How to shoot the starry sky, what skills are there?

There are billions of bright stars scattered in the night sky, which are fascinating and eye-catching. For photographers, we should not only consider the composition of photography, but also take pictures-capture the moment and share the beauty of the night sky with others. However, this may not be as simple as it looks: either the photos are unnatural, or the stars are not visible, or they are not very clear or even blurred. How to avoid these problems and express the beauty of the night sky?

First, find the plot

The first thing to determine is where to shoot and what to shoot. If you are going to shoot the scenery captured by the starry sky, then the location should be empty and interesting. Best of all, if it is as far away from the shining city as possible: because lights, headlights and light from buildings illuminate the sky, but people can't see the stars. You can get beautiful and vivid photos in the mountains, but if the mountains and suburbs are suitable.

Nikon D800+AF Nico14 mm f/2.8 ED. Parameters: f/3.2, shutter speed 30, ISO 3200.

If you can't leave the city, try to adjust the shooting settings: set the lens aperture to f/4 or f/8, and set the ISO value to 400-800. Unusually obtained photos of the Milky Way: To do this, you need to set the maximum shutter speed, enlarge the aperture and increase the ISO. Experiment, try and choose those values that are suitable for specific shooting conditions.

Second, prepare for photography

After determining the plot, you need to know the following preparations: where will the moon be on the day of shooting, when will it rise, and whether there will be clouds in the sky.

Nikon D800+AF Nico14 mm f/2.8 ED. Parameters: f/3.2, shutter speed 30, ISO 3200.

After the theoretical part, it is necessary to determine the necessary photographic equipment. First of all, you need a reliable tripod: shoot the starry sky with a low-speed shutter, which means that the camera needs to be fixed-this can avoid blurring. A remote controller or special application that can remotely control the camera through a smart phone will not be redundant. This is necessary so that the camera vibration caused by touch will not affect the quality of the frame.

Optics is not only fast, but also "able" to take photos with f/2.8 aperture-this will bring incredible brightness to the stars. It is best that the focus lens (about 24 mm) and the camera itself are made in Quan Huafu (like NikonD850, Z6, Z7, for example). Quan Huafu has good noise characteristics and plays an important role in night shooting.

Nikon D8 10+AF Nicole 14mm f/2.8ded. Options: f/2.8, shutter speed 30, ISO 3200.

Backpacks need to be equipped with flashlights, which can not only shine by themselves, but also soften the shadows of the picture and create beautiful lighting effects for the objects in the picture.

Third, customize the camera.

Our eyes can't tell the color of the night sky. Moreover, when shooting with a low-speed shutter, the ideal effect may not be achieved. To adjust the camera, try setting the "tungsten electrode" mode in the white balance settings-this will add a cool tone to the picture. By choosing this color balance, more starry shadows can be obtained in post-processing. It is also important to change the format from JPG to RAW and disable the built-in noise reduction mode and image stabilization.

Nikon D850+AF-S Nickalls 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Parameters: f/2.8, shutter speed 25, ISO 5000.

It is recommended to set the camera in manual mode, use a large aperture as much as possible (maximum f/ 1.4-f/2.8), and set the ISO value to 800 (if shooting at dusk) to 3200-6400 (if shooting at night). It is difficult to choose the shutter speed: it depends on the specific shooting conditions and lens focal length. The earth is rotating, so if you choose the wrong value, the stars in the image will become blurred. To avoid this, we use the "500 rule": divide the focal length of the lens by 500. The result will be the maximum shutter speed. Usually for wide-angle lenses, this time is 10 to 30 seconds.

Fourth, display sports.

Ring photography is an interesting way to show the movement of stars in the sky. It's not as difficult as it looks: a camera, a lens, a tripod, a remote control or continuous shooting mode, and the StarWalk application, which can display the stars and help find beautiful places. In order to take spectacular photos, you need to find the North Star, because all other stars will revolve around it. We shoot at the shutter speed of 30 seconds and the interval of 1 second, and the ISO value is set in the range of 800- 1600. Then, after about an hour of shooting, we got a ring frame with a beautiful star map.

Nikon D850+AF-S Nickalls 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Options: f/2.8, shutter speed 25, ISO 5000, 360 frames every 2 seconds.

Five, shoot moonlight

When shooting a full moon, many photographers are faced with the fact that the light looks unnatural. For example, when the shutter speed is 20 seconds, the aperture is f/4, and ISO400, when you look at the result picture further, it seems that it was taken not at night, but during the day-the moonlight will look so bright. A life skill worth trying: turn the exposure to the opposite side-this will reduce the light in the frame. And if you add stars, city lights or other similar objects, the photos will become more interesting.

Nikon D5+ autofocus fisheye Nicole 16mm f/2.8D parameters: f/5, shutter speed 30, ISO 2500.

Sixth, try the panorama.

Due to the movement of stars in the sky, many novice photographers worry that they can't "smoothly" copy panoramic images. But the photos in the panoramic photo. Sometimes you need to make some manual adjustments-choose the same star in different pictures.

One of the most spectacular panoramic photos was taken of the Milky Way. When shooting, please try to set the shutter speed to be shorter than when shooting for a single night, or use a wide-angle lens. This optical device will increase the exposure time and avoid blurring the picture.