A couple of weeks back we wrote a post on how to photograph Star trails, what equipment you need, what settings you should use and tips to get the best out of your shots.

In today’s post we are going to tackle the other popular form of Astrophotography, which is Milky Way photography.

What is the Milky Way

The milky way is the Galaxy that contains our solar system and technically we are part of the Milky Way too! But for the purpose of this guide when we refer to the Milky Way, we are referring to the galactic plane of the Milky way, which is that white-ish (milky!) and fairly dense band of stars that is visible to you when you stare up at the sky on those dark cloudless nights contemplating life and your place in the universe. All of us have read / heard / studied about the milky way and are vaguely aware of its existence, but for most urban dwellers living in polluted cities, it’s a vague concept and something that they are aware of only peripherally. So when you tell someone that you can actually step out of your city, drive out to a nice dark location away from city lights, look up at the sky and spot the milky way, you are usually met with stares of incredulity. But hey! We are here to tell you that it is possible and easy, not only to spot the milky way, but also to photograph it and you don’t need to be in some remote mountainous location in Ladakh or the Himalayas to do so, though it’s probably better up there. 🙂

The photo below was taken in Bhandardara in Maharashtra, a few hours outside of Mumbai on a clear night in the end of May and it took all of 15 minutes to set up and shoot.

Read on if you want to know how to plan and execute such shots!

What you Need:

I’ve picked this section verbatim from our guide to shooting star trails and the equipment you need is pretty much the same.

1. A DSLR or high end Mirrorless camera is preferable, but any camera with FULL manual controls which allows you to set shutter speeds of more than a few minutes is technically good enough. We use the Fuji X Series range of cameras which are great for travel.
2. A fast wide angle lens, at least 18mm or wider and at least F3.5 or faster. The wider and faster the better. Our favourite lens for this type of astrophotography is the inexpensive Samyang 12 mm f2.0. Its fast and wide, perfect for Milky Way shots!
3. A remote or any other method of setting and triggering the shutter in bulb mode. Some newer cameras allow you to do this thru an app.
4. A sturdy tripod. Our favourite is the MeFoto Travel Tripod, which is full size and sturdy but folds up pretty small for travel because of its unique design.
5. A nice dark  (preferable moonless and cloudless) starry night with minimal light pollution.
6. A small flashlight or headlamp is helpful, it is extremely tricky changing settings in the dark

Finding the Milky Way

The first step to shooting the Milky way is actually finding it! Like we said in our star trails guide, first and foremost you need to get out of the city. However unlike with Star trails that you can shoot pretty much all year round (assuming you have clear, dark skies) the Milky way is most prominently visible during the months of April to September. Also in the Northern Hemisphere the Milky way appears to be much closer to the horizon or lower down in the sky, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere the Milky way is more directly overhead. Thus it is important to understand that where and when you are shooting will affect the shots you can and cannot get.

Knowing that you need to get out of the city to a place devoid of light pollution preferably in the summer, you still need to know where to look. There are a number of Apps available that will help guide your line of sight to the milky way, but frankly if you can’t see it with the naked eye it, you aren’t going to get a great shot of it. Sure your camera will pick out a lot more detail and colour than your eye, but in our experience when the milky way is near invisible or even dim to the naked eye, the photos you are underwhelming.

However if you do want to know where the Milky Way should be whip out your smartphone and fire up any of the number of Apps that map the constellations (Sky View for Android is one, Google Sky Maps another) and look for Sagittarius. Sagittarius is one of the constellations that is approximately in the ‘eye’ of the milky way which is visually appealing and photogenic.

Setting Up

Once you have located the Milky Way you need to set your camera up on your tripod and compose your shot. Make sure your point of focus, compositionally and otherwise is on the eye of the milky way because that is the most spectacular part. If you are not exactly sure where the eye is, use the star mapping apps available on Android and iOS to located Sagittarius. Just like when you are taking Star Trail shots ensure that you attach your camera tightly to the tripod which you must position on solid ground and then compose your shot. Again when you compose ensure that besides the Milky way you are also getting some interesting foreground in, Mountains, lakes, that massive lone tree, interesting architectural elements or anything else that complements your shot. Whilst the Milky Way is spectacular, it is all the more powerful and engaging with a little bit of context.

Camera Settings

This is where your shooting technique deviates significantly from Star Trail photos. Whereas in Star Trails you want the trail of light, in Milky way shot you want the exact opposite – pin prick sharp stars!

With your camera in full manual mode start by adjusting the shutter speed.

Shutter Speed: As mentioned you don’t want the stars to trail, but want them nice and sharp like bright dots of light in the sky. This puts an upper limit on how long your exposure can be. This usually ranges from 20 – 30 seconds and depends on the focal length of the lens you use. Basically the longer your lens, the shorter your exposure will need to be to get the stars in focus and sharp. This normally takes a bit of trial and error to get right but there is a rule of thumb you can use as a starting point.

This is called the Rule of 600. Basically it says that the maximum exposure time you can set before  stars begin to trail is determined by dividing 600 by the focal length of your lens in full frame terms.

So basically if you are using a standard 18 – 55 kit lens at 18mm, the maximum exposure time you can set is 600/18 which equals 33 seconds.

But bear in mind that for this rule to work you need to measure your focal length in full frame equivalence. If you are using a Full Frame camera to shoot then this is fine, however if you are using a Crop sensor or APS-C Sensor camera (most mid to entry level DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras are crop sensors) you need to take the crop factor into account. For most DSLR / Mirrorless crop sensor cameras the crop factor is 1.5 (Nikon, Fuji, Sony) or 1.6 (Canon).

Thus if you are using a crop sensor your 18 mm focal length in full frame equivalent terms becomes 18 x 1.5 = 27 mm and you calculation will then be 600/27 = 22 seconds. What this means is that for an 18mm lens on a crop sensor camera any shutter speed of greater than 22 seconds will cause trails.

Bear in mind that this is a rule of thumb and it is meant to be used as a starting point. If you still find trails you may need to reduce your shutter speed even further. Some people nowadays use a rule of 500 (500/ full frame equivalent focal length) or even a rule of 400 to ensure extreme sharpness.

Aperture: For milky way shots you need to set your lens to the largest possible aperture (larger aperture are smaller numbers so f2.8 is larger than f5.6). With a larger aperture, more light gets collected by the sensor and since the stars are just tiny pricks of light in the sky and you have no other light source, you should set the largest possible aperture. 

Focus: This is pretty much the same regardless of whether you are shooting star trails or the milky way. Most cameras will not be able to auto focus in dark conditions on stars, so you will usually have to manual focus. An easy way to start is to set your focus to infinity. Most lenses will have an infinity mark which looks like this: ∞

You need to be careful with this as a lot of cameras / lenses do not have accurate infinity markings and so it’s often a case of trial and error to get the focus sharp. So take a few shots doing minor adjustments until you are satisfied.

ISO: Unlike in Star Trails where you are doing very long exposures, in many cases more that 20 – 30 minutes, in Milky Way photos you are doing exposures of just 20 – 30 seconds. This means that your sensor has the opportunity to collect less light. Bear in mind that just like in Star Trails, for Milky Way photos as well you are shooting on dark, moonless nights where your primary source of illumination is the stars themselves. Thus to really get a nice well exposed photo you have to push up the ISO. How much you push this up is a matter of taste and will differ from scenario to scenario and camera to camera but 1600 will probably be a bare minimum. Most photos we take are usually at ISO3200. Bear in mind that the higher ISO you use, the more ‘noise’ you will get in your photos and they will appear grainy and not pleasing. So it is important that you strike a balance between noise and illumination. 

And that is it; all you need to do now is fine tune your composition, take a couple of test shots to make sure you are at the right ISO and shutter speed and your focus is tack sharp and shoot away!

Some Pro Tips:

1. Half the job is selecting the right location. Having a location with an interesting foreground which is devoid of light pollution means that you are giving yourself the best chance to get an interesting photograph.
2. The other half is going at the right time. Try to pick a time, just after the full moon, when the moon is at its dimmest in the months of April to September. This will give you your best chance to get clear, cloudless Milky Way enhanced skies! This is of course assuming there is no monsoon in that period.
3. For all Astro shots whether Milky Way or Star Trails, a wider lens is usually better as it allows you to take in not only more of the night sky but also the foreground which completes the image.
4. Don’t be afraid to take some vertical frames, since the milky way is sometimes vertical at certain times of the night, and a vertical shot gives you a different perspective.
5. Use a remote or self timer to trigger the exposure. This will help avoid camera shake.
6. Carry a headlamp, not only is it useful to change settings in the dark whilst keeping your hands free, but it can also be used for some interesting light painting effects or to light your foreground.                                                                                                                                      

   

That’s it folk, get out there and scout for locations, check out what other astro photographers are doing, experiment and let your imagination run wild. The beauty of the Milky Way is really apparent when you shoot it and your camera captures for you in vivid detail, the eye of the Milky Way glowing all yellow and purple and punctuated by planets. Enjoy! 🙂