The Basics of Astrophotography

There is something universally awe-inspiring about the night sky. It opens up a gateway of questions, gleams with so much magic, and is truly extraordinary. The night sky has a way of stopping us in our tracks, allowing us to look up – no matter where we are – and see the stars and Milky Way stretched across the sky, giving you a moment to pause and feel small, in the best way possible.

Falling in love with the night sky was my gateway into the photography space, and one I owe for teaching me how to use a camera, explore manual settings, master the art of shooting in low light, and ultimately begin my astrophotography journey. At first, taking photos of the night sky felt daunting. Still, against my belief, my first ever astro image was captured in my backyard on a small Canon PowerShot that I didn’t even know had the capabilities to capture a single star. Since then, seeing the Milky Way sprawled on the back of the screen has had me hooked ever since.

Astrophotography is one of the most special forms of photography. It’s euphoric, invigorating, and inspiring. It's a way to slow down, be present, and witness beauty few people ever take the time to notice – all while seeing beyond the naked eye – and anyone can do it. Your gear doesn’t need to be flash – all you need is the basic knowledge of what settings you need and how to find a good spot to capture the stars.

Here is everything you need to dive into the world of astrophotography (basically everything I wish I had when starting) and uncover everything you need to know – from finding dark skies, managing low light settings, and maximising long exposures to give you crisp stars, to how to plan your shoot if you are heading beyond your backyard and want to wow your friends.

18mm, 30-second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 4000

1. Finding Dark Skies

In New Zealand, we are blessed with some of the best southern skies known to man – without having to travel all too far to find them. However, in some regions, it’s a little harder. Finding clear skies is important to minimise light pollution and obstructions in your photos. It means removing as many sources of light and light pollution as possible, all of which interfere with having a clear view of the sky. Getting away from the city and any street lights is key to getting a clean landscape – and of course, clear and crisp stars.

Where to start:

• Check the weather. Using tools like YR, Meteoblue Astronomy Seeing, and Windy are great apps for determining how clear the skies are. The fewer clouds and less wind, the better. Meteoblue will show you everything about the sky, where the clouds are located, and how clear it is, along with the moon phase and moonset.
• Find a location. My general rule of thumb is to travel 20–30 minutes from any towns or street lights and light pollution to get the clearest skies. For larger cities, 40 minutes to an hour is a good ballpark.
• Use Google Maps or Google Earth to help determine how far a chosen location may be from the nearest town.

Tip: Go even further by exploring our Dark Sky Reserves across the country – Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve is my personal favourite!

Meteoblue will show you everything about the sky, where the clouds are located and how clear it is, along with the moon phase and moonset.

2. Timing Your Shoot

So you’ve got the weather and an idea of location downpat – next is picking the best time of year or month to photograph the stars.

Milky Way Season

In New Zealand, the Milky Way season stretches from late March through to October, giving you the best and most impressive view of the Milky Way core, which is often favoured amongst astrophotographers worldwide. It’s also a lot cooler during this time, which offers a crisp atmosphere that helps accentuate the stars and make them pop.

Avoid the Moon

If you’re shooting the Milky Way, you’ll also want to avoid the moon (as magical as it is). The best time is when the moon is below the horizon or in its New Moon phase to avoid any blue haze and washed-out sky. You don’t want it looking like the middle of the day after a long exposure!

Favourite Planning Apps to Pick a Date and Time:

• Stellarium (Web or Mobile): Stellarium will give you a live overview of exactly where in our skies every celestial object is located, as well as the core of the Milky Way. It allows you to pick a date and time when you’d like to consider shooting. This will help you determine what phase the moon is in, when it will rise and set, and where the Milky Way will be rising and when it will be peaking and sprawled across the skies.

Stellarium lets you toggle to the exact date and time you want to be viewing the sky and what you might find. Seeing where the Milky Way will be is a great way to decide where the location of your shoot will be.

Here is a snapshot from my planning session. Heading out to the Ocean on the East Coast - is the Milkyway rising in the East or is it higher up and out of view for landscape photos? (Image: Stellarium planning session – East Coast (Stellarium Web, 2025)

• PhotoPills: This is probably one of the most widely known apps for all photographers across the globe and is the ultimate planning app. For a small fee, you can unlock everything from Stellarium, helping you pinpoint key objects in the sky and figure out when and where the Milky Way and moon will be located. This app will help go in-depth and lock in a composition down to the hour and minute.

• Google Earth: While PhotoPills is more advanced and comes with a fee – Google Earth is a good place to start when planning a location. It helps you find exact locations and figure out exactly what direction you’ll be shooting to determine where the Milky Way will be positioned. This is key to prepping and getting out in the field to capture what you want.

3. Essential Camera Settings

Sweet, you’ve got a time and location – now it’s time to get those camera settings dialled in!

First things first – switch to Manual Mode on the top dial of your camera and follow the settings below.

Shutter Speed

Having your shutter between 15–25 seconds is a good place to start to determine how bright your image will be. From here, you can check the stars to avoid star trails and streaky images. Using the 500 Rule is a great guideline to help you get crisp, pin-prick stars. You can do this by scrolling on the top of your camera or by changing your menu screen.

Applying the 500 Rule

The 500 Rule helps you avoid star trails in your images. It’s a simple formula: divide 500 by the focal length of the lens you are using. This will help you get precise, sharp stars suited to your lens.

Example: If you are using a 24mm lens or focal length:
500 ÷ 24 = 20.
Your exposure time would be 20 seconds or less to avoid streaky stars.

First Image: 35mm, 13-second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Second Image: 35mm, 30-second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 3200

Aperture

Picking a wide aperture is important for creating crisp stars, as it allows your camera to capture more light and detail – the wider the aperture, the more detail you’ll get. Ideally, you want between f/1.8 and f/4 for all things astrophotography. Change the aperture by selecting the f-stop and scrolling until you reach your desired setting.

ISO

In astrophotography, where you’re working with very limited natural light, ISO controls how sensitive your camera sensor is to light – which is crucial when you're shooting in the dark. It will ultimately help you brighten your image and bring out details in the stars. However, the higher the ISO, the more likely you are to introduce noise or graininess into your image. Change the ISO by selecting the ISO setting and scrolling until you reach your desired level.

Shoot in RAW

One of the first mistakes I made when starting was shooting in JPEG. Switching to RAW means you’ll have a lot more flexibility in post-processing to pull out as much detail in your image as possible without jeopardising image quality.

You can switch to RAW by going into your settings, selecting ‘Quality’, and choosing RAW. Your images will now save as RAW files until changed.

4. Focusing on the Stars

Getting crisp stars can be tricky. Here’s what I wish I knew when trying to focus on the stars and avoid blurry images.

1. Switch to Manual Focus on your lens. Each lens has a switch labelled AF (auto) and MF (manual). Select MF.
2. Switch your camera to Live View so you can see the sky on the display screen.
3. Increase your exposure to at least 30 seconds and tilt your camera towards a bright star.
4. Use the magnifying glass icon on the live view to zoom in on the star.
5. Adjust your focus ring until the star is crisp, not blurry. Gently teetering back and forth will help you find the sharpest point.
6. Return to your home screen, adjust your camera to the correct settings and composition – and get snapping!

5. Using a Tripod and Remote

A tripod is an essential part of a kit for Astrophotography. It’s simply impossible to capture the sky handheld and shaky stars and blurring images is what you want to avoid which is where a tripod will become a non-negotiable for stabilisation.

A good tripod will help you stabilise your camera and secure it in place when capturing your images as well as keep your camera level and in position for your chosen photo. Preventing shake is key to having precise stars, so avoiding the wind and having a weight or heavier tripod is good to avoid any external forces nudging your camera.

Things to look for in a tripod:
• Weight – heavier = more stable
• A centre hook to add extra weight (e.g. bag or sandbag)

An external remote is also a great piece of equipment to have that will allow you to be hands-free and trigger an exposure when you want to with no contact at all to avoid shack at the beginning of the exposure. Most remotes have wireless settings like Bluetooth that are easy to set up in the camera before heading out. (Use the wireless settings and pair your chosen remote to your camera, I use the Canon BR-E1 remote which connects automatically and is very easy to use)

A remote can also help you capture a little self-portrait image like this one!

Canon R5 Mark II – 15mm focal length, 30-second exposure, f/2.8, ISO 6400

No remote? No worries.
Use your internal 2 or 10-second timer. This gives you a buffer to step away from the camera and avoid any nudges. Change your Drive Mode from ‘Single Shooting’ to the timer mode in your menu.

Tip: Bring a head torch with a red light setting out with you. If you need to change settings and adjust your set-up, the red light will help you stay adjusted to the sky without ruining your vision or upsetting any other photographers around you.

6. Post-Processing

After capturing your first astro images – which are already impressive – you can take them even further through post-processing to bring out extra detail.

My go-to is Adobe Lightroom, which gives you everything you need to create a popping sky and bring out more detail in your foreground. Here a some simple things you adjust to enhance your images.

Exposure: Increasing or decreasing the exposure to enhance the brightness of your sky and foreground.

Noise reduction: Adjusting the noise reduction is great for smoothing out your image and avoiding any patchy and scratchy colour that might have come up in the shadows of your image or sky. Adjusting the detail will help minimise noise that may have appeared in your image.

Contrast: Contrast can increase the depth of field and help make those stars pop even more. Adjusting the whites and blacks according to your preference will deepen your Milky Way core and sharpen the details of the sky and foreground.

White Balance: Adjusting the white balance will allow you to change the warmth of the image. Most Astro images you will see have a blue tone which is often what a lot of people like in their final image. Picking what works for you is half the fun.

Saturation and Vibrance: Want a little more colour and vibrance? Adjust these settings to add a bit more colour to your image after you’ve changed the above settings.

7. Gear Recommendations

Nowadays a lot of cameras will have the capabilities to shoot in low light or capture the stars so there’s no doubt that what you’ve got now will get you started but if you are looking at upgrading or simply want to know what lenses are a good start point with specs to look out for check out my recommendations below.

Camera Body

Ideally, you'll want to look for a full frame mirrorless camera which will be your best friend for capturing your starry landscapes. These give you a lot higher quality image and allow you to fit as much in the frame as possible. Some of my favourites to try are here:

Mirrorless cameras have quickly become the go-to for astrophotography thanks to their lighter weight, low-light capabilities, and improved sensor performance. Here are some great options depending on your level and budget:

• Canon EOS R8 – A great introduction to full-frame mirrorless cameras. It’s super lightweight and easy to use, with everything you need to get started shooting the stars. A solid step up if you’re ready to take your astrophotography to the next level.
• Canon EOS R5 Mark II – If you’re ready to level up, this premium mirrorless camera is hard to beat. With a full-frame sensor, high ISO range, and incredibly sharp image quality, it’s perfect for serious astrophotographers wanting to capture intricate Milky Way detail with minimal noise. The low-light autofocus is also a bonus when setting up in the dark.
• Canon EOS 6D Mark II – My old faithful. A reliable full-frame DSLR that performs incredibly well in low-light conditions, especially on cold nights. It’s built tough, has great battery life, and is perfect if you’re venturing out into the mountains or colder regions to shoot the stars.

Lenses

Picking a lens can be quite simple. All you need is a wide aperture and something wide angle to fit as much of the sky in as possible.

Anything with a wide aperture between f/1.8-f/4 is best to keep detail high and let as much light in as possible. Paired with a wide-angle lens is my favourite for fitting the most of the Milky Way and landscape in as possible.

For Mirrorless:
• Canon RF 14–35mm f/4
• Canon RF 15–35mm f/2.8 – more light, more detail
• Canon RF 20mm f/1.4L – fixed wide-angle, excellent in low light

For Full Frame DSLRs:
• Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8 Mark III USM – my favourite for astro
• Canon EF 24–70mm f/2.8L II USM

Accessories

• Canon BR-E1 Remote
• Dual Battery Grip – longer shooting in cold weather
• Joby Compact Advanced Tripod – travel-friendly and sturdy

Final Takeaways

Now you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to start experimenting with your set-up and getting out there! You’ve got everything you need to start capturing the sky with what you’ve got, and getting started is the first step. Improving comes with practice and learning what does and doesn’t work for your camera is key – so be open-minded. The stars don’t ask any questions, so you can just be creative and have fun with it!

So mark your calendar for clear skies, and be sure to take extra layers, a hot flask, some hot chocolate and a blanket. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the stars while capturing them. Invite your friends along and bask in the beauty of the night sky as it unravels itself – camera and off-camera.