are in good working order and that your camera is securely mounted to prevent vibrations which may blur the image.
Conclusion
Star photography is a fun way to earn money from home. You get paid for taking pictures of celebrities. It’s a great way to make money online. All you need is a camera and a little practice.
I’d like to share with you some of the top star photography tips and resources that can help you get started. I hope that this article is useful for you.