Help your small-hours shots reach for the stars by boosting definition and adding a dab of AI
Winter is Milky Way season in Galway. The long nights make it an easy subject – weather-dependent, of course. I’ve always shot the Milky Way as a single W exposure. This year, I’ll be using a tracker. This allows for either more prolonged exposures without star trails, or for sequences of shorter shots that can be stacked later. Most people will still be going down the single-exposure route, getting out while they can. These may not have the impact of the tracked shots, but you can still improve these captures in Lightroom Classic (and Camera Raw). Your main aim is to correct the overall image, then the sky, and work on the foreground.
Given that most night exposures of this type are ISO 1,600 or higher, it’s also a good idea to apply Lightroom’s amazing new AI-based Denoise feature. This removes digital grain while still retaining high-frequency detail (like the stars). The process makes a new file, but it will take settings from the original. If you want to shoot these, the most basic tip is to set the camera as follows: ISO 1,600-3,200, 15-30 secs on a tripod, and the fastest prime you can afford at the fastest aperture. This was shot on a manual-focus Samyang 12mm f/2, but I’ve since added a Viltrox 13mm AF f/1.4.
