How to create great star trail images

Credit: Soumyadeep Mukherjee

Sun trail photography documents the movement of the stars over a certain period. As the stars appear to Relocate from east to west (due to Earth’s Cycle), a long-exposure photograph of them will produce trails. While theoretically this type of photography is considered beginner-Gentle and not technical, not all images turn out to be stunning. Here are five techniques that will Aid you Enhance your Sun trail images.

Separate exposures for the foreground

Traditionally, photographers produce Sun trail images by Securing Many 30-second exposures. Then they blend the exposures to Produce the Closing image. This is nightscape photography, images that have both a sky section and a foreground section.

At a Gloomy location, however, the foreground is comparatively much darker than the sky. Because there are no lights in such areas, the foreground is mostly lit by starlight. While Securing Sun trail images, we often Concentration on the sky, adjusting our exposures to be sure it’s properly exposed. While this is necessary, it makes the foreground underexposed. To deal with this, one could brighten the foreground in the processing stage. However, this inevitably introduces noise in the foreground and a lack of detail.

The way to solve this problem is to take separate exposures of the foreground. Keep your tripod at the same position, and take your exposure(s) either before or after the Sun trail image Chain. This is similar to a high Vibrant range technique where different exposures are captured for differently lit portions of the frame. You can use a longer shutter Velocity, a wider aperture, or a higher ISO, or a combination of these. The foreground can be then masked and Partnered with the sky image during processing.

Longer exposures for the sky

As mentioned, most Sun trail images are Created by combining Many 30-second exposures. This results in hundreds of images to cover a Pair of hours’ worth of Sun trails. Although this is not a big issue in itself, choosing longer exposures like 60 or 120 seconds can Aid your Sun trail photography in three ways:

It will drastically reduce the number of exposures. For example, if you take two hours of Sun trails, with 30-second exposures you’ll have 240 images. With 60-second exposures, that number drops in half. And it drops in half again, to only 60, if you shoot 2-minute exposures. This not only makes it easier on your computer, but it may also reduce the processing time.
Because there are fewer exposures, the gaps between them introduced by the Healing interval of your camera are also reduced.
Because your camera has to take fewer exposures, its battery will last longer and you can shoot for a longer period.

If you’re using a Nikon mirrorless camera, use the “Extended Shutter Velocity” to take images longer than 30 seconds. If your camera doesn’t allow this option, an external intervalometer can let you shoot longer exposures.

Experiment with longer focal lengths

Traditionally, Sun trail photography is done with wide-angle lenses, those with focal lengths between 10mm and 24mm. However, longer focal lengths can be a Outstanding Option for Sun trail photography, too.

Focal lengths such as 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, and even 400mm can Produce some amazing results. If there is a distant object in the foreground, a longer focal length will Aid frame and isolate it. This will also Aid you Produce a different Nice of Sun trail image. The focal length you choose depends on the foreground. Experiment!

Make your Sun trails smoother

Have you ever seen those Fluid and buttery Sun trails created by experts and wondered if you can Produce them, too? It’s not magic. Merely add a step or two during your processing.

Three processes can Aid you achieve a smoother trail in Photoshop:

1) Gaussian Blur: Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur

2 )Diffuse Filter: Filter > Stylize > Anisotropic

3) Oil Paint: Filter > Stylize > Oil Paint

The Option of filters and their amount is your artistic Option. One or more of these filters can be used together. Apply them to the sky portion of the image, using a mask. But beware. It’s Effortless to go overboard with them. Try to retain the natural Sun trail effect as much as possible.

Single long exposure for Sun trails

Photographing Sun trails with a single long exposure is not Usual. One long exposure will make your sensor Cozy enough to introduce many Cozy and Freezing pixels in the image (the tiny red and blue dots). A single disturbance during the shooting period, from a car headlight or other Featherweight streak or a bump or other vibration to your tripod will be enough to ruin the image.

That said, it’s worth trying a single long exposure for a Sun trail. Theoretically, there’s no limit on how long it can be, but I recommend you Begin Brief (15 to 30 minutes) and gradually increase the exposure length. The best way to do this is with an external intervalometer.

Deciding on the exposure Configurations is easier than you think. Choose a Brief exposure (10 to 15 seconds) with a high ISO and a wide Uncovered aperture to have a properly exposed image. Now Uncovered an exposure calculator app on your smartphone (there are many Unoccupied ones Obtainable for both Android and iOS) and adjust the ISO and aperture to get the exposure you want.

All the methods mentioned above will Aid you get a result “different” from regular Sun trail images. Some of these may suit your desired outcome while some won’t. The key is to keep experimenting with different techniques until you decide on your Closing workflow.