Today I wanted to share a photo of the beautiful night sky, taken from the quaint and peaceful tip of the Sorrento Peninsula this past weekend. The amount of stars you could see was memorizing, considering the bright light pollution of Naples was only about 15 miles away.
Night shots like this are really not that difficult to take. You must have a tripod (or hard surface, beanbag, etc…) and be able to manipulate some aspects of your camera settings – ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture. A remote release helps as well to reduce camera shake, but the self timer will work. Focus is difficult because the camera won’t be able to grab on to anything in the darkness for reference. A quick tip if you are shooting with a DSLR - switch to Live View and zoom in on the LCD, manually focusing until your subject is sharp. Want more sharpness in the frame (increasing depth of field), close up your aperture. If it is too dark to see anything brightly, exposure compensation can brighten up your LCD a tad to be able to distinguish details effectively. Really, you should always shoot in live view if on a tripod and you have the time to compose the shot. The movement of the mirror can cause camera shake, even when on a tripod. With Live View, the Mirror is already up so there are no moving parts when the image is captured. Another random tip is to take off your camera strap if there is any breeze, as it will act like a sail, resulting in more camera movement! The best advice I can give is try one group of settings, then try another, then try another, until you are happy with your results. This way you will have a range of photos to choose from.
For this shot, I was at ISO 1600, F/9, shutter speed of 25 seconds (stars start to blur from the Earth’s movement after about 20 seconds, depending on your focal length), and shot it at 10mm.
As far as post-processing goes, if you increase the contrast and blacks of the frame, it will put more of an emphasis on the stars. Pair that with upping the exposure and sharpness, and stars will begin to appear that you wouldn’t have even been able to see with your eyes. With a little noise reduction, your photo should look pretty good. Anyways, I hope the tips help and you enjoy the capture!
Prints for this photo and others are available here!
Bookmark the Blog or subscribe to the right so you can come back everyday 
Wow Adam, this is just awesome! Incredible night photography! I gotta get to a place where I can do this, way too much light pollution in the city!
Awesome night shot Adam. Love the composition on this.
Len Saltiel recently posted..Purple Mountain Majesty
Very nice! I’ve been wanting to get out and capture some stars. I may have to get out this week since it’s a new moon and see if I can see the milky way.
Rick Louie recently posted..Storm Clouds Over The Brooklyn Bridge
Super nice shot! When I’ve been shooting at night I have gotten better results with lower ISO’s but this looks great!
Fantastic photo, Adam. And thank for the tips. If we get any clear skies here I’d give this a try.
This is absolutely magical. WOW..WOW…WOW!!!
What a gorgeous scene, and thank you SO much for the highly useful tips on how to achieve this, Adam! Great shot, my friend!
Fantastic shot and wonderful colour at the base. Thanks for the info as well, I’ve never tried Live View on my D80. May be too basic for such a function! I’m considering picking up a second hand D700 – I’m guessing that with the launch of the D800 there will be a lot of D700s traded in.
LensScaper recently posted..How old is HDR Photography?
Nice shot and a great explanation, too! Those of us who live in/near any big city will not be able to enjoy such a view because of the light pollution. I have not been fortunate to see anything like this for quite some time.
Mark Summerfield recently posted..Cellar Treasures
WOW! Fantastic picture. The interest at the bottom just finishes it off!
Tim Pursall recently posted..Canon 5D MKIII.
Wow dude, that’s freaking sweet!
This is an amazing shot Adam! Feels like there is a journey through the whole picture. Stunning scene, stunning processing, everything!
Adam fantastic image. I love it. Thanks for the tips as well. You know I’ve never shot in Live view (although I’ve only had the 7D for a few months and it wasn’t an option on my last camera).
Edith Levy recently posted..Peace in the Midst of Chaos
How beautiful this is Adam!
Stunning shot, Adam! Love this beauty.
Nice tips on processing this.
Jimi Jones recently posted..Oars and Canoes
wow Adam this is awesome, such a great shot!!
Just AWESOME! Love this Adam!
That is an absolutely stunning photo Adam – be very proud of it, it’s terrific! Beautiful colour, quite magical.
Viveca Koh recently posted..Books and material from abandoned manor house by Viveca Koh ARPS/Viveca Koh
i really like your picks
the stars are really pretty
Thanks Mollie!! I appreciate you visiting!
Pingback: Una noche bajo un manto de estrellas en Capri | La Maleta de los Viajes - Iberojet