Ben Canales
Processing Stars Tutorial!
You asked for it- and now it’s FINALLY here.
A tutorial on how to “Process DSLR Star Shots.”
I chose three images that represent the challenges I commonly face in editing my star shots, shot by three different cameras, and spanning different skill levels. I have recorded, with a screen capture program, my editing process from RAW import to JPEG export, with a voice narration explaining what is going on. In the image above you can see the beginning and end of each photo.
The image on the left was taken by Rich Worell in Maine. He saw my first tutorial on how to shoot star photos and got really excited to go out and give it a try. With his Nikon D40, he took this picture his first night. I asked him if I could use it as an example for this tutorial since it is very much like what many of our first pictures of the stars look like. With the beginner in mind, the editing on this shot will show you how to draw as much as you can from your image. It is also a great example of how to handle an image from an older generation DSLR.
The image in the middle is a traditional Milky Way picture, taken with my Canon 5d Markii. It was chosen to represent the potential in RAW files of the latest generation of DSLR’s and spend some time on how to turn those Milky Way shots into some attention grabbers. It also gives tips on eliminating undesirable light pollution and maintaining a consistent , natural gradient of color in the sky from the horizon to deeper space.
The image on the right is one of mine from earlier last year, taken with my Canon 30D. It represents a more complex image with a foreground element, mixed color hues, some Milky Way, and challenges of processing a RAW file from an older camera. In this video, I show tools that can give you customizable ways to correct tricky mixed color temperatures to bring balance to the image.
As I stated before, this tutorial will come by a donation. The information in the videos represents 3 yrs of shooting star photos, and all the time spent trying to edit them as best as I can. A donation of $20 will give you a password to play the video tutorials.
I know that is a bit steep in regards to videos online, but I have made these more as a personal workshop not just an online video. In fact, there are 14 videos in total, spanning more than an hour of on-screen, voice narrated star editing. In comparison to how much it would cost to attend a workshop in a classroom doing the same thing of watching someone edit on a big screen while they guide you through it- I believe the amount is quite fair.
I do all my editing on Adobe Lightroom 3. I believe it has the MOST powerful and simplest Noise Reduction, which is a huge priority for night shots. It also has great customizable masking tools that are intuitive and easy to use. Because of those factors, and that a 30 day fully functional, free download trial is available at Adobe.com, I have used that program for all processing on the tutorials.
If you are interested, you can find more information and instructions on how to make a donation and receive the password by going here:
Thanks for visiting and reading!
Processing Stars Tutorial!
You asked for it- and now it’s FINALLY here.
A tutorial on how to “Process DSLR Star Shots.”
I chose three images that represent the challenges I commonly face in editing my star shots, shot by three different cameras, and spanning different skill levels. I have recorded, with a screen capture program, my editing process from RAW import to JPEG export, with a voice narration explaining what is going on. In the image above you can see the beginning and end of each photo.
The image on the left was taken by Rich Worell in Maine. He saw my first tutorial on how to shoot star photos and got really excited to go out and give it a try. With his Nikon D40, he took this picture his first night. I asked him if I could use it as an example for this tutorial since it is very much like what many of our first pictures of the stars look like. With the beginner in mind, the editing on this shot will show you how to draw as much as you can from your image. It is also a great example of how to handle an image from an older generation DSLR.
The image in the middle is a traditional Milky Way picture, taken with my Canon 5d Markii. It was chosen to represent the potential in RAW files of the latest generation of DSLR’s and spend some time on how to turn those Milky Way shots into some attention grabbers. It also gives tips on eliminating undesirable light pollution and maintaining a consistent , natural gradient of color in the sky from the horizon to deeper space.
The image on the right is one of mine from earlier last year, taken with my Canon 30D. It represents a more complex image with a foreground element, mixed color hues, some Milky Way, and challenges of processing a RAW file from an older camera. In this video, I show tools that can give you customizable ways to correct tricky mixed color temperatures to bring balance to the image.
As I stated before, this tutorial will come by a donation. The information in the videos represents 3 yrs of shooting star photos, and all the time spent trying to edit them as best as I can. A donation of $20 will give you a password to play the video tutorials.
I know that is a bit steep in regards to videos online, but I have made these more as a personal workshop not just an online video. In fact, there are 14 videos in total, spanning more than an hour of on-screen, voice narrated star editing. In comparison to how much it would cost to attend a workshop in a classroom doing the same thing of watching someone edit on a big screen while they guide you through it- I believe the amount is quite fair.
I do all my editing on Adobe Lightroom 3. I believe it has the MOST powerful and simplest Noise Reduction, which is a huge priority for night shots. It also has great customizable masking tools that are intuitive and easy to use. Because of those factors, and that a 30 day fully functional, free download trial is available at Adobe.com, I have used that program for all processing on the tutorials.
If you are interested, you can find more information and instructions on how to make a donation and receive the password by going here:
Thanks for visiting and reading!