Anticipating November: Lens Tips for Night Sky and Meteor Shower Photography

Astrophotographers throughout the world love to capture meteors shooting across the night sky, but photographing meteor showers requires a lot of preparation and patience. In this astral photography guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about capturing one of nature’s best late-night displays.

5 Tips to Plan Your Meteor Shower Shoot / Night Sky Shoot

Photographing meteor showers, the Milky Way, and the Aurora Borealis can be a thrilling and rewarding experience. For better night photography, follow these five tips:

  • Set up and take as many photographs as possible throughout the night with a wide-angle lens, such as a lens range of 14mm to 35mm. As long as the camera doesn’t move, you can create a time-lapse video using all the still photographs.

Aurora lights in Iceland with plane in foreground

  • Stability is crucial when photographing meteor showers, as you’ll use longer exposures. A sturdy tripod will ensure the stability of your camera, reducing the chances of blurriness or shaking during your astral photography shoot.

  • Set your camera to manual focus and adjust it to infinity or just slightly before infinity. This will ensure that the stars and meteors are sharp and in focus. Doing this can be difficult in the dark, so pre-focusing the lens when the sun is up is an excellent option. Then, using gaffers or duct tape, secure the focus ring so it doesn’t move while you’re taking photos.

  • You want a lens with at least F2.8 aperture and preferably F1.4 aperture. The lower the aperture, the more light enters the camera. Compared to a F2.8 lens, a lens that opens to F1.4 will capture roughly twice as many meteors during night photography.
  • Use longer exposure times to capture the meteors. Start with an exposure time ranging from 20 to 30 seconds and adjust accordingly based on the intensity of the meteor shower and the ambient light conditions.

Remember, photographing meteor showers is difficult. It may take time to get a meteor in the frame. Enjoy the experience and experiment to capture truly breathtaking images of celestial events! Learn about these lenses and more at an authorized Tamron dealer in your area or visit the TAMRON Store today.

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