the beginner’s guide to astrophotography: how to capture the cosmos with any camera

Now everyone can learn to take great pictures of the cosmos!

The night sky is filled with immense beauty and mystery, and it’s no wonder so many photographers want to learn how to take great photographs of all it contains: the moon, stars, planets, galaxies, and beyond. But for photographers just getting started photographing the cosmos, some books veer into ＂advanced＂ territory way too quickly, filled with difficult theory and long, expensive lists of ＂must-have＂ gear.

If you’re just starting your adventure in astrophotography, The Beginner’s Guide to Astrophotography is the book for you! Photographer Mike Shaw teaches you everything you need to know to capture great images of the night sky--without breaking the bank or needing an advanced physics degree.

In this book, you’ll quickly gain an understanding of the night sky, then dive into gear and settings. Regardless of the camera you own (smartphone, DSLR, or mirrorless), you’ll be able to capture shots you love. You’ll learn all about the gear you absolutely need (and what you don’t) as well as the accessories that will make your astrophotography life easier. Then you’ll dive into camera technique: exposure settings, focusing tricks, and composition techniques to get the shot. You’ll also learn about the best apps for astronomy, weather, planning, and navigation. Mike walks you through how to plan a shoot, set up for it, and capture your images. Finally, you’ll learn the post-processing techniques that will have your images looking their best.

You’ll learn how to photograph:

- The moon (full, crescent, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse)

- The Milky Way (the core, the central band)

- Constellations (Orion, Perseus, Scorpius, etc.)

- Asterisms (Big Dipper, Summer Triangle, Orion’s Belt, etc.)

- Star trails

- Planets (Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars)

- Aurora Borealis

- Meteors

- Satellites (such as the Internaional Space Station)

- Nebulae

- Star Clusters

- Galaxies

- Comets

- And more!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: What Is Astrophotography, Exactly?

Chapter 2: Understanding the Night Sky for Astrophotographers

Chapter 3: Astrophotography Equipment, Setup, and Technique

Chapter 4: Landscape Astrophotography Subjects

Chapter 5: Deep Sky Astrophotography Subjects

Chapter 6: Choosing Where and When to Shoot

Chapter 7: Synthesis: Your First Astrophotography Session

Chapter 8: Making Your Astrophotography Images Look Amazing

Chapter 9: Advanced Astrophotography

Mike Shaw is an astrophotographer, teacher, and author of The Beginner’s Guide to Astrophotography (2023), Creative Nightscapes and Time-Lapses (2018), and The Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography (2017). Mike’s field workshops take him and his students around the globe, searching for the darkest, clearest skies. He began teaching photography classes in 2010 while working as a physics professor and soon succumbed to the lure of the open road. He quit his job in 2014 and has been enthusiastically teaching night photography ever since. He especially loves being present when people experience, often for the first time in their lives, that human connection with the night sky and the universe that transcends international borders.Mike offers interactive online lessons with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and helped create the video tutorials for the Planit Pro app. In addition, he provides astronomy training to the US National Park Service, taught night photography and time-lapse classes in the Bryan Peterson School of Photography, and led an interactive Nightscapes Star Party Live! weekly on Slooh.com. He licenses his work through Science Photo Library in London. He is a Delegate to the International Dark Sky Association and an active member of the Minnesota Astronomical Society and the Astronomical League.