Hi everyone! So one of the reoccurring things you might be seeing in the smartphone world is the constant push towards better night photography, and with the launch of Samsung's flagships this year with incredible sensors, I thought I would make a tutorial on how to create some great Astrophotography shots!
So first of all, let's get one thing out of the way, you DEFINITELY need a tripod for this to look good. You're getting your small smartphone sensor to pick up tiny speckles of light that have been travelling for millions of years, and it's very important to keep your phone super stable. You will require a tripod with a phone mount, and generally, you can pick those things up for under $30 online.
Prep:
Alright, so you have your phone, you have your tripod and phone mount, let's get started! I want to make this super easy for anyone to capture the night sky, so you will need to download a couple of apps for the best possible results. First, you want to make sure you know what you want to pick up, so you need an accurate map of the night sky. I recommend downloading a star map app to help you locate constellations! I used this one called, Stellarium Mobile Free - Star Map. You can find it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noctuasoftware.stellarium_free
Also, I want to add, make sure that you aren't close to any light pollution as that can ruin your shot very quickly. Furthermore, make sure you got out to shoot when the sky is clear of overcast so you get the best possible results!
Taking the Photo
Alright, now you want to download Gcam, but you need it to have the new astrophotography mode enabled, which means you need to find a port that is of Gcam 7.3 - this will allow you to capture the stars with ease! I recommend searching for "Gcam 7.3 [insert device name]"
When you have it downloaded, open up the app, and go directly to Night Sight. Make sure that your phone is already mounted to your tripod or else Astrophotography Mode won't show up. This mode turns on automatically, and all you have to do is hit the shutter button and wait!
That's about it, you should be left with a great picture of the night sky and you can edit it further if you'd like!
Here's what I have gotten, it's not the best as I had to take it near my home, but I think it has yielded good results! I edited the colours to make it more of a dark blue tone!
I hope you found this useful, I really want to see what you come up with when you go shooting!
