Astrophotography for Beginners: Your One Stop Guide to Photographing the Sky
Astrophotography is an incredibly rewarding genre of photography to get into, but it can be a little daunting at first to dive into. This blog post will help to make that initial process a little easier, outlining all of the recommended camera equipment and settings to get started, so you can focus on making great images! I’ll show you a camera setup that can get great images without the need of a telescope or any specialist equipment.
Camera Equipment
“The best camera is the one that’s with you” - Chase Jarvis
There are endless equipment options that can be recommended for astrophotography, just like any other style of photography. Chase Jarvis’ quote always rings true though, and it’s always good to keep it in mind when you feel that your equipment is lacking or even affecting your work. All of my images that you see on this page were taken on an Amazon Basics travel tripod with the Sony a6300 and Sigma 18-35mm lens, so it’s definitely possible to get great images at a pinch with relatively cheap equipment. I’ll break down some more budget equipment that will be a great way into astrophotography.
Budget Camera Options
Sony, Canon and Nikon are the leaders in the photography industry, so their cameras are always great, with varying options for both low and high budgets alike.
Here are a few on the lower-budget end of the spectrum:
Sony a6000
The Sony a6000 is a great budget camera to get started with, and its photo specs are essentially the exact same as the brand-new version (Sony a6600). It’s packed with great features and more than enough for a beginner to get their teeth into. I personally use the Sony a6300, and it’s been used on every professional shoot I’ve done, both in photography and videography, so I couldn’t recommend it more!
Canon EOS 850D
The Canon EOS 850D is a very well-known and respected entry-level camera. The included 18-55mm f/4-5.6 kit lens will be a great start into the world of astrophotography, for both those zoomed-in detail shots, and wide landscape captures.
Nikon D3500
The Nikon D3500 is a great starting option for astrophotography, I personally started out my videography/photography career with a Nikon D3400 and couldn’t recommend it enough for a nice blend of photo and video performance (although I feel Sony has a much better balance of photo and video performance these days). The included kit lens will also be a great starting point for astrophotography, it has a focal range of 18-55mm from f/3.5-f/5.6, which is a great range and shooting with a wide open aperture would give very usable results.
Tripods
It is essential to have a solid tripod when doing astrophotography, or any long-exposure photography in general. This is because even a tiny movement to your camera during a long exposure can result in a blurry image, which is definitely not what you want when you’re aiming for crispy images of the sky. Your tripod choice will depend on the weight of your camera/rig that you want to put on it, after all, we don’t want any tears over broken equipment!
Amazon Basics Lightweight Tripod
This Amazon Basics Tripod is my go-to tripod for travel when being present is at the forefront and I want camera equipment with me in case I’m in a situation that strikes me as a photo opportunity! This tripod will hold the weight of all of the recommended cameras above, and most small DSLR/Mirrorless cameras. It’s always worth double-checking the weight of your camera and tripod maximum before purchasing though to be sure.
Benro Slim
The Benro Slim is another great lightweight tripod, it’s a little more expensive than the previous one, but it includes a sturdy ball head mount system which is a lot more compact and makes for a more stable hold of the camera. It also includes an intuitive twist locking system to extend the legs, which is much less fiddly than the traditional clamp-style locks.
Joby GorillaPod
Another even more compact and travel-friendly option is the Joby GorrillaPod. It does have some downsides, the main one being its lack of height options. That being said, the fact that it is small enough to be thrown into a bag makes it a great option for those moments when a clear night presents itself unexpectedly while travelling and you would usually be lacking a full-size tripod!
Camera Settings
The following settings are a to keep in mind as a general rule of thumb, they may vary in different conditions/compositions, but should act as a good starting point to work from!
Aperture
Your aperture setting is generally the thing you have to compromise most on in astrophotography. Generally, a wider or “faster” aperture will work best as it will allow the maximum amount of light into the sensor. This may come with a couple of issues depending on your lens, though. The main issues to keep an eye out for will be vignetting (dark corners of your image) and smeared or blurry looking stars in general. It will be worth doing a few tests before settling on your final settings, as this will vary from lens to lens, and a compromise may have to be made to ensure the best quality image possible. An aperture of f/2.8 or lower is ideal, but a lens with a slightly higher maximum aperture (for example f/4) will get satisfactory results too.
Shutter Speed
The main thing that shutter speed affects is the visibility of the stars moving across the night sky. A longer shutter speed will reveal the “trail” of the stars as they move, and a shorter shutter speed will result in a sharper image of the stars. Both of these results are often liked and which one works best will greatly depend on your taste and composition,
There is a rule that can help to determine what your shutter speed should be for any given image called The 500 Rule:
500 / Crop-Factor x Focal Length
The 500 Rule calculates the max exposure time before the star trails created by the movement of the stars become visible.
Here’s a rough guideline to start with for APS-C Sensor cameras:
18mm - 27 second shutter speed
30mm - 16 second shutter speed
50mm - 9 second shutter speed
ISO
ISO is the most flexible variable for astrophotography. It can depend on your other settings, but I'd recommend starting at around ISO 2000, taking a test shot and adjusting from there! In my experience, a bit of trial and error is always required to get this setting right. As well as your other settings, it can also depend on your composition and if other bright subjects are in it. Setting the ISO based on the right brightness of the image is a good rule of thumb to follow when getting your initial settings, My way of thinking is that your aperture and shutter speed should be prioritised, as these are the settings that affect the overall clarity of the image, and your ISO should be used to balance any brightness issues that your choices in the first two settings caused. Of course, this may have to be compromised if your ISO setting is too high and creates too much noise in your image, but anything between ISO 2000-5000 is usually very useful.
Focusing
I distinctly remember thinking when I first attempted astrophotography, “How the hell do I focus for this?! It’s pitch black out here and there’s nothing to focus on!”. A very valid question, if only I had a blog post to read before I went out and tried it! Don’t worry, there is a solution to this issue, which is to use your camera’s built in digital image magnification to zoom in on the stars and manually turn the focus ring on your lens until the stars appear as sharp as possible.
Focal Length
Your choice of focal length will depend fully on the composition you’re putting together and your tastes as a photographer. There are some settings that you will have to keep in mind when changing your focal length which I covered earlier, but this is very much an artistic choice that you can experiment and have fun with! You can shoot super wide (something like 18mm) and capture some of the beautiful landscape that the sky is framing, or punch in super tight (50-200mm+) and capture more detail and clusters within the stars. Both can be just as rewarding, so see which you prefer and what interesting compositions you can create
Camera Settings Recap
Aperture: Wide open (f1.8-f/2.8)
Shutter Speed: 500 Rule - 500 / Crop-Factor x Focal Length
ISO: 2000 - 5000
Focus: Digitally zoom on stars and focus
Focal Length: Dependant on composition, experiment and have fun!
So there’s your one stop guide to everything you need to know to get started with astrophotography, save this post to bring back up when you’re out in the darkness figuring it all out, and let me know if you have any more questions in the comments below!
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