How to take a perfect astrophotography shot with your Google Pixel
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Google’s astrophotography mode makes shots of the night sky a breeze, and best of all, you don’t need atop-of-the-line Android phone like the Google Pixel 7 Proto use it. This mode lets you take relatively clear photos of the light sky, thanks to some nifty AI work on Google’s end.
We’ll walk you through how the astrophotography mode works on Pixel phones and how to use it effectively. If you have the latest Pixel phone,try these Pixel 7 Pro camera tricks to make the most of the device’s biggest feature.
Astrophotography mode works on the Pixel 3 and all later Pixel devices.
How does astrophotography work on Pixel devices?
Astrophotography involves capturing images of space objects and the night sky. You need some practice and experience to become an expert in this form of photography. Google’s Astrophotography mode simplifies the process, so you don’t have to tweak the ISO, exposure, or settings. Google uses a dollop of AI to handle things that would otherwise require a lot of deliberation from you and gives a polished result with no tweaking required.
It takes multiple 16-second shots and stacks them to compensate for the light a small smartphone sensor can capture. It removes artifacts that are an unwanted byproduct of long-exposure photos and uses AI to detect night sky components, which are then enhanced to make them stand out.
The over-simplification of shooting the night sky might be a letdown for semi-professional and professional photographers. Still, if you’re one, you probably have access to better gear and know your way around it.
All pictures were shot using the Pixel 6’s Astrophotography mode and edited in Lightroom for Android.
How to take good photos with Astrophotography mode on a Pixel phone
Technically, you could use the astrophotography mode by placing your phone down and snapping a photo. But this method doesn’t result in good images of the stars. To take effective photos, you must prepare with the right accessories and wait for the perfect time. While this requires you to invest some cash, we’ve ensured you’ll keep costs as low as possible.
Use a tripod for stable shots
All you need to trigger astrophotography mode is to keep your phone stable, which can be achieved by propping up your phone at an angle against a solid object like a rock or a brick. However, this setup gives you little flexibility in positioning and saves a lot of hassle with orientating the phone.
You should invest in a reliable tripod to set your phone at a desirable angle. After all, not everyone has steady hands. Instead of focusing on keeping your phone stable, attach it to a tripod to get stunning sky results.
As for getting a tripod, you don’t need to shell out much. This$15 mobile tripodworks just fine, and its flexible legs mean you can mount it on railings, fences, and branches.
Use weather and light pollution apps to find the right time
Even with all the right gear and Google’s AI smarts, you won’t get good results in an area with high light pollution or the weather is not on your side. It’s not difficult to get both of those aspects in your favor, and there are a few handy apps to help you nudge in the right direction.
Several weather conditions affect astrophotography, but the first thing you need to consider is clouds. A cloudy sky blocks you from viewing stars, and moving clouds often spoil long-exposure shots, resulting in hazy images.
Another thing to consider is the phase of the moon and whether to include it in the frame of your shot. A full-moon night provides a bright light source, which makes picking up fainter stars challenging. However, if you want to capture more than a silhouette of the landscape and the night sky, your best bet is to go out when the moon is a waning or waxing crescent. Google recommends taking photos of stars at least 45 to 90 minutes after sunset.
There are plenty ofweather apps to choose from, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. Just verify they provide the information you need to identify a good time to go out shooting. We recommend Weather Underground. It provides valuable information like AQI, wind speeds, and moon phases, and it’s pretty accurate with its weather predictions. However, try a few of them and see which works best for you.
Additionally, we recommend using Light Pollution Maps as it can find the darkest areas around you, which is the ideal condition for astrophotography. It has additional paid features like a cloud cover map, an ISS tracker, and an aurora visibility map that you can unlock.
Unless you’re a learned person in astronomy, you may have difficulty figuring out what you’re looking at in the night sky. So, you might want an app to identify stars, constellations, and other celestial objects. Star Walk 2 uses AR to make identifying objects as easy as pointing the phone at them. If you’re looking for a particular constellation, star, or planet, the app offers guided navigation in AR.
Now you’re ready to take photos of the night
Now that you have a tripod, a fully charged Pixel, a clear night, and favorable weather conditions, it’s time to get snapping.
If you have the newest Pixel 6 or Pixel 7 series with Tensor CPU, the process is quicker than on old Pixel phones. On Pixel 4 and later, your phone automatically clicks a timelapse of the night when you take a photo with astrophotography mode. you could turn off the feature using the steps below.
How to edit astrophotography shots
Google’s processing takes care of a significant part of the editing errands associated with astrophotography, but there’s always more you could do to make your shots look better. Feel free to use desktop editing apps if you’re comfortable using them, as they often give you more creative control. However, you can get a better-looking image by toying around in amobile photo editing applike Lightroom for Android. It’s quick and easy.
The first thing to do is reduce the exposure and crank up the contrast. It makes the sky darker and helps the stars stand out. If the image has a distracting foreground, boost the shadows and use the healing tool to mask a relatively bright object. The tweak leads to more dramatic-looking shots.
You might notice that the picture can often turn out warm or dull with Google’s processing. If you’re not a fan of this look, reduce the temperature of the image and increase the tint and saturation by a dash.
The last thing to engage in is noise reduction because there’s only so much light your phone’s small camera sensor can capture when the lights are out. Push the slider to the end, which often results in a much cleaner image. Play around with it to get the desired result.
Unedited JPEG vs. edited
This isn’t an exhaustive rundown of the editing process and isn’t the only way. Editing is subjective, so what works for you might not be the same. But following the few steps mentioned above results in a better image without putting in a lot of effort. While you’re at it, you might want to glance at thesesimple tips to improve your editing game.
Unedited astro shot vs. Google Photos' Astro Filter
If manually editing images is not your forte, plenty of Lightroom presets can take care of the process for you to deliver a better-looking image. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all because the changes you might want to apply depend on the image, so feel free to scour through Google and find a filter that achieves the look you want.
For the ones who don’t want to put in any effort, theGoogle Photosbuilt-in image editor also has an Astro filter that can work like a charm at times (check out the result above). The app is packed with severalimage editing toolsto get the desired results quickly. You can tweak brightness, contrast, HDR, white point, highlights, saturation, warmth, and black point. You can also use the default AI-based suggestions option to improve space photos with a single tap.
Google locks several image editing features behind the Google One subscription. If you aren’t sure ofwhat Google One is, check our dedicated guide to check monthly prices and benefits with each plan.
Astrophotography on rival offerings
Due to limited availability and Google’s shaky track record with Pixel hardware, most users prefer an iPhone or aSamsung Galaxy phone. Let’s take a quick look at Apple and Samsung’s take on astrophotography.
While Apple offers a Night Mode to capture dark scenes effortlessly, it doesn’t pack a dedicated astrophotography mode on iPhone. You need to use a tripod and a pro camera app, and you’ll also need to tweak several options to get desired results. It’s recommended for enthusiasts only.
During the Samsung Galaxy S22 launch event in 2022, Samsung announced massive improvements to the Night Mode on the latest flagship. But the company waited till October 2022 torelease a separate Astrophotography mode on the S22 series.
However, there are several limitations. It’s not baked into the stock camera app. You need to use Samsung’s Expert RAW app, which lets you shoot photos in RAW format with HDR. The mode packs a guide to pinpoint the location of stars and the solar system. The minimum duration is four minutes and extends to 10 minutes for better results. As expected, don’t try astrophotography mode without a tripod.
Astrophotography is easy with a Pixel device
The ability to take clear night sky photos with just your phone (and a tripod) is a remarkable achievement. While the Pixel 7 Pro will result in the best shots,our camera guide on the Google Pixel 7will help you take great photos.
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