12 ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY PITFALLS (and how to avoid them)
Starting out in astrophotography is an exciting, but often bewildering, experience. When you think about it, it’s probably one of the strangest types of photography out there. You’re going out, in the dark, at night – sometimes in remote spots – trying to capture a picture of something that’s not only really distant but extraordinarily faint by any normal photographic standard. Oh and, by the way, not only will the entire sky be moving while you’re doing this, but the atmosphere you’re shooting through will be wobbling too. And that’s before you’ve even considered the prospect of actually processing the data you’ve captured.
It’s no wonder there are so many slip-ups that it’s easy to make. In this piece I’m going to look at 12 common imaging mistakes and how you can avoid making them. I’ve made every single one of them myself at one point or another, and I’m sure in time you’ll find new and interesting ones of your own too – the astrophotography learning process is one that never ends!
Will Gater is an astronomy journalist and science presenter. His latest book, The Mysteries of the Universe, is published by DK
1. Not getting the focus right and capturing soft data
As imagers we often focused. If you’re not using a focusing aid – such as a Bahtinov mask – time spent carefully confirming focus will never be wasted. When doing this, try to slowly adjust the focuser a little way past what you think is the focus point, and then gradually return back through to the other ‘side’ of that point until you’re absolutely sure where it is.
