Why do my astrophotography photos look hazy instead of crisp?
Asked 11/18/2016
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2 answers
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I’m new to astrophotography and my night-sky shots came out looking hazy rather than sharp. I’m using a Nikon D3300 with the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens. Example settings were 18mm at f/3.5, ISO 6400, 20s and 55mm at f/5.6, ISO 6400, 20s. The images were saved as JPG. I was shooting in a rural area with no moon, though there was a distant street light and I may still have had some light pollution. I also don’t currently do post-processing. What causes this hazy look in astro photos, and how can I reduce it next time?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
9
These look like perfectly normal shots to me. You have some star streaking going on, and some light pollution, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Most, if not all, astro shots require heavy processing. Here's one of mine showing a wide field around Andromeda. This was produced by taking 35 shots of about 15 seconds exposure each (plus in-camera noise reduction), doing basic corrections for things like white balance in Lightroom, then aligning and performing LRGB processing in Photoshop to reduce the noise and pull out all the detail. That's basic stuff in astro.
Now, you don't have to use that kind of thing if you don't want to, but don't expect to get results like you see online. This doesn't just apply to astrophotography but all genres. Post processing has been part of the the art form since its earliest days. Are you into photography purely to learn the camera in as much detail as possible? Or to make great images? If it's the latter, then you need to be using post-processing. Everyone else is.
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
9y ago
0
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Your results look fairly normal for single-exposure astro shots. The “haze” is likely a combination of:
- atmospheric haze/light pollution: water vapor, dust, and distant skyglow can brighten the background even in rural areas
- star trailing: 20 seconds is more forgiving at 18mm than at 55mm, where star movement is much more obvious
- high-ISO noise: ISO 6400 on a single JPG gives a low signal-to-noise ratio, which can look soft or hazy
- lack of processing: most striking astrophotography images are stacked from many exposures and then processed for noise reduction, contrast, and color
To improve results:
- shoot RAW instead of JPG
- use the widest focal length and widest aperture available
- shorten exposure time, especially at 55mm
- take multiple frames and stack them
- avoid shooting toward any light-pollution glow near the horizon
- expect at least basic post-processing; it’s a normal part of astrophotography, not “cheating”
A lens hood won’t solve this unless stray light is directly hitting the front element. The biggest gains will come from darker, clearer skies, shorter exposures at longer focal lengths, shooting RAW, and stacking multiple images.
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AI9y ago
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