Learning to photograph shooting stars will give your night photos a special touch. To do this, it is essential that you have spotted the moment when the next star shower is going to occur and that you have prepared your equipment. By the time you see the star pass and know that your camera is aiming at the correct area, you will have accomplished your mission! To achieve this, we present here a guide with the most important elements for successful shooting star photos you’ve always dreamed of.
A shooting star: what is it?
The first thing to consider is that a shooting star is not a star. It is a meteor that crosses the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed and catches fire. The time when you are most likely to see a shooting star is when you are in a star shower or meteor shower. These showers of stars take place at very specific times of the year, when the number of meteors in the sky increases. Which in principle originate from the remains of comets or asteroids that pass close to the Earth.
As a rule, star showers are named after the constellation in which they appear (the Perseids thus appear in the constellation of Perseus, for example). So you can get an idea of where to point your camera. But this is not an exact science because a shooting star can appear anywhere in the sky.
What equipment do you need to photograph shooting stars?
Camera
Yes, you need a camera to shoot a shooting star, that’s obvious, and to shoot at all. But it is important to know which type of device is the most suitable . We advise you to get, if you have the opportunity, an interchangeable lens camera, with a good ISO sensitivity that does not produce too much noise. And if you’re passionate about astrophotography, in the end, you’ll be glad you invested in a camera with a better ISO.
Goal
Then the most important is the type of lens to use. The best option for capturing a shooting star is still a wide angle lens. And if it’s bright, it’s even better. It is for this characteristic that DZO lenses are generally one of the best proposals on the market for night photography. Shooting stars usually move very quickly in the sky and disappear almost immediately. This is the reason why a wide light angle will be essential.
Tripod
The tripod will be just as essential for photographing a shower of stars. When taking pictures with long exposures, you need a sturdy tripod. But if you also need to get away from the city to avoid light pollution, then you should also consider bringing a lightweight tripod. Imagine you have to walk in the countryside at night, carrying a heavy tripod on your back. Better to avoid this, if possible.
Light pollution filter
Even if you go to an area far away from the dwellings, artificial lights can reach that area, resulting in pictures with yellowish tones. Did you know that there are filters specially designed to remove this yellowish color from artificial lighting? The Irix Edge anti-light pollution filter is a good example. Check out our exclusive review to learn more about this accessory. It will be really essential for night photography and for improving your picture results.
Other accessories
We also advise you to attach an intervalometer remote control to your equipment to photograph shooting stars (and for any night photo too). This tool will allow you to trigger your device without having to press the shutter button. Another highly recommended, non-photographic accessory is a good headlamp to light you up when setting up your gear on site.
What settings do I make to shoot shooting stars?
When you set up your camera to shoot shooting stars, the settings you’ll use are similar to those used to shoot a thunderstorm lightning. Both are natural phenomena that often occur and are difficult to predict.
Trigger in manual mode
To photograph shooting stars, you will need to change the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Focus should also be in manual mode as it is usually too dark for autofocus to work properly.
Use RAW format to photograph shooting stars
For the digital post-processing of the photos taken during your star shower photoshoot, you will need to keep as much information as possible. Hence the interest of the RAW format, which allows you to store a large amount of data to then proceed to digital retouching.
Do I have to activate the noise reduction option?
This option depends on each photographer. If you use it, you will reduce the noise that occurs when using high ISO. But the catch is that the photo takes double the time to process. If you so triggered with 30 seconds exposure, it will take 60 seconds for the camera to process the image. Hence the preference of some photographers for retouching in post-processing, rather than resorting to this option.
Shutter speed to capture shooting stars
You will choose a shutter speed similar to that used to photograph the Milky Way or the starry sky. The important thing is to capture the full tail left by the shooting star in its wake, so be free to opt for longer shutter speeds. 30 seconds should be fine.
Aperture aperture for shooting shooting stars
The opening is a very important parameter in night photography. Falling stars are very brief and disappear quickly, so you need to make sure you capture them with your device. The ideal would be to use the largest diaphragm opening allowed by your lens.
Technique for photographing shooting stars
The technique to apply for this type of photo is very simple. You have to try to find out in advance where the shooting stars are going to appear, and then start firing. You just need to take several photos in a row until the shooting star appears. As we have seen, the ideal would be to opt for long exposures, as when you want to photograph a stormy flash. The longer your camera shutter is open, the more likely you are to capture the star in question.
The dates on which star showers occur, such as the Perseids, will give you a better chance of being able to capture your shooting star. Find a location far from the city to photograph without being bothered by light pollution. The moon may also play tricks on you, but that will not undermine being able to immortalize a shooting star.
Some photographers use two cameras at the same time to make sure they capture a shooting star. If you have two cameras, this can be a great way to get the perfect shooting star shot. You can thus aim with one of the devices at the constellation where the stars will appear a priori, while you will move the other device to search for other compositions.
Know how to distinguish a shooting star from another element
It may be that as you take the photo, something else crosses the night sky and translates to the image as a meteor-like wake in the sky. To distinguish it well, you must be very attentive to the elements which furrow the sky, then of your session. The most common things we confuse shooting stars with are planes that produce a perfectly uniform wake. An orbiting satellite is another, with its characteristic well-defined wake.
Conclusion for photographing shooting stars
The best advice we can give you for this type of photo is to be patient. Luck is a big factor when hunting for shooting stars. Keep in mind that if you do the shoot during a star shower, like the Perseids, you are more likely to capture a shooting star. But as always, the most important thing is that you have fun and enjoy the possibilities offered by the starry sky.
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