HO W TO… Make your st arry shots shine bright

Shooting a nightscape is only half the job. To get the very best from an astro image, you’ll need to get down and dirty in Lightroom…

Our starting image is extremely dark, so the first step is to boost the Exposure, in this instance to +1.5. You can also add a serious amount of punch using the Contrast slider.

Now we can see it a little better, the image is somewhat blue, so we’ll increase the white balance slightly to 4000. Remember to adjust the slider value by eye to suit your image – every picture is different.

If there is an adverse effect from light pollution, drop down the Highlights to reduce it. Subtlety is the key or it can lead to an oversaturated look within the highlights.

A tweak to the White’s adjustment slider can also be beneficial. Adjust the slider by eye instead of a set value; this image has +20

Be careful with Clarity, it’s tempting to go extreme as it improves the clarity of an image. However, look closely and it has a negative impact if not adjusted in moderation; it’s a real star-killer! We used +30 here.