How I shoot amazing Milky way pictures!
A lot of people ask me how to take Milky Way pictures in the night sky and since I am always an open book, I thought I would just write a blog about it!
Here are 9 things that will help you take amazing Milky way pictures!
- Get up in the middle of the night - This may sound simple, but when that alarm clock goes off, it's easy to just roll over and stay in bed. Get you butt up and go outside. You'll be inspired instantly on a clear night.
- Use these settings - 1600 ISO, 25 second exposure, f2.8
- Use a Tripod - This is a no brainer
- Wide lenses really show off the Milky Way - I usually shoot with a 14mm lens with a 2.8 aperture
- You need a camera that handles High ISO well - I personally use a D750, but any camera with great ISO will be good.
- Wait for a clear sky - You can't shoot stars if there are clouds in the sky.
- Wait for a new moon - The less light you have in the sky, the better!
- Get away from the city! - Just being on the outskirts of a city isn't enough to get an amazing sky. You need to go somewhere where there are no lights.
- Experiment - You're up in the middle of the night, in a dark place, in the middle of nowhere and there are probably coyotes howling somewhere in the distance. Might as well try fiddling with your settings and go with longer shutter speeds, lower ISO's.... just try different things while you have a clear sky to experiment with. Chances are, you may find a different group of settings that work for you!
If you read this and try it out in the field, tag me @joehendricks on instagram! I would love to see what you come up with!