Astrophotography/blue hour

[Levi Lloyd]

Looking for some input on this image. I took the photo right between sunrise and blue hour. I am essentially looking south so on the right side of the photo (west) it is still twilight and there are stars visible while the left (east) is starting to light up for golden hour. You will not be able to see the stars on a small screen, but enlarged on a computer tyhey are fairly clear.  F13, 30 sec, 100 iso, 14mm. I like the photo but I wanted your thoughts  as I venture into more astrophotography.

[JasenkaG]

Hi Levi, this image is really great from the technical point of view (I wouldn’t change anything),  but I think that it lacks the center of attention and the composition isn’t that much engaging. I would shoot the same scene from a different perspective or maybe find some interesting object that would make the foreground of the image more dynamic.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Hi Levi, I like the colours in the image and it is a great location for astro photography. The stars are visible, but they do not look sharp. Did you focus on a bright star manually?

You should shoot at least an hour to 90 mins before sunrise or after sunset to have dark skies. You need to collect a lot of light when the skies are dark, so you will need to shoot at wide aperture values. You could either follow the 500 rule or NPF rule to calculate shutter speed, to avoid star trails. I’d recommend the NPF rule because there are sometimes slight trails even with the 500 rule from my experience.

Please ask if you have more questions. Look forward to seeing more night sky photos 🙂

Here are some articles that will help you:

Star Photography: Dos And Don’ts When Photographing The Stars

How to Photograph Star Trails: The Ultimate Guide

How to Photograph the Milky Way in 12 Steps

What is the 500 Rule in Photography?

What Is The NPF Rule And How To Use It For Brilliant Star Photography?

[Tom M]

Hi Levi;

This photo isn’t bad. I think it could be improved if you were to add some bright areas highlights in some of the hills. It would only be perhaps on the tops of some of the hills near the bright area on the left, but it could add some interest, instead of the one dark tone shown  throughout right now. You don’t allow edits, I might have shown what I’m talking about…

[Tobie]

I find the lighting to be ‘not here nor there’. A little darker would place more emphasis on the stars and add some value. Personally I feel the shot was taken a bit too late, adding too much light on the left. It could still have worked, had there there been an anchor in the foreground (hut, 2-man tent etc) to make the background play 2nd fiddle.

[Author]

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