In post-processing, you can bring out quite a bit of the stars through careful use of contrast, color correction, de-hazing, clarity, and detail. I don’t usually don’t end up using the mask because I create my own masks for blending in low-ISO foregrounds (and this will probably be another article in the not-so-distant future). This will also save the image with and without a mask. When satisfied, go ahead and click “Align and Composite”. If it’s an issue with your mask, the program allows you to go back and work on the mask some more, saving what you had previously. If you’re not sure, you can always save several of the choices and closely examine them later. If the program or your mask creates anomalies or distortions, it will typically be just above the horizon line. Look very closely, especially along the horizon line, to see what appeals to you. Sometimes, I prefer a different one from what I’ve used before. I don’t always save the image using the same algorithms. Toggle back and forth between several of the different options to see what is most appealing. Starry Landscape Stacker will give you several different options depending on which algorithm you prefer. Go ahead and save your final output image as a 16-bit TIFF file. This typically does not take very long.Īfter processing, your app will align all the stars and produce an image that should look like your single Milky Way photos, only with a little less noise. You will see the program aligning the images with one particular image, which will show in a task bar. You can zoom in to see the actual pixels and control the size of the brush, similar to other photo editing programs. If the mask is wrong, paint in more of the sky or erase it from the foreground. When you are finished, click “Find Sky”.Ĭlicking “Find Sky” will result in a blue mask in what Starry Landscape Stacker thinks is the night sky. Above, I’ve also added some more in the arch of the rock formation. Add some more quickly around the edges of the sky and along the foreground and anywhere else there are stars. Your sky should be covered with red dots, each one allegedly representing a star. The stars will trail and it will be covered in red dots. In Starry Landscape Stacker, select your ugly looking TIFF files.Īn image will appear. Brightening through Highlights and WhitesĪfter prepping all identically, export these hideous looking images as 16-bit TIFF files. Adding color through Vibrance, Saturation, and HSL Mild Color Noise Reduction Avoid the following: Remove Lens Vignetting and Chromatic Aberration Increase Blacks (look at left side of histogram) Use Custom WB to keep the photos consistent Starry Landscape Stacker has an easy-to-follow tutorial, which you should watch before using. You may prep them in Lightroom or some other photo editor. Unfortunately, you sort of need to make them look like rubbish. In this example, I did 20.Īt home, prep your sky photos. The more photos you take, the greater the noise reduction. I like to take at least 15 photos, usually doing between 20-25. After all, it’s photography, isn’t it? You will photograph the Milky Way with your tripod-mounted camera, taking photos one right after the other. Yes, we will start with what you do with your camera first. However, the process is about the same for Sequator. I’ll use Starry Landscape Stacker as the example since I have a Mac. You may stack them in Photoshop, but these programs simplify the process and are either inexpensive or free. You can see that it is a noticeably cleaner image. The second image is the image that has been stacked in Starry Landscape Stacker. The first image is a noisier single exposure image. It will identify the stars on each of your images, align them, and then stack them.Ībove: Both images are zoomed in at 200% after they have been prepped for maximum ugliness in Lightroom (more on that later). The app will perform its mathematics magic to make life easy for you. Then we throw the images into an app such as Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac) or Sequator (PC). The idea here is to take several photos, one right after another, to reduce digital noise that generally occurs when pushing the camera’s sensitivity higher and higher. This, however, is stacking for starry night skies, including the Milky Way. One can stack for focusing or perspective or star trails. You might hear the term “stacking” in photography.

Sequator photo stacking software free