Night shooting tips from a pro!

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Akoni

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Hey guys, I do astrophotography and have a few tips. It’s easier than you think and can even be done with a phone in good conditions.

1. You need a tripod or something to lean your camera on.
2. Car photo angles are most aesthetically pleasing from around top of wheel height and then from a corner approach.
3. Your shutter will need to be 15-30 seconds.
4. Focus to infinity and if you have an aperture, leave it wide open.
5. In the northern hemisphere, the fancy part of the Milky Way (galactic center) is out from May (late late at night, East/South exposure) to September (earlier in the evening, south/west exposure)
5. You’re best off on a zero-moon night (new moon or close to new moon) if you want more star detail, fuller moon if you want more land/rig detail.
6. If you’re selecting a lens, anywhere from 14 to 50mm can be good. The more zoomed in, the less time you can open the shutter before star trails form. With a 50mm you really only have about ten seconds.
7. If you’re going to be in the photo, you’d better be ready to not even move from breathing too much for 15-30 seconds.
8. If this was too long, use this single sentence: Focus to infinity, aperture at max, 20-30 second shutter, about 3200iso give or take!
 

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2WheelRob

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I have always wanted to get into astrophotography. I have an old Cannon 10D but not sure if I still have even a single lens for it. I'll be out in Las Cruces in 2 weeks, and thinking maybe I'll give it a shot.

Photography is an enigma to me despite trying a number of times. Too many variables for my adhd. This has renewed my interest at least for now. Thanks again.
 
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OTH Overland

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Thank you for the post, some awesome shots:), I love night photography, I am a long time Pentax user, and sometimes its hard because third party vendors tend not to make a lot of accessories unless you have one of the big three makes, but Pentax does an exceptional job of built in features and good glass for landscape and night photos. My K1 full frame has a built in GPS astrotracking feature that allows for fairly long exposures without star trails due to the camera sensor tracking the movement of the stars for a period. Now I want to get the camera out and play!
 
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Akoni

Akoni

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This K1!? :) one of my best friends has one and it is WORLD CLASS for star photos. If I only shot stills, I would have a Pentax hands down. I think you absolutely should take it out!

OTH Overland said:
Thank you for the post, some awesome shots:), I love night photography, I am a long time Pentax user, and sometimes its hard because third party vendors tend not to make a lot of accessories unless you have one of the big three makes, but Pentax does an exceptional job of built in features and good glass for landscape and night photos. My K1 full frame has a built in GPS astrotracking feature that allows for fairly long exposures without star trails due to the camera sensor tracking the movement of the stars for a period. Now I want to get the camera out and play!
Click to expand...
 

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Akoni

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My ADHD is fierce as well. I have a recommendation for you.. once your camera is set up, all you really need to do is plop it down and hit the shutter. Try throwing your lens and manual settings in ahead of time. Also, the 10D is great but don’t get discouraged by the noise. Throw it in free Lightroom mobile and it will denoise with ease. Maybe throw a lens on and pre set it to 30 seconds, 1600 iso, max aperture (lowest f number) :)

PolyM3dic said:
I have always wanted to get into astrophotography. I have an old Cannon 10D but not sure if I still have even a single lens for it. I'll be out in Las Cruces in 2 weeks, and thinking maybe I'll give it a shot.

Photography is an enigma to me despite trying a number of times. Too many variables for my adhd. This has renewed my interest at least for now. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
 
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ZombieCat

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Thank you for breaking down the settings for us slow learners. I recently bought a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 for night landscapes and astrophotography. This will be a great guide to get me started!
 
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2WheelRob

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Akoni said:
My ADHD is fierce as well. I have a recommendation for you.. once your camera is set up, all you really need to do is plop it down and hit the shutter. Try throwing your lens and manual settings in ahead of time. Also, the 10D is great but don’t get discouraged by the noise. Throw it in free Lightroom mobile and it will denoise with ease. Maybe throw a lens on and pre set it to 30 seconds, 1600 iso, max aperture (lowest f number) :)
Click to expand...
Photography in general is where adhd gives me trouble. (Certainly not the only place) so many variables, new vernacular, etc. Like plumbing, I get plumbing, it all makes sense to me, but electricity it's just plumbing with electrons but all its vernacular confuses me.

My dad is a photographer, has been most of his life, he does it for fun, but has paid gigs on the side to support his hobby. He has tried to teach me, and I remember what things are like iso, f stop, aperture, and some other but what I can't always figure out is how to make them all work together. If guess that's more my issue.

But on another note, I was excited about this thread and told him I was breaking out the 10D but needed to see if I had any lenses left and he told.me not to worry about it because he had something for me. He is giving me his old Sony a6000! Which I'm super excited about.

Milky way here I come!
 
Akoni

Akoni

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That is my most used lens of all time! Congrats :)

F2.8, 30 second exposure, focus to infinity! And just find some nice dark skies :)

Snap one on auto ISO and then look at what ISO it chose and go from there with manual ISO

ZombieCat said:
Thank you for breaking down the settings for us slow learners. I recently bought a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 for night landscapes and astrophotography. This will be a great guide to get me started!
Click to expand...
 
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Akoni

Akoni

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Akoni
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Congrats! Astro lenses will be cheap for you. I shot an a6000 for my first two years. It is an amazing camera. The rokinon 12mm f2.0 is great. You can also adapt canon lenses for cheap.

PolyM3dic said:
Akoni said:
My ADHD is fierce as well. I have a recommendation for you.. once your camera is set up, all you really need to do is plop it down and hit the shutter. Try throwing your lens and manual settings in ahead of time. Also, the 10D is great but don’t get discouraged by the noise. Throw it in free Lightroom mobile and it will denoise with ease. Maybe throw a lens on and pre set it to 30 seconds, 1600 iso, max aperture (lowest f number) :)
Click to expand...
Photography in general is where adhd gives me trouble. (Certainly not the only place) so many variables, new vernacular, etc. Like plumbing, I get plumbing, it all makes sense to me, but electricity it's just plumbing with electrons but all its vernacular confuses me.

My dad is a photographer, has been most of his life, he does it for fun, but has paid gigs on the side to support his hobby. He has tried to teach me, and I remember what things are like iso, f stop, aperture, and some other but what I can't always figure out is how to make them all work together. If guess that's more my issue.

But on another note, I was excited about this thread and told him I was breaking out the 10D but needed to see if I had any lenses left and he told.me not to worry about it because he had something for me. He is giving me his old Sony a6000! Which I'm super excited about.

Milky way here I come!
Click to expand...
 
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