Just a while ago it was almost impossible to think that we could have not only high-quality cameras on our smartphones , but also the simple fact of taking a perfect image of the starry sky on a totally dark night. Fortunately, nowadays, there are already many mobile devices that allow us to take these types of photographs, although it is always good to have a little help with some of the accessories that can be found.
In addition to that there are also some tricks that will help us take snapshots of the starry sky , which we will mention later and we will even give you a recommendation. And it is that it will not only depend on the ability of the phone to take pictures since, with the right technique and the right accessories, you will be able to capture the best images of the stars how and when you want. Therefore, pay close attention and do not miss anything if you want to be able to make the most of your smartphone’s camera at night.
Best props for star photography
The first thing you have to know is that, unfortunately, not all mobile devices will be suitable for taking snapshots of the stars. For the simple reason that we are going to need our phones to let us adjust certain parameters and their cameras have to offer us good quality.
However, there are different accessories that will help us during this process, some more than others. So we recommend paying attention if you want to get ideal images at night, although it will be much easier if you get any of these accessories.
Use a tripod
One of the first aspects that will have to be taken into account yes or yes is that it will be very difficult for you to be able to photograph the stars by hand. That is, even if you have a surgeon’s pulse, no matter how slight the movement is, it will make the image appear shaky, especially at night. In this way, what we will need to carry out the best taking of these images will be to have a tripod on which we can place our smartphone.
Also, these accessories are explicitly designed to support a mobile phone, basically because they come prepared with the holder . Even not having to support the weight of a classic camera, they are usually quite light. In the event that you have this accessory, but do not have a support at hand, we recommend that you buy one, as it will be necessary to be able to place the smartphone. And also, the ideal is to have a remote trigger so you don’t have to touch your mobile when taking an image.
Get a remote control
As we have mentioned before, another of the basic accessories that should not be missing in our equipment to photograph the Milky Way with our mobile phone is the remote control or push button . We will need to shoot our mobile without touching it so that in this way we can avoid possible vibrations that may be reflected in the final image.
For this reason, even if you are located right next to the tripod with your phone, the remote control will be essential to get images with better clarity. Therefore, if you want to learn more about how the approach in night photography should be, we recommend that you continue reading. In addition, with a remote button we will always have the possibility of taking several snapshots in a row, which makes it more essential.
Portable battery for mobile
We cannot forget to have a portable battery that lasts us for many hours. Especially if we plan to spend all night photographing the starry sky . For this reason, we will have to know what is the maximum mAh capacity of the battery of our mobile device to be able to decide on a desired type of charge. After a search, the truth is that it can take us to where we decide. But, finally, the final intention will be to buy a portable battery that meets all our requirements. For this reason, we recommend a portable battery with Quick Charge 3.0, a large mAh capacity and a significant charging speed.
Telescope lens for smartphone
If before we talked about the importance of having a tripod, the truth is that it must be essential to have a telescope objective for your smartphone so that the results are of an unimaginable quality. Although, it will also depend on the quality that your terminals can offer you, as well as the software they have specialized for night photography.
However, using telescope lenses for your smartphone will always be a plus to achieve perfect close-ups, instead of doing a type of zoom, whether hybrid or not, with the mobile camera. Well, the normal thing is that it ends up creating the point of light without the shape of the stars or the moon.
Configure the camera of your mobile
To take the best snapshots we have to know how to play with the different configurations that our mobile can offer us. This is because with night photography it will not do us any good to arrive and take a snapshot. For this reason, we have to look and understand about ISO, aperture and shutter speed, in order to make the most of them.
If we look first at the ISO, it is about the sensitivity of our camera and, in this case, although we want to capture as much light as possible, the reality is that we will need the lowest number possible . Normally in low light we raise the ISO to make the camera more sensitive to light and achieve more, but here we want the opposite. We want a low ISO, around 100, since we do not want noise and, as we will see below, the contribution of light will be achieved with the aperture and the exposure time.
Another important factor will be the diaphragm , as it will take care of the amount of light that we let pass through the objective of our mobile, or in this case telephoto. Therefore, the more open the diaphragm is, the more light will enter. And the more closed, the less light. To be able to take the best images of the stars with our mobile device, we will need to open the diaphragm to the maximum. If you are able to reach f / 2 it would be ideal, although if you can more, much better.
Shutter speed or also known as exposure, is the time that our sensor will be capturing light. In this case, we will need the sensor of our smartphone to be capturing the image for as long as possible. To do this, we recommend that you use a 15-second exposure . In this way we will be able to capture the stars well. And finally, we will have to adjust the focus to infinity of our terminal’s camera.
