Night photography is one of my favorite photo styles, it is something very challenging but at the same time, it enriches you in many ways. To begin with, you have to face the fear of standing alone in the dark and not being scared by the noises of nature, would you dare? Also, you have to prepare and get a good night's sleep the day before, beat the cold of a night away from home, and stay awake even when you're very sleepy.
There are many types of photography that make lovers of it crazy and everyone has their favorite style, one of them is astrophotography which, by the way, is not easy at all.
The first time I saw the Milky Way I couldn't hold back my tears, really, I was so excited to have a piece of this infinite universe captured on the small screen of my camera that I burst into tears.
Remember that you have to be patient, it is a difficult type of photography to achieve, but after a thousand attempts and returning home with failed photos, believe me, it will be worth it when you least imagine it!
Many people ask me about the settings that should be used to take photos of the stars so in this article I am going to share 7 tips for photographing at night, in the sky, things that I have learned in the last two years, and that I would have delighted someone told me from the beginning.
What to bring
DSLR camera
Tripod
Lamp with red light
Coffee!
Comfortable clothes
Wide-angle lens
Remote control for the camera
1. Find a really dark place
I remember that when I was little I went out at least two or three times a month, at night, to the jumper in the garden with my dad to look for shooting stars, that are already behind us.
Sadly, due to today's pollution, finding stars in the middle of the city is very difficult; one, for so much smog and two, for the light of the city. That is why it is best to escape to a place far from the city where, with the naked eye, you can see the stars.
2. Use a tripod
I consider this tip to be the most important since without a tripod you would have movement in your image and the photo would be very blurry.
If you don't have one, you can improvise one, leaving the camera on a stable surface and placing a stone or something that works as a support. In any case, I do not assure you that your photo is 100% sharp.
3. Don't touch the camera
For a star photograph, the camera must be without any movement, so it will be better that while taking, do not touch the camera.
4. Sky guide apps:
There is a variety of applications that can help you plan your night photo session, in them, you can see where the movement of the stars is going at night, find the Milky Way, or even know what time you are looking for will be and in what place of heaven.
To do this, I recommend using these applications (the first two are free):
Sky View
Star tracker
Photopills (highly recommended)
You can program it for only two seconds, allowing you to simulate the use of control without having to press the shutter button when taking the picture.
So don't forget your jacket! Wear comfortable, warm clothes and if you feel like it, a good coffee to hold on for as long as you want to take pictures.
The red light will serve you for many things, one of them is to prevent you from being dazzled every time you need to change the camera settings using a flashlight with white light.
Another very good use is that you can turn it on even when you are taking a photo, of course, taking great care so that it does not get in the way if you do not want the red light to appear in the image.
