My 4 Methods To Capture Nightscape Images

[@hotelbravogolf]

This is the kind of tutorial I needed. Thank you very much!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

You're very welcome Charles, thanks so much for watching.

[@colindunne8934]

Thee best tutorials full stop on the web. No one comes close....thanks a million for all your hard work and being the gent that you are to share all your knowledge.....

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

You're very kind indeed Colin and I appreciate your support.

[@three-phase562]

Another fantastic video packed full of tips and information. It is great of you to continue sharing this information.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I always appreciate your comments Three-phase. I love the feedback I get from these videos and if they are helping people then I'm happy.

[@leedoyle1510]

Hi Richard. This is an older video but a vitally important one. It sort of summarises a lot from other videos and puts it all together. Just one point I thought might have been valuable to include. You sort of touched on it slightly but think it 's a really valid point you may wish to use for future videos. The 4 methods you described in great detail can also be dictated by the elements on the night. For example, the position of the milky way, cloud cover, the phase of the moon, the position of the moon, street lights, light from traffic, other ambient light. All of these elements play a part in not only the composition of your vision but also the method you choose to shoot it. Many times you may have a vision for a shot but the elements are not ideal for that vision. Doesn't mean that you can't create a fantastic image, maybe just not the one you were orignally thinking of. You demonstrate this principal in many of your videos and think this is a very important point. Learning so much from you. Thank you.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for your very insightful comments Lee, I really appreciate that. You are correct in saying that things can often change when you get out there in the field. Especially the part about not knowing ambient lighting or perhaps light pollution that may change some of the original plans. I really appreciate your input.

[@bruceblaylock8682]

One of your more informative videos, Richard. Thank you!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for having a look Bruce.

[@reydahamadou8737]

Thank you for sharing your method. I like your channel and i can honnestly say that it's the best in KZbin regarding nightscape photography. 📸👍 Keep on the good work.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Really appreciate you watching Reyda.

[@joelmerlet8014]

Hello Richard and thousand thanks for all your advices. It's very nice from you to explain all your methods to us ! I'm very excited to try all of these. With each videos you help us to be better and to realise so beautiful pictures !!! THANK YOU ! Joël ... A Brittany French fan !

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much Joel, I'm pleased you like them.

[@rickengman]

Coming from mainly Astrophotography with Telescopes & DSLR's, I agree with you that the multipule sky image stacking is the best way to bring out details and reduce noise. Shooting Stars with a DSLR and Lenses has it's challenges (much shorter Shutter speeds and higher ISO's than shooting Deep Space Objects) but with lots of images to stack they come out suprisingly clean. I'm doing a stack now with 450 images. Another thing I've used alot to enhance and smooth out the background for star photos is a quick and dirty subtraction layer in Photoshop. You need to mask off the Sky portion of your image, Copy it to the Clipboard, open a new image and paste it. Go to Filters - Noise - Dust & Scratches. Set the Radius to about 80 and the Threshold to 0 and klick "Ok". You should have an even milky black background. If you still see spots from larger, brighter stars, open the Clone Tool (Soft brush-300pix), press ALT and move the Mouse to an area of even coloring near to the Star you want to get rid of and Left Click. Then move the brush over the remaining stars and left click to even them out then flatten the Image. Return to the Tab with the original image and click on Image - Apply Image, in the new window go to "Source" pick the name of the image you made with the D&S mod. Then go to the Blending Tab (in the same window) and select "Subtraction" and see what a difference it makes. You can play with the "Offset" values(to the right of Subtraction drop down) normally I use between 30 and 50. Thanks for these Richard the're really good, it's opening up another Genre of night photography for me. I'm really enjoying it. I haven't really done much photography other than Deep Space Astro, so I'm learning heaps...By the way, I got my 2nd Curtain Sync sorted on my 7D. The problem was a combination of the Camera and the Flash. After spending hours and hours combing the i-net, I finally pieced together that the Yongnuo flashes that end with a 0 (Zero) will not do 2nd Curtian. They are a "Dumb" flash, You have to have one with a # other than 0 for it to work. I got a new YN685 flash, and most importantly a YN 622C -TX transmitter, now it works...I use the 603's to trigger the Camera from the cable and the 622 triggers the Flashes from the Hot shoe. Thanks again and see ya next week.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Very good thoughts indeed Rick, I really appreciate your input. I'm pleased you finally got the flashes to work.

[@thunderpup1327]

Cannot wait to try some of your techniques. Thank you. Have to shoot DX because of financial constraints. Further the skies here in Southernmost Florida are always hazy/cloudy. But you have given me a wonderful place to start.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm really pleased you like the video, I hope you get some clear skies soon.

[@carolelabrecque2799]

Allô 👋! I SO MUCH need to practice, again and again, to get to your level of “Heavenly results"! Even if a few friends say that I’m probably an extraterrestrial 👽 kind of crazy girl, going outside at night and have such beautiful images to show, I’m surely not "there" yet. Thank you for giving so much information on everything you achieve. I’ll always think and be convinced that you’re the BEST of them all! Luv ya! 😍🤩🥰🤗

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes it sure does take a lot of practice Carole, but you're doing really well my friend.

[@carolelabrecque2799]

🤩✨🤩🥰✨🥰

[@Neefafeefa]

Another Great explanation of different methods to photograph the Milky Way with a foreground subject.😊

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much for watching, really appreciated.

[@sandysth267]

Wow wow wow, you are a superstar, I have been trying to take a night scape for quite a time and never got the photo as desired, but after I saw your video yesterday, I tried an attempt last night and it was superb. Though i still need to practice but now I got the starting point. Thank you so much for sharing it. You are awesome.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thank you so much for your kind words Sandy. I'm glad it was helpful.

[@mrdev9843]

You are advantaged by living in the 'lucky country'. So much country to explore and photograph. cheers👍👍

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes I certainly know that Mr Dev, thanks for watching.

[@cagiva85]

Over the years of following your fantastic work Richard, these 4 methods are the foundations that i use to achieve this work flow and end result, as you mentioned once you master the method you can shelve this and concentrate on the rest of the shot, it works every time with fail.... Thanks to you bud... many thanks again your a true gent Richard.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

You're very kind for sure Royston, I certainly appreciate your comments.

[@snookerant]

Another great informational video 👍🏻 can't wait to get out & try some of these out. Roll on next one.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot for watching my friend, really appreciate it.

[@RafaelCBeltrame]

Thanks, Richard. Another amazing and inspiring video!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm so pleased you like it Rafael.

[@tony_r_pierce]

Thanks again Richard. I think this is the best content on KZbin for this subject matter. Looking forward to being able to get out again and try these techniques.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Very kind of you to say Tony, very much appreciate you watching.

[@donhuff3795]

I tried method 3 for the first time last week. Using your videos as a guide and inspiration I think my first attempt turned out okay. Thanks for the videos and I'm looking forward to getting out more under the night sky.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

That's really good to hear Don, thanks for watching.

[@tizocsuarez1563]

Greetings from Costa Rica, Love your work and all you are doing to share with us. A true inspiration of what can be achieved, you make it look soooo simple. Congratulations. Thanks again.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I really appreciate your comments Tizoc, thank you.

[@PhillipMcCallum]

Thank you Richard, very informative as always a enjoyable video

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I really appreciate your comments Phillip as usual.

[@danielodonoghue3529]

I love the lighthouse shot!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much Dan. Yes it's one of my favourites also.

[@rozzembi7318]

Another wonderful explanation and images, Richard. Thank you for sharing. Keep safe and don't forget to wash your hands.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot for watching Rozz, really appreciate that.

[@timrosenthal46]

Excellent as usual mate ..

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Always appreciate your comments Tim

[@andyallard5990]

Well I haven’t done any of those but I am going to give it a go I absolutely love your enthusiasm your pictures are amazing I don’t think I ever want to take a photo in the light again thanks very much for sharing the passion you have for this type of photography is intoxicating it’s a good job I don’tI live in Australia as I would be knocking on your door once again thanks very much for sharing your knowledge much appreciated all the best from the UK Andy

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Hey Andy, I very much appreciate your kind words of support. Thank you mate.

[@ronpardue]

Thanks for all that you give us on your channel. I have learned so much and really been encouraged by your videos. You offer an amazing amount of tech info and I have learned so much.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching Ron. Really appreciate that.

[@pakri6791]

What a great summary of your working methods - very well explained and encouraging people to give these methods a try. Thank you a lot for sharing your deep knowledge and experience !!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm really pleased you like it Pakri, thanks for watching.

[@GARY1951A]

Great video Richard -- Definitely will get out of my box and try some of these methods!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot for having a look Gary.

[@bfgmetalworks]

Once again, another great video. I'm always looking forward to your videos.. Cheers !

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot my friend, really appreciated.

[@amitavachakrabarty8518]

Maan, that was fantastic! Thanx a lot for encouraging us try something NEW.. !

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching.

[@chrismagnus7705]

Awesome work again and much appreciated. Your videos have lead to a significant change in my sleep patterns over the past week as we have had virtually clear skies each night. I have now three torches covered with colour variations from the Lee Filters Designers Edition swatch book. Each swatch is about 90mm by 40mm and is sufficient to cover most usable flashlights. I try to visualise where to light paint to get the foreground, subject and possible far ground. All great fun and just regret that scrap locusts have been active locally for years. But, no shortage of trees, rivers and bridges etc. Great stuff and enjoyed the progression in this methods tutorial.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much for your insightful comments Chris, I really appreciate you watching.

[@simonharding5696]

You definitely weren't waffling, Richard. This is a great video. Structured and logical and a great summary of your methodology and mindsets. This is one to come back to many times whilst trying to improve technique and approach.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Many thanks indeed Simon, I appreciate your comments as always.

[@cristianponte5975]

great job!! i am an admirer of your work

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I really appreciate you watching the channel Cristian, thank you.

[@cristianponte5975]

@@nightscapeimages.richard Are you really satisfied with your Z6? I still have an old noisy nikon d90 and need a change (sorry my bad english🙈)

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

@@cristianponte5975 Yes the Nikon Z6 is the best camera I have ever owned.

[@dougson56]

Awesome Richard as usual , just goes to show that you need to think outside the box, looking forward to the next vlog ,be safe mate.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Really appreciate you watching my friend.

[@Khajakkodian]

I will start practicing method 3 and make my way slowly to method 4. Thanks a million for sharing.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

It all takes time my friend. Thanks for watching.

[@miloradkaravidin8818]

Good morning. Great video as always. I am still stuck with first type of shooting. Next step is definitely stacking and after that making foreground important part of an image either using light painting or long low iso exposure. Lighthouse, ute and the truck are my favorite photos, by favorite I mean just a tiny bit better than others. Thanks again for a great video.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Always very much appreciate your comments Milorad, thanks a lot.

[@suzanneross1451]

Wow Richard that was a great video. I cannot wait to get out and give these methods a try. Thank you so much.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm very pleased you liked it Suzanne, thanks so much for watching.

[@colinhuon5908]

And yet another Gem. Thank you Richard.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Glad you like it Colin

[@M31glow]

My Favorites: Single-shot - Heavens Above: Single-shot with Multiple foreground - Hay-elevator. I love how the elevator follows the same angle as the Milky-way: Stacked-sky exposures - Old railroad bridge: Stacked-sky long exposure -Dove Lake boat shed. This image is so peaceful. Richard, they are all amazing!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Really appreciate your comments Walter.

[@mariomifsud1302]

As others said Richard,I have to try this type of photograph. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I really appreciate you watching Mario

[@debrareither4682]

Absolutely gorgeous photos! Thank you for sharing Richard😍🤩😄😃

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I really appreciate you having a look Debra

[@siegfriedberger7009]

Brilliant wrapup of the various methods you suggested! I always appreciate your lessons and have tried it by myself often!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much for your comments Siegfried, appreciate you watching.

[@smkunder1]

This is fantastic! Very helpful to us beginners.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Good on you Steve, thanks for watching.

[@gretchencole296]

The 2 images from Tasmania are really stunning. I hope to make it there one day.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching Gretchen. I absolutely love Tasmania.

[@lactech27]

What a great examples you bring today in the video... love all the different ways of nightscape images..other great reason to everyone follow your channel

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Always appreciate your comments Luis

[@jamesmcluckie7088]

Magic images great food for thought....😊👍🏻

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching again James.

[@ssmold]

Excellent tutorial! Lots of great information! Can't wait to get out and try it!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for having a look.

[@mitymous1]

Great roundup of approaches, and love the example shots.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Really appreciate you watching again.

[@waynegarmonphotography]

Great video! You inspired me to get out and try this last night.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Good on you Wayne, I hope you got something good.

[@speliotis]

WOW ------- Thank you for all that you share... I appreciate your encouragement & support to get out & try something different... I also appreciate that you dont hold anything back & are so generous with your knowledge & passion.... from NYC

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I try my best to give all the relevant information. I hope you are going ok over there in NYC at present.

[@CaiShuRen]

I think we have more or less been conditioned to think like you by your myriads of tutorials, at least I felt I had. Thanks Richard for all your sharing. t

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Well I don't want you to be all robots but at the same time I'm always happy to assist.

[@dennispenton2052]

Tremendous insight - thanks so much for sharing your experience.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching Dennis, really appreciated.

[@PhillTicehurst]

great video i get so inspired watching them cant wait to put it into practice .Phill

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Good on you Phill, really appreciated.

[@T-Bear]

Your method for both ambient and light painted foreground sounds like a really good idea. I'm going to try this when we get dark skies again. On the bright side. I now have 6 months of light more or less all the time. Going to use them well and scout out lots of places and compositions 🙂 Thanks again for your inspiration and knowledge

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Always happy to hear your comments Torbjorn, thanks a lot my friend.

[@patrickwynne6666]

wow!! i have learn something new tonight, i will try that and let you know when my photos is ready. one step at a time. Thank you!!!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I hope it's very helpful Patrick.

[@michaelbechtold]

Another great video lesson, thank you very much!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Many thanks indeed Michael.

[@rennypang6725]

Thank you Richard! Fantastic!!!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm really pleased you like it, thanks so much for watching.

[@russellschundler6559]

It seems there may be a 5th method. For large landscapes where highlighting with artificial light is not practical, you could capture the scene in the morning directional light being careful to underexpose. Then, keeping the camera in the same place (or marking the place to come back to later) you could capture the night sky background. Then use the computer to align the shots and blend the lighting. Listening to your presentation triggers the imagination. Love your unique area of photographic expertise!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks for having a look, really appreciate that. Yes blue hour twilight blends are very popular and lots of people do them.

[@JorshBrushTV]

Thanks for this superb guide sir!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

My pleasure, always happy to assist.

[@WilliamBeam]

Richard, great video, I shot method 4 last year and will shoot method 3 this year(once we can). One thing that I did that worked pretty well for the foreground, is to use the frames taken for the sky stack and stack and mean those in Photoshop for the foreground. This obviously won't work for subject matter close to the camera, but for things a bit of a ways from the camera it can work.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes very good thoughts William, I have done the same with the foreground, kill 2 birds with one stone. Thanks for watching.

[@johnwheeler5271]

Thank you Richard for all your advice and help.Really interesting and informative video.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I appreciate you watching John

[@johnwheeler5271]

@@nightscapeimages.richard.Look forward to watching your next video Richard.Will be putting your advice to good use soon(weather Permitting)Have made notes of all your various settings etc.I have a Canon R5 plus a Canon 16-35 L Lens F2.8 also a Sigma 24mm F1.4 so hopefully fingers crossed.Thank you again.John

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

@@johnwheeler5271 Thanks John

[@jeff_2427]

Another wonderful episode on the channel ... very much appreciated! If you ever get the chance down the track, I would love to see some more information on printing and framing options. I have experimented with a range of papers, metal, gloss levels, protective coatings, mountings, framing options etc, but the $$ spend adds up pretty quick. I love some of the poster size prints shown in your videos, which look amazing and to be on quite thick material. Would love to hear about some of your experience and personal preferences.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot Jeff. To be honest I don't consider myself an expert on printing but I am quite happy with the large prints I've had done these past few years.

[@rogeriopeccioli1616]

Parabéns Richard Tatto. Seu trabalho é fantástico e inspirador.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thank you for having a look my friend.

[@johnl4469]

Thanks Richard. Damn you're good! Love your images :).

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Very kind of you to say John, thanks a lot.

[@pictureeyecandy]

👍 Very nice!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot Alvin

[@dhg1960]

Another great episode. Although it repeats most of what is in your other videos, it was really interesting to see the methods next to one another and also which method suits which scenario. The last method was new for me, I don't recall seeing any other videos on it, it is something I will have to try out. My the way, I loved the shot of Road Closed, this was particularly amusing, as the german word for the milkyway is Milchstraße and this translates literally to milkroad !

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks as always for your comments Dave, yes the blending of ambient light is an old method but I like to mix them up a bit.

[@vikkitempleton9157]

Thanks, great video

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

You're very welcome Vikki

[@thanosbistolas6903]

Thanks Richard, this is a good overview of the various methods for night imaging. I would add one more method and this is the use of a tracker for the stars. It is slightly more complicated but when mastered it will give fantastic results. The main advantage of this method is that there is no need for a superfast lens or expensive camera. This way star images can be captured at the highest possible dynamic range, since they can be shot at low ISOs, typically 400-800 or even lower, if precise polar alignment is achieved. Foreground images are being shot using the methods you have described and then both foreground and background are blended together. Blending images this way is trickier though plus there is a need for the extra equipment to be carried around.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for your insight Thanos. Yes indeed milky way shots taken with star trackers are wonderful but I feel the difficulty of blending the foreground elements is often glossed over. It can be very difficult with any fine and complex shapes and trees etc. I have done a bit of it and it requires a very good knowledge of photoshop and plenty of time to perfect.

[@TheLordCyberex]

Superb lesson! Thanks.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm really pleased you like it Paul, thanks for watching.

[@andysuzierawlins5462]

Your videos are a great learning tool. My question is what if you have older systems and software, editing could be more of a challenge

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes there is no doubt about that Andy, it would not be so easy without the great software available today.

[@andysuzierawlins5462]

@@nightscapeimages.richard I have a windows vista pc and a windows 7 laptop, both with lr 3.6, pc has Photoshop elements 9, so can light painting still be done using these or can I use alternative methods

[@sookephotographyadventures]

Another great video, Richard! I found watching all the various methods in one video was really helpful, even though I’ve seen you talk about most of them before. I recently got Starry Landscape Stacker and am looking forward to experimenting with it, once we have clear skies.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Good on you Drake, yes it is sometimes good to just put everything into one video so to speak. Appreciate you watching.

[@timelessambient7826]

Greating from Jakarta. Your videos are always inspiring. In this episode you have summarized it very well all methods of how to do astro photography I have learned so much from your videos. Unfortunately I live in the big city. However I did have a chance to practice one of your methods while I was in lake pukaki - New zealand which I will be posted in my IG - timelessambient. I owe this one to you Thank you, Richard for your inspiration and knowledge

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Wonderful, I'm glad you got something out of it my friend.

[@akkarparkiamopas3401]

your setting for foreground exposure "iso500 15Sec f5" is very easy to remember. Thanks for all your useful tutorials

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'm glad you like it. Thanks for watching.

[@michaellillis3086]

Thanks Richard - Excellent- Very informative & great presentation. Are you planning any future video which might include some info on the using of star trackers. ?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot Michael. I do get a lot of questions about star trackers. I don't use mine very much but I'll certainly get it out again soon.

[@adrianalfordphotography]

Another great video Richard, thank you so much for posting. I think I would most associate with Method 1. with a sprinkling of Method 2. I rely too much on the good dynamic range of my camera, but then you have to contend with noise reduction in post. I should do more multiple exposures and light painting and then combine in PS. Beautiful shots as always mate. Great info. Cheers.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks heaps Adrian, yes it's always a trade off between shooting in the moment and thinking about the post processing aspect down the track. Appreciate your comments mate.

[@robbeythecarpenter8493]

Thank you Richard

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much Rob

[@MrBooojangles]

What would you suggest as the maximum ISO to use for a crop sensor Canon 80D to avoid grain at night. I see you use ISO2500 there on your full frame Nikon, though I have to admit, I've not tried using wide apertures with long exposures at night yet, so maybe that makes a difference.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I think you can go to about iso3200, maybe more if you give the camera plenty of exposure. What makes all the difference is a fast aperture lens.

[@MrBooojangles]

@@nightscapeimages.richard ah great thanks, I will try that out with the fastest lens I have at the moment. My ultimate wide lens will be the Tokina 11-16mm but I haven't got enough money for it at the moment, LOL.

[@josem.ignacio3370]

Amazing videos. Thanks a lot.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much for watching Jose.

[@grmrtnz]

Richard, I use a 5th variation. I tend tu shoot my foreground throughout blue hour. Specially at the end of blue hour. Then I shoot between 5 and 10 5 minutes tracked images @ISO800 for the Milky Way. And then use what I learned from your videos ro blend them in Ps. Another thing I have started to do is to use some of graduated filters (up side down) to tame areas of harsh light pollution.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

All very good comments, yes a lot of people shoot blue hour blends. The only issue with that is if the milky way isn't ready to rise until many hours after blue hour.

[@southbear123]

Great ideas!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much John

[@yvanelaravena7112]

hello friend ... good photos ... you could make a video about how you edit the stacking shots and the subsequent joints in photoshop.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks for watching Yvanel. I have quite a few videos on these processes. Check this series: kzbin.info/aero/PLAYKmqkUeSM_ovfT8k7ifk26X4zjeqJWb

[@georgepistikoudis]

Hi Richard. As always your videos are precious and inspiring for my nightscape photography. I have a comment to make. It is about the method where we take multiple foreground images. I am shooting using a Canon D750 cropped camera and the Samyang 10mm f/2.8 which is a manual focus lens. The easy part concerning focus is the sky-part where i find infinity by focusing at a bright star or planet. The difficult part is to refocus for the foreground using a wide (10mm) manual lens. What i do is i let the focus to infinity but i am always try to have the foreground at a distance greater than the hyperfocal distance of this lens. I still haven't found a better trick to focus at such a foreground at night with a manual super wide lens. I can think that a autofocus lens would be of great help so that it could focus accurately at a (well lit) foreground.

[@steveperkins3718]

Thanks Richard. Can you direct me to your post processing method for blending the long exposures for the foreground that are lit by the moon. I’m out tomorrow to a location that may be quite fruitful. Cheers and thanks again. Great vids - and when I get the next chance to come over to OZ I’d love to book on one of your workshops

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much for watching Steve, really appreciate that. I don't have any videos that show my post processing of moonlit shot although I have a few that go through the shooting methods of miinlit nightscapes. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJjOepydhq-LbMU or this one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKHYm3-vfdd9o8k

[@densprospecting]

Great information for me to try in this video. I have read through the comments hoping to find an answer to stacking the ambient light foreground images in sequator as I don't use photoshop. Are you able to give me tips on how to in sequator please?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks for watching Dennis. Yes I use Sequator all the time to stack foregrounds. You just need to make sure you freeze ground and it will work really well. The only problem is that you can't blend extra long foreground shots with normal sky shots without photoshop. You see the stars will be trailing in the extra long exposures of the foreground. The only thing you can do is make sure your shutter speed doesn't get too long and then you can use both the sky and the foreground from the same shots.

[@MattSchulze]

The one method that I use is to get several shots of the landscape during blue hour and then stacking the sky shots with Starry Landscape Stacker. Then choosing the best of the blue hour shots and darkening it down to a level where it's brightness blends in with the sky is a nice way to go for larger landscapes.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes a very good suggestion indeed Matt, really appreciate you watching.

[@bobg982]

Thank you Richard for another masterclass. Please remind me, do you use Sequator to stack foregrounds too? I know it's your go-to tool for stacking the sky part of your images.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Hey Bob thanks for watching, yes you can use Sequator to stack foregrounds. You can also use photoshop.

[@petereichstein5603]

@@nightscapeimages.richard Richard when stacking foregrounds is the process in Sequator the same as in rub out the lines in the foreground instead of the sky?

[@chetandoshi7053]

Super, opens up the mind to thinking differently. Noticed with a fast lens you are closing down your aperture by a stop or two with all sky shots. Is that to get the best sharpness? Secondly, with foreground shots you use a rather wide aperture such as f3.5 or even wider for a large landscape as in some pics when you were running thru Method 4. Do you not need something like f8 or f11 for a generous DOF for such large landscapes?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks for watching Chetan. All good points. Yes I often stop down a fast aperture lens to get a sharper image. It's a trade off, yes I could shoot at f8 or f11 but that would require a very long exposure to get equivalent exposure time, so I tend to compromise a bit. Depth of field is not a great issue with landscape images at night but you can always re-focus to make it really sharp. Obviously I'll focus stack if there is something really close to the camera.

[@ianpalmer186]

Really helpful video Richard. Love the images especially the ploughing machine with all its fine detail. Is the Falcon yours? It looked really cool.👏👏👏

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks Ian, no unfortunately the Falcon isn't mine.

[@jmfoty4280]

Great images! Every one of them. I especially love the rural foregrounds. Have you considered a star tracker? That would make method #5.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot John. I have owned a star tracker for about 4 years but I don't use it very often.

[@alancollins5991]

hi richard, just stumbled across your channel, loved your nightime pics. One question, what determines what iso you use for your background sky settings, surely the lower the iso setting, the cleaner the photo. I notice some shots are shot at 2500 and others are shot at 6400 iso, why is this, i have the canon 5d mark2, which is not great for low light photography, so i have to be careful, thank you.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot for watching Alan. I'm using a camera that is ISO invariant. This means that I can underexpose an image and increase the exposure in post production without introducing extra noise. But I found that it doesn't really matter so these days I tend to use the higher iso in camera and not boost it in post. With your Canon you can't afford to underexpose the images as you'll introduce nasty artifacts such as purple fringing if you do. I'd suggest pushing the iso up as far as you can when shooting in the field. Noise reduction is a must in post production also. That's actually why I do stacking of my images .. it helps greatly reduce noise.

[@pawelschubert6269]

Hi Richard. Fantastic work as always. Thank you so much, I have definitely used the first three methods. I am just curious, how to do you stack the foreground images that are ambient exposure (method 4)?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thank you so much for watching Pawel. If I'm shooting more than one expopsure I'll stack in Sequator. You can also stack for noise reduction in potoshop but I don't usually do it that way. I just add that image as a layer in photoshop with the other light painted foregrounds and use blend modes and layer masks.

[@carlmcneill1139]

There's a 5th method that you use some times in your videos that you left out and that's artificial lighting by flash or speed light. Those of us who follow your channel already know about it. Or using constant light with you LED lights. Here's one method I've never seen you use but I have see it, using light sticks, wands or even steel wool inside a wisk using long exposure. It's all about what your imagination is to what you can come up with. It comes down to understanding light, your camera, and figuring out the techniques. Learning your editing software really helps too.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot for your insight Carl, yes of course there are always plenty of creative ways to express yourself with lights and I think that's what makes it all so exciting.

[@shanekrajic7167]

Thanks so much, I cannot wait to get out again. Do you ever have any troubles with wildlife or farm animals at night, and how do you go about accessing properties?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks for watching Shane, no I never have issues with wild animals. I talk a lot about accessing farm and private properties in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYXPdWamiNFkd6M

[@carlreid4161]

Wonderful overview of your techniques and methods Richard. Hopefully the clouds over here will give me a chance Tuesday to try some of your recommendations. I bought the LED Lenser P 7 do you use the low light when painting? Regards Carl

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks a lot Carl. Yes I nearly always use the torch on it's lowest setting to light paint.

[@carlreid4161]

Nightscape Images good tip fingers crossed it stays clear tonight it looks clear presently but being close to the ocean you never know.

[@jstrege1]

Loved the video. Great way to pull it all together. When you light the inside of a car or building in a multiple foreground image, do you leave the inside light on for all the shots or just one for the stack.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks very much for watching John. Usually I'll only leave it on for one of the shots, then I can decide not to include it if I don't want to.

[@TheOne-er7nk]

Great stuff as usual, thanks. I was wondering how many Lumens for a light painting torch? I don't want to get a massive "over kill" torch... and I definitely want to avoid one that is not enough. What would folks on here suggest?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I'd suggest about 350 to 400 lumens max. Also make sure you get one that zooms and doesn't have any hot spots. A soft edge is handy as well.

[@PentaxLife]

Well done Richard on that 20mm lens how do you get 20 sec I shoot a 10mm and at 20 sec I get star trails? Thanks Richard.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

I don't usually shoot for 20 seconds unless it's a single shot and even then it's usually 15 seconds these days. Some of these are a little older.

[@chrismagnus7705]

If you get the Photopills app it allows you to input your camera model and then select your focal length to tell how long you can shoot for before you get star trails. I have a D850 and with the 14-24mm lens suggests 10 seconds is the max.

[@jessicaeiss2541]

This was really good, but leaves me with post processing questions... what do you do with 10 stacked sky images? Do you just flatten them, as I'd think if you used the lighten blending mode, you'd start seeing trailing? And then same with multiple foreground images too? Thanks!

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

With the 10 stacked sky images you have to use software such as Sequator to align and stack them. I demonstrate this in many of my videos. See here at about 9.30: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaa7eYejrMiUfK8

[@Shongweni1]

Great video and awesome images...definitely will attempt these methods. One question though as I have never attempted multiple images....when capturing multiple background images of the milky way does it not effect the final blending taking into account that the stars are not stationery especially over a series of 5 or more images taken at 10 second intervals.

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thank you very much for watching Mike. That's the magic of programs like Sequator as they both align the images and also remove the noise .. whilst at the same time freezing the foreground. I don't know how it does it but it works really well. Very similar to panorama software that does a similar thing regarding blending lots of exposures taken over time.

[@dieterdamm3740]

Richard, as always a fantástic video. A question about method 4. When you stacked the background shots and foreground shots seperately using Sequator, how do you blend both created images together in Photoshop? Which blending Mode do you use, lighten Mode like in Method 3, blending the light painted images with the Sky shots?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Yes I use the lighten blend mode as you mentioned. I have quite a few videos which explain this process.

[@andrevandermeulen]

Great video as always! One question do you also use a startracker for tracking the sky?

[@nightscapeimages.richard]

Thanks so much Andre, really appreciate you watching. I do have a star tracker but rarely use it. I prefer the stacking of static shot method. That's because I do extensive foreground light painting and it's a lot easier to blend than the star tracker method.

[@andrevandermeulen]

@@nightscapeimages.richard tnx! Yeah i'm also do stacking more and more. The moved foreground is a bit of a pain to blend in. I'm going wildcamping tonight so i don't bring al lot of gear so the tracker will stay home. Have a great day! Greetings Andre