Photos of the starry sky are not as difficult as you might think. With the right tips and tricks, you can even take impressive shots with a smartphone. The astrophotographer Stefan Seip now offers a photo course for beginners with his book “astrophotography very simple”.
Anyone who has ever wanted to photograph the starry sky or the moon has certainly noticed that it is not that easy to get a nice picture. Astro photographer Stefan Seip now offers a photo course for beginners with his book “Astrofotografie quite simply”, in which one learns how to take impressive pictures not only with a classic camera, but also with a smartphone.
Astrophotography for beginners: tips and tricks for perfect photos of the starry sky
The author recommends the two introductory chapters for general reading. In it, the reader first learns everything about cameras, lenses and the most important accessories. “Anyone who dedicates himself to astrophotography would do well to familiarize himself with his camera,” writes Seip. In the dark, the automatic function is often overwhelmed, so many settings have to be made manually. And that even works on many cell phones. Smartphones should therefore have a “night mode” or a “pro mode”. The latter allows the manual setting of all important recording parameters. In addition, mobile phones for astrophotography should be able to save recordings in RAW format.
But smartphones quickly reach their limits, so experts rely on cameras. In his guide, Seip explains the differences between SLR cameras and mirrorless system cameras and why a larger sensor takes better pictures. There is also valuable knowledge about focal length, angle of view, exposure time, aperture and focusing. Seip also explains the need for tripods and remote releases. Once the reader has gotten an overview of the most important camera settings, it continues with a “dress rehearsal in the living room” and “test photos of the starry sky”.
Photographing the Milky Way, Northern Lights and Shooting Stars: Simple step-by-step instructions
Once you have worked your way through the basics, there are numerous instructions for various motifs in the starry sky in a practical chapter. In it, the author explains how to take perfect photos of the Milky Way, auroras, comets, noctilucent clouds, constellations and even shooting stars. Two further sections are dedicated to the peculiarities of the moon and the sun. Finally, the author takes the reader into the “digital darkroom” and describes the path from the “raw image” to the optimal result. Stefan Seip explains step by step how you can optimize almost all night shots with the right image processing.
Particularly practical: the fold-out cover contains the most important information at a glance, both on the front and on the back. This includes some camera settings as well as streams of shooting stars and their maxima as well as spectacular sky events from 2023 to 2031. There is also a comprehensive list of useful programs and apps that can be of enormous help for the preparation and post-processing of an astrophotograph.
The cosmos guide offers both beginners and advanced users an excellent introduction to astrophotography. With easy-to-understand step-by-step instructions, failed photos of the night sky should be a thing of the past.
Title: “Astrophotography made easy”
Author: Stefan Seip
Publisher: Cosmos, 2023
Number of pages, book type: 160, softcover
Price: 20.00 euros
ISBN: 9783440171486
Also read:How to photograph shooting stars
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