Astrophotography is different from any other genre of photography.  Portraits, Products, Landscapes, Food, Sports - what do they all have in common? They are photographing something that exists here on earth. And you could correctly make the argument in landscape-astrophotography (or nightscapes) that we are too.

But I believe the big difference is that in our photos the inclusion of a celestial body is key. I could just take landscape photos during the day, but it’s the connection I find between the landscape and the stars that create the meaning in my work.

And that means photographing the stars, shooting something that is not physically here on earth.

Why does that matter? Because there are specific challenges and constraints that come from having a subject that is not part of our earth. The benefit is that our view of the cosmos is predictable and pretty “constant” which means that we can come up with categories and rules to work within for our image creation.

This episode looks at the differences between astrophotography and other genres and then goes into the different types of Milky Way photos that you can create. 

Spoiler alert, every Milky Way image you take can be broken down into 6 categories. And while some may bristle at the idea their images can be categorized. I find there is freedom that comes when you know you are working within specific bounds.

If I gave you a camera and said- go create an amazing photo that will make me smile and I’ll buy it from you… What would you do? The options would be limitless.

But what if I gave you a camera and said - go and create an amazing photo that will make me smile and I’ll buy it from you. I love the landscape that you live in and the phone photos from the hike you went on last week had stunning views. I can’t believe that there are wildflowers already this early in the year.

All of a sudden I’ve given you constraints and limits. If you wanted to sell me a photo you would very likely go back on that hike and take better photos of the wildflowers and the scenery. 

The latter is setting you up for success, and that is the premise behind this episode. You will have clarity and be better able to reach your goals when you have the constraints to work within to get there. You can’t play the game well if you don’t know the rules,  so let’s figure out those rules and get going.