A starry night appears before our sight, thousands of bright points twinkle before our eyes and one or another planet parades through the ecliptic. Suddenly, we realize that that image can only be recorded in our memory because we do not have a suitable camera. And in a sense this is true, but we can use what we have at hand and make the best of it. It is possible to practice with just a smartphone, although the quality will depend on the type of device, but it is possible. We explain how to take photographs of the night sky with a smartphone.
Astrophotography with smartphones is possible, but only with the latest generation smartphones. They do not need to be exclusively recent, but at least have sensors capable of overcoming noise in the dark. Even the latest mid-range ones can capture a starry night with just the right darkness. And if we talk about high-end smartphones, there are some that are specially designed for astrophotography, so in these cases it will be possible to take excellent photographs even of the. But we repeat that this will depend on the device, that there is no light pollution and a good weather condition.
Taken with a OnePlus One, 32s, f/2, ISO 3200. Credits: Ian Norman
Tools needed
Regardless of the device, if you want to practice astrophotography with smartphones, a tripod is also required. This is because most night sky photographs require a long exposure. So the quieter the better, or else the image will be blurry. But even when on a tripod, it is very easy to introduce vibrations to our device just by touching the screen. So, to avoid as much movement as possible when activating the shutter, it is also a good idea to get a control via Bluetooth.
Although, as we mentioned at the beginning, you are in an unforeseen situation and you do not have this equipment. All you have to do is set the timer to ten seconds, lay the smartphone face down on a motionless surface and wait patiently for the long exposure to expire.
Special settings
Most of the latest smartphones hook their customers precisely because of a feature of their cameras called ‘night mode’, which will also work in the case of astrophotography. In most cases, this is activated automatically when light conditions are low, so you just have to look in the settings for the long exposure mode and set it to up to 30 seconds. During which you should not move the phone to obtain an optimal photograph. Likewise, if you have the option to manually configure the ISO, placing it between 400 and 800 will be the best option.
Taken with a OnePlus One, 30s, f/2, ISO 3200. Credits: Ian Norman
Practice makes a master
Once the configuration is ready and we are sure that we have understood how the device should be placed, it is time to move on to testing. Keep in mind that the camera’s light sensitivity will be set to almost its maximum capacity, so be sure not to expose it directly to artificial light. In this case you will get a completely white and meaningless image.
Start by testing where you will aim and what you want to appear in your frame. And once you feel that you have found the right direction and control over the camera, give free rein to the shutter. Later you can use applications to further modify the contrast of the images using applications such as Lightroom or Snapseed. In the end you will get an astrophotography image captured with your smartphone worth admiring. Although do not forget that this beautiful art requires great patience, so if you are not satisfied with the results, try again until you are satisfied.