The Starry Skies

By Hyunju Blemel

Valle Vidal

October 1, 2019

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A n d T h e S t a r r y S k i e s

(How to Take a Long Exposure)

Start by setting up your camera and tripod and point for the sky. A wide angle lens (mine is 14mm) with small f/ stop (mine goes to f/ 2.8) will work best as it will capture a large amount of sky and allow a lot of light in. A location with low light pollution (including from the moon) and visibility of the milky way are perfect for taking a star exposure. Having a red light flashlight is helpful to shine on your camera without ruining your night vision.

1.    Set your ISO to the highest number on your camera. Mine was set to 12800.

2.    Set your aperture to the lowest number on your camera. My lens goes to f/ 2.8.

3.    Set your shutter speed to 30 seconds. If you set it for any longer the stars will drag into lines. Also make sure the shutter sets itself off, if you push the button yourself then the camera can shake, and the image will be blurry.

4.    Make sure manual focus is set to “on” and set the focus to the farthest distance.

5.    Edit you photo! I like to brighten the whites and darken the blacks in the image.

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