Shoot for the Stars: Night Photography Methods for Beginners

There are many factors to consider as a beginner while shooting night photography. Exposure settings & times, direction of set-up, and what equipment will give you the best shot are all things to research before heading out into the field.

In this post, we will explore all of these options through an application of my experience photographing the Perseids Meteor Shower, in Joshua Tree National Park.

STEP ONE: Know Before You Go

Have an idea of what you’re planning to shoot long before you head out to photograph the night sky!

Research the placement and phase of the moon (this will affect your lighting drastically), the stars, the Milky Way, and/or the direction of a given meteor shower or planet that you are planning on photographing. Then, before dusk, you can set up in your initial position and prepare your equipment to be easily moveable as the celestial bodies follow their course through the night sky.

For example, I visited Joshua Tree National Park on August 12th-13th to photograph the Perseid Meteor Shower. I knew that I also wanted to capture the Milky Way, and found that facing South-Southeast, I could also spot Saturn.

While you set up your equipment at dusk, note which direction the sun is setting (this will be West), and plan accordingly to decide which direction you need to face to include any celestial bodies you are planning to shoot. Printing out seasonal and directional sky maps to take with you is always a great idea!

STEP TWO: Find an Area with Low-Level Light Pollution

Rural or remote locations work best for night photography. This makes many National Parks the best option for major astrological events. However, if there are none near you, I recommend using one of many light pollution maps available online.

As mentioned in the previous step, it is also best to make sure the moon is in a phase that won’t bring too much light into your photograph (unless, of course, you aim to photograph the moon).

For the photos in this post, I stayed at an Indian Cove & a Jumbo Rocks Campsite in Joshua Tree.

Step Three: Using the Right Equipment

Assuming you already have a camera, there are just a few low-cost items that will help you succeed at night sky photography:

• A steady tripod
• A shutter release cable
• A wide-lens

Having a steady tripod and a shutter release cable are necessary due to the longer exposures you will have to use in order for your camera to let enough light in to capture your photo.

The nature of long exposures leaves more room for error in movement. Meaning, if your camera undergoes even the slightest of a shake from pressing the shutter release button by hand, it will likely ruin your entire photo. Trust me! There is nothing worse than sitting for 2, 4, even 10 minutes waiting for your long-exposure photo to finish, only to find that your patience was all for nothing- the photo is blurry from the force of pressing the shutter.

For the aforementioned reason, you will also require a tripod or an extremely steady surface.

Last but not least, the wide lens is needed in order to capture a significant amount of surface area of the sky. I experimented with an 18mm lens on my digital Nikon, as well as a 28mm lens of my Pentax 35mm film camera. Both lenses and cameras did the trick!

STEP Four: Finding the Right Exposure Settings

This step takes quite a bit of playing around, but what I will say is that the wider the aperture, the better. I shot all of my night sky photography at f/5, and it was perfect for letting the light in so that I could capture more detail.

For ISO, I bounced around experimenting from ISO 100, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO 1600, and ISO 3200. The lower the ISO, the less light you are letting in, so the more time you will need to have your shutter open in order to let in enough light to have a successful photograph.

For example, to photograph the star trails seen below, you need your shutter open for a longer time period in order to track their movement. Because you need your shutter open longer (which lets in more light), you need to set your ISO as low as ISO 100 (which lets in less light).

Exposure times will vary immensely, but at least 15 seconds is necessary- and that’s just with the highest ISO! Exposure times can be up to 30 minutes when using a low ISO, such as 100. Play around, using the exposure settings outlined in the photos below to find what works best for you.

Pay close attention to the levels of brightness that correlate to each exposure time, and ISO pairing, in the following photos. Note that naturally, with a higher ISO, you will receive a higher level of grain.

Feel free to use these settings as a guide for your own night photography!

EXPERIMENTAL Time-Lapses Capturing Movement: