Advances in technology have enabled smartphones to achieve a quality in the making of photos and videos that is in many cases similar if not even better than traditional cameras. Today even the most complex situations, such as night scenes and all the conditions in which you find yourself in a poorly lit context, are handled by mobile phones without any problem.
Thanks above all to the precious contribution of latest generation sensors and artificial intelligence even novice photographers can get quality results easily and intuitively, even pushing the phone to the limit as when trying to capture the starry skies.
Astronomical photographs were generally only possible using professional tools but today they are sufficient a few essential technical information and a good quality smartphone. We verified it in the field by going to Jordan where we thoroughly tested the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, one of the most advanced camera phones on the market. Here’s what we learned from this tutorial and what it really takes to get some striking star photos.
1. Choose the right night and place
It will seem trivial but to photograph the stars you need to be able to see them well. This means that it is necessary choose a suitable place to capture the night sky, a place that is not affected by light pollution. It is therefore necessary to move away from the cities and find a place that can offer an interesting setting, better contexts where it can be ideally combined sky and earth.
With a smartphone the image of the sky alone may not offer impressive results, these photos work when you can also insert some element of the environment such as a mountain, a tree or a person.
2. Use a tripod
To be sure of a good result it is not possible to take a freehand astronomical photo, you have to hold the phone firmly while shooting. You can place the smartphone on some support but the best choice is that of use a tripod.
3. Set up the phone correctly
Many phones have the ‘night function which automatically sets all parameters to get beautiful pictures in low light conditions, but to take a picture of the starry sky these parameters must be selected manually. This is the only slightly technical step that requires a little attention.
The first thing to do is to access the manual settings of the camera, a possibility offered by the most advanced models. At this point it is necessary choose the shutter speed which must necessarily be long, the limit is linked to the type of phone you use, but the best results are obtained with shutter speeds of at least 12, 20, 30 seconds. It is also essential to choose the right ISO, a value of 800 ensures a good balance between sensitivity and low noise.
Do not use HDR, zoom and leave the white balance automatically. The focus is on infinity.
4. Use the self-timer
During the shot you have to prevent the phone from moving, even small vibrations can compromise the final result. The advice is therefore to set the self-timer 3-5 seconds in order to avoid touching the smartphone when taking pictures.
5. Be patient
Beautiful photos require patience, especially when they are a little more technical like those that aim to capture starry skies. You hardly ever get perfect results on the first shot, you need to take the time to do more tests and check the validity of the place chosen for the photograph. Sometimes it is enough to raise or lower the stand a little, rotate it in one direction, or slightly change some parameters to find the right formula. With a little practice and a few attempts you will be able to make some amazing photo shots.
Source: Vanity Fair
