Catching star trails requires some basics. Shooting at random directions or angles in the night sky will produce bad trails of stars.
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This section of the article provides some fundamental basics you need to learn to catch star trails at night.
1. Location and time
Ensure to choose the right location and set up your equipment. Pay attention to the weather condition, and ensure there’s no full moon in the sky.
2. Camera settings
- Set your aperture to the widest, around 300-600 ISO, and 20 seconds shutter speed.
- Your focus setting should be manual so you can focus on bright stars in the sky.
- As a beginner, make sure your white balance setting is Auto. You can make adjustments later in the post-processing program.
- Ensure you turn off anything that appears on your camera photo shooting menu: multiple exposures, exposure noise reduction, to avoid time delay in between long exposure shots.
3. Shoot from a perfect angle
Once you have the location and settings worked out, aim your camera at your preferred angle or directions and take test shots.
Review the captured star trails and if necessary adjust the camera settings to produce your desired photographs.
4. Some more tips to catch star trails
* Focus on the brightest star in the sky
* Always use manual focus
* Avoid light-polluted areas.
* Switch on the mirror lock-up feature if you are shooting with a DSLR camera
* Pack several batteries along.
*Low-light regions are most suitable for star trails photographs.
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FAQs
What’s the time duration for star trail photography?
After setting up your equipment and camera, the photographing duration could range from half an hour to a couple of hours, depending on your choice.
The time duration depends on how long you want the star trail upshot to appear in your photographs.
What is the most suitable time to photograph star trails?
The most convenient time to photograph star trails is at night when there’s little to no moonlight.
Moonlight makes the stars less visible at night. So, to get an epic star trail effect in your images, shoot when the stars are more visible.
What lens is best for star trails photography?
A wide-angle lens with an f-stop value not less than F/2.8 is best for star trails photography.
Focal length: the Full-frame should range from 14mm -30mm.
Focal length Crop sensors should be between 10mm-30mm.