READ: A Step-By-Step Guide To Taking Your First Milky Way Shot

Have you ever experienced lying down on an open field and looking up admiring the beautiful vastness of the heavens? You may have seen some Milky Way shots while you were scrolling down your timeline and thought how would have they taken those photos with something less than the use of NASA-like equipment.

What if we tell you that with your old trusty camera, you can also do it, too?

Mark Roa, a travel and lifestyle photographer, is here to show you that all you need is the proper timing and lots of patience to capture the first of your many Milky Way shots. Here are some of his photos:

In his blog post at gotmarked.com, Mark created a step-by-step guide on how to take beautiful shots of the night sky. He provided information regarding the proper camera settings, the time and weather conditions to look for, and an application that will help you locate the Milky Way.

Here’s a summary of his step-by-step guide.

1. Charge your camera batteries.
2. Pack and bring all the equipment you need. (Tripod, camera, batteries, remote and memory card)
3. Download the Starchart app.
4. Find the perfect location. Once there, set-up your gears.
5. Mount your camera to your tripod.
6. Open the Starchart app and locate the Milky Way.
7. Once you know where the Milky Way is, take a test shot using proper camera settings. Shoot in RAW format.
8. Voila! You have that dream shot already! 
9. Now play with angles. Shoot at low angle. Add variety to your composition.
10. For Mark, the best Milky Way shots are those with PEOPLE in the foreground. The subject MUST NOT MOVE or must hold their poses if they want to be included in the shot.

He also shared how he failed in his earlier attempts and how continued to try until he finally achieved the shot that he have always dreamt of. Tips on how to post-process your photos are also included in his post which you may read here. 

We’re sure that most of you will be rushing to the nearest open field to test these tips out. Don’t forget to share the results in the comments!

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