Beautiful photo of the starry sky on your smartphone
Fascinating photos of the deep night sky and star tracks are very popular. They are often put on screensavers, and every second owner of a smartphone at least once tried to capture such a picture. After all, there is some magic in it, when you go out of town and the night sky opens up in front of you with all its variety of stars and celestial lights. But what about seeing the Milky Way from the earth and taking a picture of the night sky in a way that keeps the magic in it? Read Skylum’s blog and take amazing shots!
What should be done beforehand?
Before you take a picture of the night sky with your smartphone, you need to be prepared. Here’s what to think about before you go shooting.
The Right Location
Seeing the stars in the bright lights of a metropolis is a difficult task. Photographing them in such conditions is almost impossible. You need to choose a dark location without artificial light.
To do this, you need to go as far away from the city as possible. Forests, fields, and the shores of small ponds are best.
If you find it difficult to choose a suitable location, it is possible to use the service Light pollution map. On its map, you can see the distribution of night illumination of settlements and roads anywhere in the world.
Clear weather
Keep an eye on the weather forecast. On cloudy nights, you just can’t see the stars. When is the Milky Way visible? Of course, during cloudless nights. This time is also the best option for shooting stars.
You can try shooting with a little cloud cover if you want to add a special charm to your shots. But there is a tricky part: you have to take the wind speed into account. If there is no wind, the clouds will not be too heavy in the picture with a slow shutter speed. But it’s better to shoot stars when the sky is clear.
Lunar calendar
The moon is pretty bright, and that can make it hard to take pictures. When can you see the Milky Way from Earth and enjoy the bright glow of the stars? The best time is during the new moon phase. The moon is pretty bright, and that can make it hard to take pictures. When can you see Milky Way from Earth and enjoy the bright glow of the stars? The best time is during the new moon. Use the lunar calendar and go take photos during the luckiest phase.
How to shoot the starry sky?
When all the conditions are met, you can start taking pictures of the starry sky on your smartphone.
How do I take a picture of the night sky on my iPhone or Android? Start by selecting a shooting mode. On an iPhone and many Androids, you can turn on night mode. If you have an Android but don’t have night mode, choose the manual mode. This may be called PRO, Professional or Manual. Set a slow shutter speed, the standard functionality of smartphones offers 15 seconds. Use it, and if your smartphone offers a longer shutter speed (up to a minute) – choose this one. It is almost impossible to take a picture like this with your hands because it is very difficult to hold still for 15 seconds. That is why it is better to use a tripod.
What devices do you need for good shots?
While photographing the night sky, you should think carefully about all the necessary gadgets. Let’s take a look at what you might need:
- A tripod is a very useful tool when shooting with a slow shutter speed. Standing all night with the phone in your hands can be a bit uncomfortable, can’t it?
- A flashlight with a red light will facilitate the shooting process in the dark. The thing is that red light is better perceived by the human eye and does not glare at night, unlike the usual white light. It is more convenient to move, choose a place for mounting a tripod and perform any other actions in the dark by illuminating the space with a flashlight.
- Powerbank. Agree, it would be a shame to adjust to the many conditions of stellar shooting and not capture a good shot just because of the lack of smartphone charge. So bring a fully charged power bank with you.
How to save photos
Make sure that pictures are saved not only in JPEG format but also in RAW. You can activate this feature in the Camera app in Settings. Often this item is in the format or size of the image and is called – “Save RAW copies”. In this case, pictures taken in manual mode will be saved with post-processing in JPEG and in “pure form” in RAW format. The last one is better suited for manual post-processing in graphic editors on your smartphone or computer.
Final Thoughts
So, we looked at the most necessary information for taking pictures of the night sky. As you can see, taking a good photo is not so difficult when you understand the basic nuances of the process. And if you want to know about seeing the Milky Way from the earth, read more about it on Skylum’s blog. But don’t just stop with the theory – try it out and create real photographic artwork!
