LIVE AMA with Autumn Schrock + Nate Luebbe

[etgar]

What are some common mistakes beginners make in astrophotography, and how can they be avoided?

[NateintheWild]

What are some common mistakes beginners make in astrophotography, and how can they be avoided?

I think the biggest mistake is having too long of a shutter speed. People tend to get scared away from high ISO and then shoot with a 30s (or longer) shutter speed and then you have star trails rather than crisp stars.

[autpops]

What are some common mistakes beginners make in astrophotography, and how can they be avoided?

Exposure, whether it's over or under; accidentally getting star trails by using too long of a shutter speed; out of focus stars (focusing is the hardest part I think!); and composition. We get so excited when we see the Milky Way for the first time that we end up just pointing our camera at...

[autpops]

What are some common mistakes beginners make in astrophotography, and how can they be avoided?

...it without thinking much about the composition of the image.