You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Daily Newsletter
Breaking space newsthe latest updates on rocket launchesskywatching events and more!
Once a month
Watch This Space
Sign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space moviestv showsgames and books.
Once a week
Night Sky This Week
Discover this week's must-see night sky eventsmoon phasesand stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!
Twice a month
Strange New Words
Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!
When you're in the early days of photographing the night skyit can be hard to know where to start to get the best results. In this astrophotography for beginners guidewe have put together some steps to help you get the most out of capturing the night sky at its best.
The subject of astrophotography is so broad with so many subcategories that it might feel daunting to get startedbut in this guidewe've concentrated our knowledge into a beginner's guide to astrophotography that will equip youmost importantlywith basic techniquesbut also some suggestions of creative ways to capture the night sky.
Before you startyou'll need to invest a little bit of money in purchasing the right camera. We've suggested the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astro to help get you started with this element. In generalyou'll want to concentrate your purchasing on the best lens you can buy – don't worry about spending a little less on the cameraas ultimatelyit's the quality of the glass that will make a difference. You'll also want to look at some accessories like tripods, lens heaters and of coursea good warm coat for long periods standing outdoors.
The second investment is time and patience. Astrophotography can be tricky to get right the first timebut part of the enjoyment is the constant learning. It will often take many attempts to iterate on the same ideas until you can finally provide an image with some real ‘wow' factor.
We'll be covering everything you need to get going in this articleincluding the equipment you'll need as well as how to plan your astro shoot and the camera settings you'll need to effectively photograph the night sky. We also include tips on getting the most out of the images you captureincluding editing them in some of the best photo editing apps.
The first bit of advicethoughis a simple one: have a go. Even if you don't own a flashy camerause what you have. You can even use your smartphone for astrophotography if necessary. You'll be surprised what they're capable ofparticularly using the night modes on more recent models.
Astrophotography for beginners 2026
Camera bodies and lenses
Although smartphones and portable point-and-shoot cameras can be used for astrophotographywe recommend using a DSLR or mirrorless camera. We've summarised some of the pros and cons in this DSLR vs.Mirrorless camera article. If you're tempted by a newer mirrorless camera and are wondering if you should buy a DSLR camerawe also discuss that and assess the pros and cons here.
The first thing to do is switch away from auto modes and put the camera into manual operationboth in terms of exposure and focus. We'd recommend using manual focusing when shooting the night sky because a good deal of light is required for the sensor in a camera to focus accurately. As the night sky is so darkit won't be able to pick up enough light to hone in on an object accurately. If you have a screen that flips out on the back of your camerait can be easier to focusso stars appear as points and not circles. Stopping the lens at infinity isn't enoughso zoom in to the maximum zoom length and use the screen's controls to get your focus as accurate as possible.
If you have the budget availablewe'd recommend using a full-frame camera. These cameras generally perform the best in low-light situations as they have a larger sensor. Howeveras megapixel counts increasethis advantage is becoming slimmerand modern crop-sensor cameras are very capable for astrophotography. They are also a more affordable option than full-frame cameras. Newer models like the Canon EOS R7 are very well suited to snapping the night sky. Here we have compiled a list of the best cameras for astrophotography.
When it comes to lensesyou will want to purchase the 'fastest' lens available and depending on the of astrophotographyyou'll want to look for a wide or super wide lens – somewhere in the 12-35mm range is best suited to landscape photography and astrophotography.
Wide-angle focal lengths allow you to capture a good portion of the night sky as well as some of the landscape for foreground interest. A large maximum aperture is needed – these are referred to as ‘fast' lensesso look with options that have the smallest f-stop number possible – we'd recommend f/2.8 or faster. If you're looking for a prime lens (a lens that doesn't have a zoom range)you'll have options of f/1.8 or widerwhich cost more but tend to produce sharper results.
A lens like the Rokinon (Samyang) 14mm f/2.8 is a great lens to get started with and is very affordable. If you're ready to spend a little morethe Sigma f/1.4 14mm ART or the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens would both be great options. The best lenses for astrophotography often require significant additional investmentbut in the meantimethe kit lens that came with your camera is perfectly adequate to practice the right techniques on. All you need to do is make sure you operate at the maximum available aperture size (typically around f/4 on stock kit lenses).
Additional equipment for astro
Tripod (essential)
There are lots of additional things you can buy to assist you in your astrophotography journeybut a tripod is probably the only real essential of getting going straight away. You won't be able to hold the camera still enough for the shutter speeds required to capture the darkness of the nightusing one of the best tripods for night sky photos is a must. Look for options that have smooth tilting heads and lockable moving parts that are made out of good quality materials — you'll lessen the risk of camera shake by doing so.
Remote Shutter Release (recommended)
Once you've got a decent camera and a good lens you are happy withwe recommend purchasing a remote shutter. This is a button on a cable attached to the camera that enables you to trigger the shutter without being near the camera itself. This reduces shake by minimizing the risk of vibrations traveling through the camera when you press the button.
These are inexpensiveand there is no real guidance on the best ones to buy. Some of the cheaper cable release options work finealthough for a little moreyou can purchase a wireless option that reduces the risk of interference and camera shake even further. Just plug it into the designated port in your camera and press the button on the release instead of the one on the camera.
It's worth mentioning that if you don't have a cable or wireless releaseyou can also use the camera's delay timer to setfor examplea ten-second gap between pressing the button and taking the picture.
Intervalometer (optional)
When you feel ready to photograph star trailswe have a guide on how to do so and the best intervalometers, which you may find useful. An intervalometer does what the name suggests—it releases your shutter at regular predefined intervals to capture the night sky's 'movement' throughout the evening. Increasinglymany modern cameras have interval shooting built-inso spend some time with your camera's manual to figure out how it works.
Headlamp
It's really important to keep your hands free to operate your camera when out at nightso purchasing a good-quality headlamp is important. We've rounded up some of the best headlamps for astronomy and stargazing here. A good headlamp will also come in handy when traveling with and sorting out your camera bagsbodiesand lenses in almost pitch darkness.
If you want to get creativea headlamp is also helpful for 'light painting' objects in the foreground of your images. This can help create great effects and 'light' an object in the foreground to help it stand out.
Planning your astro shoot
Location
The first thing you'll find when you're looking to plan your astrophotography adventures is that finding dark enough skies around the world is becoming a serious issuesuch is the ever-expanding nature of our urban centres.
Ideallyyou'll need to be in a dark sky area — there are 21 amazing dark sky reserves around the world — and this will help with capturing really detailed images of the night sky.
It's worth familiarising yourself with several handy websitessuch as Dark Site Finder and Light Pollution Map, that will help you find a suitable location to shoot. It's also worth looking at a good weather app with hourly reports on atmospheric conditions and cloud levelsas bad weather or poor sky conditions can seriously hamper any night sky image-making. The best stargazing apps are relatively affordableand they're extremely helpful when it comes to selecting your location and knowing the best time to shoot.
Subject
One of the great things about photographing the night sky is that it's constantly changingand apps like Stellarium and Starwalk 2 allow you to visualize how the night sky will look at any time and date for a specific locationso you can plan your shoot ahead of time. Things like meteor showers and comets are unpredictableand the weather can easily close in and spoil everythingso as well as patienceit's worth checking out what the night sky is doing on your chosen night to determine what you'll see and where.
Astrophotography settings for your camera
After ensuring you have the right kit and you know whatwhere and how you'll shootthis section of the guide will look into the modes you'll want to concentrate on and how to get the best results from your camera.
Camera Shooting Mode
As we've mentioned beforeit's important to put the camera into Mor Manual mode using the mode dial on the top of the camera. This will give you the ability to alter the shutter speedapertureand ISO manually rather than having the camera do it for you.
Aperture
Your aperture will need to be as wide as possiblewhich means setting it to the widest settingwhich is the lowest f-number. We usually recommend f/2.8 or lower. DSLRs and mirrorless cameras use a wheel on the camera body to set the aperturebut manual lenses and some made for Sony mirrorless cameras have an aperture ring on the lens itself.
Lower F numbers mean greater light-gathering ability and this is why prime lenses with apertures of f/1.8 and lower can be favored for night photographyalthough as we mentioned beforeyou'll need to be prepared to spend a little more on good quality but options like the Sony E 11mm f/1.8 lens is great balance of quality and value for money.
Image File Type
You will need to set your camera to record RAW image filesas shooting in jpg won't produce enough data for the image to be edited later. Post-processingor editing your imagesis an important part of astrophotographyand you'll need as much data as possible from the camera. A RAW file means just that—it's the information from the camera's sensor with no processing applied.
Shutter Speed
When you're photographing the night sky you'll want to capture as much light as you can while minimizing the movement of the stars in the image — unless you're deliberately trying to create star trails. The longer the focal length of your lensthe shorter the shutter speed will need to be to avoid capturing star trails.
There's a simple formula to calculate the correct shutter speed for any given lenscalled the '500-rule'. In its simplest formthis is 500 divided by the focal length of your lens. For exampleif you are using a 20mm lensthis would be 500 / 20mm = 25 seconds. Thishoweveronly applies to full-frame cameras.
For a crop sensor camerathe crop factor needs to be consideredso in this instancewe would recommend using a base value of 300 for APS-C camerasand 250 for Micro Four Thirds cameras.
Start with an exposure of 20 secondswhich is about the longest you can leave the shutter open before stars begin to trail and see how that looks. You can then adjust as needed. As everit pays to experiment with this to achieve the best or most creative results possible.
- Related article How to Photograph the ISS
ISO sensitivity
ISO amplifies the light signal captured by your camera's sensor. Shooting at a higher ISO Means that the camera will have to make some ‘guesswork' as to the detail of the imagewhich creates ‘noise' and grainy imagesbut in generalyou'll need a fairly high ISO when photographing the night sky unless you are photographing the moonwhich is a bright object that emits enough light to enable you to use a lower ISO setting.
Most cameras will deal with low-light settings in different waysand some of the best cameras for low light photography are worth looking at to make the most of your pictures of the night sky. It also pays to start on a lower ISO settingand then ramp it upso you can see the differences in noise and image quality and how it affects your image.
Focusing in the dark
Now your camera is on manual modeyou will also need to set your lens to manual focus using the AF/MF switch on the lens. Thenif you have ituse the 'Live View' feature of your camera to display an image preview on the camera's LCD screen. Once you have done thatidentify a bright star or a distant light source and digitally zoom in on that point of light. Once you've done thisadjust the focus ring until the star or distant light source becomes as small and sharp as possible.
Now that your focus is setit's time to take the shot! Press the shutter release and wait for the image to pop up on the LCD display — it may take some time before you see the image on the LCD screenas the camera can take a while to write the file to the memory card.
If your foreground is looking a bit darktry light painting your subject with a flashlightheadlamp or your smartphone light during the exposure to help brighten the scene. You may need to adjust the ISO or aperture slightly to find what works best for your locationbut you are now firmly on your way to capturing your own images of the beautiful night sky.
Tips and advice
Foreground
Taking multiple exposures can be a good idea to balance the light and focus between the foreground and the night skyas they will require different settings to expose properly. These can be edited together at a later date using an editing program like Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom.
You may find that getting your foreground shots an hour or so earlier during blue hour will helpas there is more light to work with for your foreground objects without having to crank the ISO up.
Reflections
Reflections can really add drama and impact to night photographyespecially if you're shooting the sky near a lake and the weather is stillfor example. There are several ways to capture the reflection of the stars in the water — we would suggest changing your focal point to the water and taking an exposurethen setting your focus back to the night sky and taking the exact same shot. You can merge them later in the edit.
You may find you need to balance your shutter speed a little heredepending on the conditions. A 20-second exposure will capture the reflection of the starsbut you may pick up movement on the water that reduces the clarity. Try shorter exposures for your reflection shot – but it might mean you have to work harder to bring out the stars in the edit. Lightroom's linear-gradient edits are perfect for bringing out the clarity and sharpness of reflectionsso give that a go.
White balance
White balance is somewhat of an art to get rightand it's worth experimenting a bit. While we'd usually recommend setting your white balance to a slightly cooler temperature for astro shotsuse the manual white balance settings or the presets to create interesting tints and variations to your shots. There's no rule. Now you're well-versed in the process of taking night photographs and editing themyou will begin to know what looks right and wrong.
If you're getting some light pollution from surrounding areas being picked up on the cameraadjusting the white balance can make it look like a feature of the photo (we recommend cooling it right down and seeing the effect that has)although you'd need a gradient filter to reduce noise if you're closer to an urban area. To start out withyou can use the 'Auto White Balance' setting and experiment with cooler and warmer adjustments when you edit to see which effect you prefer.
Astrophotography for beginners: Frequently asked questions
What is the best camera for astrophotography?
There is no one best camera for astrophotographyas your needs will vary based on your target and price point! Photographers hoping to capture stunning panoramas of the night sky should look for a quality DSLR or mirrorless camerapaired with the best lens you can buy. Consider spending a little less on the camera body and more on the lens — or glassas the latter will have an outsized effect on your photography!
Those looking to capture images of swirling nebulasgalaxies and distant star clustersmeanwhilemay want to invest in an astronomy camerasuch as the ZWO ASI533MC Prothat — when coupled with an amateur telescope — can capture spectacular deep space imagery.
Be sure to read our picks of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography to find a setup that suits your needs and ambitions!
What equipment do I need for astrophotography?
Astrophotographers looking to capture images of the night sky featuring distant stars or the glowing band of the Milky Way need to invest in a camera with good low light capabilitiesa quality wide-angle lens and a sturdy tripod. The latter can be overlookedbut is incredibly important for holding the camera stable during long exposures.
Once you have those vital pieces of equipment you can look to purchase other pieces of equipmentsuch as a remote shutter release that will allow you to trigger the camera without touching it — which causes unwanted vibrations. You may also want to pick up an intervalometer that releases the shutter at predetermined intervalsalongside warm clothing and a red flashlight. Which will allow you to see while protecting your night vision.
What are the best astronomy photography apps?
It's always a good idea to plan your astrophotography adventures ahead of time and one of the best ways to do that is by making use of smartphone appswhich can help you line up spectacular compositions that blend the land below with the skyscape above. Astronomy apps like Stellarium are fully-fledged pocket planetariumswhich use augmented reality tech to simulate exactly when and where a planet or the moon will rise above the horizon at any given timewhile pointing you towards elusive deep sky objects.
Photo Pills is a great choice specifically geared towards helping you find the best locationdate and time to capture a celestial event and even suggests optimal settings and equipment for doing so!
Check out our roundup of the best astronomy smartphone apps and consider using websites like the Dark Site Finder to find the ideal location for your next astrophotography adventure.
What astronomy book can help me get started on my astrophotography journey?
Consider picking up award-winning astrophotographer Josh Dury's book 52 Assignments: Night Photographywhich provides a much needed framework for newcomers approaching astrophotography with a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
Dury will steadily introduce you to key photography concepts while providing useful tips and guidance on camera settingscompositionequipment and best practices tailored to capturing everything from constellations and meteors to eclipses and the Milky Way.
Read our author's Q&A with Dury to find out more!
