Star trail photography can produce beautiful results and creating such otherworldly images can be exhilarating. Capturing the incredible and beautiful movement of the solar system as it flows past the earth can, to some of us, gives a heightened sense of place in a majestic universe. The good news is, these incredible photographs are possible to achieve yourself.

In this blog post, I’m going to run through some of the basic things you need to consider before you start shooting the night sky! Reading this blog should save you some time, and help prevent that frustrating moment when you get back to your computer and realize your hours spent out in the cold have been for nothing! Once you know how star rail photography can be very simple, but if you don’t know the process, stumbling for the answer can mean some cold lonely evenings with nothing to show for it!

So, to make sure you are properly prepared, here are my top 10 things to consider when photographing star trails

1. Look for the North Star / Polaris

If you’re looking for circular star trails and you live in the Northern Hemisphere locate Polaris or The North Star, all the other stars will rotate around this point. The Southern Hemisphere doesn’t have a Polaris, but the stars will rotate around the axis of the earth to the south as well. If you don’t want that circular trail, keep the Earth’s axis just outside of your frame or shoot due east / west! 

2. There are some great apps to help you out

There are many great apps for finding objects in the night sky, the Sky Guide app is one of my favorites. 

• Sky Guide: https://www.fifthstarlabs.com

  • updates star and planet locations and as well as notifying you for major astronomical events.

• Star StaX: https://www.markus-enzweiler.de/software/software.html

  • a great program to use when stacking multiple star trail images to build a final composite image.

• PhotoPills: https://www.photopills.com

  • An astrophotographers must have! Not only can it help orientate you in the night, it provides moon phases, sunrise / sunset times and provides augmented reality to help you compose that killer star trail!

3. Always, always, always bring a sturdy tripod

Too many great photographs have been ruined by camera wobble. If you’re out in the wild shooting stars at night, you may have to contend with high wind and uneven ground. Whatever the weather, a good tripod will keep your camera stable.

4. Use the moon to your advantage

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to shoot star trails. Depending on the phase of the moon you have different options available to you. In general, you want to stay away from a full moon or anything more than 35 – 40%. Anything more than that and capturing stars will be difficult to impossible. Less than that though and you are golden! Keep that moon out of your frame and it will nicely light your foreground helping you bring out lots detail you don’t usually get without it!

5. Know your location and be aware of your surroundings 

At night it can be difficult to create a great composition. Always visit your location beforehand in daylight to get a feel for how you want to compose your image. If you don’t check your location when it’s light, it’s likely you’ll be walking around in the dark, struggling to frame your shot. Also, while you are out there, be aware of what is around you! Here in the southwest we have cactus and snakes, the last thing you want to do is sit down or back into one of those!

6. Always bring a remote camera shutter release or intervalometer 

Even the slightest touch of your camera during the process can destabilize the image, causing problems when it comes to post-processing. Although many cameras now come with time-lapse features-built in, a remote camera shutter release or intervalometer will ensure easier control and no camera wobble.

7. Keep an eye on your camera 

At night as the temperature drops, condensation can build up on the camera lens, ruining your image. Make sure to check your camera lens every 15-20 minutes to ensure there are no water droplets on your lens. If you leave your camera unchecked you may come back to find your sequence ruined by condensation.

8. Spare Batteries 

This is a must for any photography excursion. Make sure that you have spare batteries kept warm in your bag. Cold weather can cause batteries to discharge faster than expected, so it’s always good to have at least one fully charged back up.

9. Spare Memory Cards 

Another must for any photography adventure! Make sure you have enough spare memory cards. Sitting around capturing images for hours sometimes can fill those cards up quickly. Make sure you have enough and check frequently, to make sure you haven’t filled that card up!

10. Comforts of Home 

Bring a hot drink, some warm snacks, a chair and blanket or maybe even a friend. Standing around for long periods of time at night, it’s easy to get cold. Properly prepare with warm drinks, a good coat, and gloves and you’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the evening under the stars.

That’s a wrap ya’ll!

These are my top tips to help you prepare for amazing star trails. If you remember to do these ten things, you’ll be well on your way to capturing the real beauty of the night sky, but don’t be put off if the first tries don’t yield perfect results. Each time you head out into the night, you’ll get a little better at framing your perfect night time sky-scape.

If you’re looking for gear recommendations, check out my previous blog post, “An Astrophotography Kit – The Basics”

I hope you enjoyed! What are some of the things you do to prepare for star trail images? Share with me below in the comments!