If you thought that learning how to photograph the Milky Way would be difficult, the ultimate challenge is learning to photograph the stars with a human subject in the image. Of course, the challenge is absolutely worth taking on, because the results can be truly magical.
Milky Way photography has its unique set of constraints with regard to the exposure triangle due to the extremely dark conditions that are required to see more than just a few stars with either the naked eye, or a camera.
So with that in mind, the element of a human (or animal?) subject presents yet another challenge: they aren’t very good at holding still. This may sound totally obvious and simple and complicated and challenging at the same time. However, in this article we are going to break it all down for you, covering the different ways that a photographer might go about this task, including the two main options for lighting, and the different situations in which to use them.
Photographing The Milky Way, covers this topic of portraits under the stars, as well as others from which lenses are the best for nightscape photography, to advanced shooting techniques. It is our first ever landscape workshop and we are so excited to share it with you soon!
Using a Flashlight for Portraits Under The Stars
Many photographers who get into nightscape portrait photography didn’t start as portrait photographers, but as landscape or outdoor photographers. As such, they might not own a flash, only a flashlight (torch) or some sort of lantern. While this is indeed a significant constraint, it does not mean game-over. It simply dictates how you pose your subjects, and which shutter speeds you can use.
If you only have a constant light, (whether a flashlight, headlamp, Lumecube, or actual portraiture light such as an Icelight or similar) then you are at the mercy of how good your subjects are at holding still. Any more than one or two seconds, and people will usually start to blur.
However, the exact shutter speed you can use will vary on the distance between your camera and the subject. Simply put:
…the further away your subject is, the more they can appear to be perfectly still at a longer shutter speed.
Tip: Distant Subjects Appear sharper
For example, a subject posed on a distant hilltop, appearing minuscule in the whole image frame, can appear to be perfectly sharp for a rather long shutter speed, say 15-20 seconds, compared to a very nearby head-to-toe portrait, in which a subject may start to blur at shutter speeds any longer than 5-10 seconds.
If you’re brave enough to attempt to use a relatively long shutter speed, around 10-20 seconds with a constant light, here are some final suggestions:
- have the subject stand farther away, or
- keep them as a silhouette, or
- have them lean against something to help them hold steady
Tip: Lean Against A Solid Object
The key to extending your shutter speeds as long as possible is, helping your subjects hold still. Instead of posing them standing, against the starry sky itself, try having them sit, and/or lean against a stable object such as a rock or tree. If “ghosting” is still an issue on a subject’s face, then have them pose leaning against something completely, even their heads.
Using a Strobe Flash for Portraits Under The Stars
If you have flash at your disposal, then you can use that flash to freeze your subjects’ faces and ensure great detail, even at a close range.
However, even with the use of flash to perfectly freeze a subject’s face, the body motion during the rest of a long exposure may still cause dark ghosting effects, as seen below.
This is easy enough to remove in Photoshop if you know how to use the clone stamp tool, and if the background is a simple and clean one.
Tip: Capture Multiple Images For More Post-Production Options
One great tip I have is to keep in mind when using flash to illuminate a subject that may still have ghosting around it, capture multiple images in quick succession so that the subjects’ swaying back and forth may create a slightly different ghosting effect, and hopefully sometimes none at all! Having said that, however, remember that sometimes making an image too perfect can also have the effect of making it appear unbelievable or fake. I personally prefer to leave just a slight hint of truthfulness in the photos I capture.
Case Study | Wedding Photography Under the Stars
Sometimes we need to create two exposures and merge them in post-production. Â This is especially true if you want to create images that don’t just capture a few stars at dusk, but actually get the whole Milky Way in view!
Original Images
Nikon D800e, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, FotoPro C5C Tripod,
2 sec @ f/3.5 & ISO 800, one flash on the right at ~1/32 power,
one flash hidden behind at ~1/32 power
Nikon D800e, Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, FotoPro C5C Tripod,
30 sec @ f/3.5 & ISO 800, no flash
In these two images, we accomplish our two separate objectives. One image delivers a proper exposure of the couple, at a shutter speed that doesn’t allow any ambient light to blur their faces, while the other image delivers a proper exposure for the stars / sky, even though the highlights are blown out and the couple’s face is blurry.
At this point, it is a simple task of post-producing the two images so that they match overall as much as possible, and then layering them together in Photoshop.
If you don’t process the images similarly enough, when you layer them in Photoshop the results will look totally fake. What I do is I completely disregard noise and blur and blown highlights, and process the two images to look like this:
Processed Images, Separate
Once the images look like this, layering and masking them in Photoshop becomes much easier, while delivering more realistic results, too!
If you don’t believe me, here’s a screenshot of how simple the final layer mask was:
This goes a long way towards making your job easier. Any time you have to mask something with pin-point accuracy, you’ll turn a job that should have looked perfect in five minutes into a job that still doesn’t look right after twenty minutes.
Things To Remember
Shutter Speed
Your choice of shutter speed depends entirely on the ambient light. If you’re shooting in pitch-darkness on a moonless night, for example, you could just create a single 30 second exposure, and manually pop your flash at your leisure to create an exposure for your subjects. As long as their heads / bodies are framed against a dark background, and not the sky, they’ll appear perfectly illuminated without any ghost shadows or blur.
Ambient Light
Oppositely, if you have any ambient light whatsoever, which is the case 99% of the time in my experience, you’re going to have to play it much safer with your shutter speeds. Depending on how dark it is, I wouldn’t use a shutter speed much longer than 1-2 seconds.
Why Not Video Light?
Or, if you’re really brave and want to use a video light / flashlight to illuminate your subjects, you’re going to be extremely restricted with shutter speeds. You’ll want to aim for 1/30 sec. or 1/60 sec, even with a tripod. Or if your posing allows your subjects to hold very still, (if they’re embracing each other), then you might be able to get away with a 1/4 or 1/8 sec shutter speed. This is why I prefer to use flash for these types of images- as long as the ambient light isn’t a problem, you have much more flexibility with your shutter speed.
Just a little bit more work in Lightroom, and…
Voila! An image that is possible with literally any modern digital camera.
In our next and final video, we’ll wrap things up with a few tips on how to overcome some of the challenges of shooting in this type of environment, such as how to nail focus, and how to avoid motion blur in your subjects, or how to remove it in post-production if necessary. Stay tuned!
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