Photography guides
How to photograph the night sky
Long, practical guides that cover the settings, the gear, the timing and the planning steps for each kind of shot. Each one is written so you can follow it in the field.
Sky calendar
What you can see each month, with dates, and what to photograph.
What’s in the Sky in October 2026: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in October 2026: Saturn at opposition, the Moon hiding Jupiter, Draconids and Orionids, the Hunter's Moon, and what to photograph.
What’s in the Sky in November 2026: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in November 2026: the Moon occults Mars and Jupiter, Venus returns at dawn, the Leonids, the Beaver supermoon, and what to shoot.
What’s in the Sky in December 2026: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in December 2026: the Geminids under a dark sky, the Cold supermoon, the solstice, Jupiter and Mars in Leo, and what to photograph.
What’s in the Sky in January 2027: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in January 2027: the Quadrantids with no Moon, Venus high before dawn, Jupiter and Mars in Leo, and the year's closest full Moon.
What’s in the Sky in February 2027: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in February 2027: Jupiter and Mars at opposition in Leo, an annular solar eclipse over Chile and Argentina, and the Snow Moon by Jupiter.
What’s in the Sky in March 2027: Moon, Planets, Meteors and What to Photograph
What's in the sky in March 2027: Jupiter and Mars all evening, the Moon occulting Jupiter, the Worm Moon after the equinox, and the Milky Way core at dawn.
Subjects
Guides to photographing the Moon, the Milky Way, meteors, eclipses, planets and more.
How to Photograph a Huge Moon Behind a Building, Tree or Landmark
How to photograph a huge Moon behind a building, tree or skyline: the 46 ft per mile distance rule, lens choice, moonrise alignment, timing and settings.
How to Photograph the Milky Way: Settings, Gear and Planning
How to photograph the Milky Way: the camera settings to use, the months and Moon phases to go out in, and how to pick a dark site.
How to Photograph a Meteor Shower (Settings + 2026–27 Dates)
How to photograph a meteor shower: the settings, where to aim, when to start, and every 2026–27 peak with the Moon phase, Geminids to Perseids.
How to Photograph Star Trails: Settings, Stacking and Planning
Star trails photography: where to point for circles or arcs, the settings for stacking, what to do about power and dew, and how to stack the frames.
How to Photograph the Northern Lights: Settings and a Kp Guide
How to photograph the northern lights: the Kp you need at your latitude, shutter speeds by how fast the aurora moves, and what to do with a phone.
How to Photograph a Lunar Eclipse (Settings for Every Phase)
How to photograph a lunar eclipse: ISO, aperture and shutter for every phase from full Moon to red totality, which lens to bring, and when the next one is.
How to Photograph the ISS: Pass Timing, Settings and Trails
How to photograph the ISS: read a pass prediction, pick the right night, set f/2.8 and 10-second frames, then stack the trail into one clean arc.
How to Photograph a Conjunction: the Moon and Venus, Planet Pairings and Close Approaches
The Moon passes Venus about once a month. When to shoot a Moon and Venus conjunction, settings that show crescent and earthshine, and the 2026–27 dates.
Why Venus Is the Brightest Planet, and How to See and Photograph It
Why is Venus so bright, and why is it only ever the evening star or morning star? How to see it in daylight and photograph it, with 2026–27 dates.
How to Photograph the Planets: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars From a Backyard
How to photograph planets from a backyard: opposition dates for 2026–27, twilight landscape settings, and lucky imaging for Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.
Supermoons, Blue Moons and the Harvest Moon: What They Really Are and How to Photograph a Full Moon
When is the next supermoon? Full Moon and supermoon dates to December 2027, what Blue and Harvest Moons really are, and how to photograph a full Moon.
The Total Solar Eclipse of August 2, 2027: Where to See It and How to Photograph It Safely
Total solar eclipse 2027 on August 2: the path from Spain to Egypt, totality by city, cloud odds, safe filters, and camera settings for the corona.
Moon Phases for Photographers: When Each Phase Rises, Sets and What to Shoot
The best Moon phase for photography of craters, moonrise, earthshine and the Milky Way, with when each phase rises and sets and why that shifts each day.
How to Plan a Sunrise or Sunset Alignment: Manhattanhenge, Arches and Any Landmark
Manhattanhenge 2026 dates, plus how to line the setting Sun up with any street, tower or arch: azimuth, altitude, the two dates a year, lens and safety.
How to Photograph the Milky Way Arch: Panorama Planning, Shooting and Stitching
How to shoot a Milky Way panorama of the full arch: when the arch is low and complete, how many frames each lens needs, and how to stitch them.
How to Photograph the Moon With a Telephoto Lens: Sharp Craters, the Terminator and Mineral Colour
How to photograph the Moon with a telephoto lens: which phase shows craters, Looney 11 settings, whether 400 mm is enough, and stacking for sharp detail.
How to Photograph a Comet: Finding It, Framing the Tail and Settings That Work
How to photograph a comet: finding it in twilight, choosing a lens for the tail, camera settings that keep the coma sharp, and two-way stacking.
Star Trackers Explained: Long Exposures, Polar Alignment and Your First Deep-Sky Photos With a Camera Lens
A star tracker for beginners, explained: how to polar align it, the settings that work with a camera lens, and the deep-sky targets to shoot first.
Sky knowledge
How twilight, dark skies and directions work.
Golden Hour, Blue Hour and the Three Twilights: A Photographer’s Guide to the Light After Sunset
Golden hour and blue hour explained by Sun altitude, with how long each twilight lasts at your latitude, what to shoot in each, and camera settings.
The Bortle Scale Explained: How Dark Is Your Sky, and Where to Find Darker Ones
The Bortle scale explained class by class, with naked-eye tests to find your own, how far to drive from a city, and how much the Moon brightens the sky.
How to Find Polaris and True North (and Why Your Compass Is Wrong)
How to find Polaris from the Big Dipper or Cassiopeia, how far off your compass really is, and how to get true north for star trails and trackers.
Camera technique
Focus, exposure, lenses, gear and phone photography.
How to Focus at Night: Sharp Stars Every Time
How to focus at night on stars, the Moon or a foreground: live view at 10x, why the infinity mark is wrong, Bahtinov masks, and what to do with no stars.
Aperture, Depth of Field and Hyperfocal Distance for Night Landscapes
Hyperfocal distance explained for night photography: the formula, a chart by lens and f-stop, and why you should focus on the stars instead.
The 500 Rule vs the NPF Rule: How Long Can You Expose Before Stars Trail?
The 500 rule for astrophotography and the NPF rule compared: formulas, a table by lens and sensor, how much trailing each allows, and a quick lens test.
Astrophotography With an iPhone: What Actually Works and How to Do It
iPhone astrophotography explained: the 1 s exposure limit, Night mode at 30 s, the apps that stack frames, and which subjects a phone can photograph.
ISO, Exposure and the Histogram at Night: How to Expose Astrophotography Correctly
The best ISO for astrophotography is not one number. What ISO does, how to read the histogram at night, ISO invariance, LENR, and settings by subject.
Noise in Astrophotography: Stacking, Dark Frames and Noise Reduction That Actually Works
How image stacking in astrophotography cuts noise by the square root of the frame count, when dark frames actually matter, and why AI denoise comes last.
How to Shoot a Night Sky Timelapse: Intervals, Settings and the Holy Grail Day-to-Night
Night sky timelapse settings that don't flicker, interval and frame-count maths, power and dew for all-night runs, and the holy grail sunset-to-dark ramp.
How to Choose a Lens for Astrophotography: Focal Length, Aperture and the Flaws That Matter
How to pick the best lens for astrophotography by aperture, focal length and corner star quality, plus a ten-minute star test that works on any lens.
White Balance and Colour at Night: What the Sky Really Looks Like and How to Edit It Honestly
White balance for astrophotography: Kelvin starting points for each subject, what colour the night sky really is, and how to edit without purple skies.
Foregrounds for Night Photography: Light Painting, Low-Level Lighting, Blue-Hour Blends and Moonlight
Low level landscape lighting, light painting, moonlight and blue-hour blends compared: settings, panel distance and angle, park rules, and silhouettes.
The Night Photographer’s Kit and Cold-Weather Field Craft: Batteries, Dew, Safety and a Checklist
A night photography gear checklist, plus how to work in the cold: batteries at −4 °F, dew heaters, bagging the camera, and what to wear.
The method behind every guide
Find the moment. Plan the spot. Check the sky.
Every guide follows the same three steps, because every night-sky photograph needs them. Still Dark is built around those steps: the sky-events calendar and Milky Way rankings to find the moment, the planner and camera tools to plan the spot, and the observing weather to decide whether to go.
