Star trail photography is a type of long exposure photography where the camera is pointed at the sky for a long period of time to capture the movement of the earth through space relative to the stars. This can either be done by one long exposure (which is tedious and does not allow any room for error) or by multiple shorter exposures which are later on stacked in Photoshop or Startrails.exe (This method allows for more error and generally works all the time with the same settings)
My preferred method is the stacking of multiple exposures as it allows for more error (if the tripod shakes or a car flashes it’s lights into your camera, you can remove that frame and still have a useable image sequence) and you can make sure that you have the correct settings/focus in 30 seconds.
General settings – This is what has worked for me on my Canon T3 (which is a crop frame sensor) and Canon 6D (which is a full frame sensor). Generally the lower ISO the better, as there is less noise recorded. These settings are also a good basis for general astrophotography as well.
- 30 Second Exposure
- F/3.5 (or as low as you can go)
- ISO 800
- Tungsten Light White Balance
- Continuous Shooting Drive Mode
- Manual Focus
You will need some sort of remote trigger to trigger the shots off one after another continuously. Usually an hour to 3 hours create a decent star trail. Take these settings and have fun with them. Be sure to share your results over at our Facebook Page facebook.com/NWJPhotography
Here are two videos. The first discusses settings, shooting, and composition in Startrails.exe. The second discusses composition in Photoshop.