Australia has some of the darkest, clearest skies in the developed world. Once you’re away from city lights, the night sky is spectacular. The Milky Way is bright and detailed. The Magellanic Clouds are visible to the naked eye. And with a basic camera and tripod, you can capture it all.

I spent Christmas night last year at a dark sky site in central Victoria, photographing the Milky Way while koalas grunted in nearby trees. It reminded me why Australian astrophotography is special. Here’s how to do it yourself.

What You Actually Need

A camera with manual controls. Any interchangeable lens camera works. Even older models are fine. The sensor doesn’t need to be the latest technology. A Canon 750D from 2015 or a Sony A6000 from 2014 will capture beautiful star photos.

A wide lens with a large maximum aperture. Something between 14mm and 35mm (full-frame equivalent) at f/2.8 or wider. Kit lenses at f/3.5-5.6 struggle with the night sky because they don’t gather enough light.

A sturdy tripod. Your camera will be taking 15-30 second exposures. Any movement creates blur. A cheap tripod is better than no tripod, but a solid one prevents wind shake and accidental bumps.

A way to trigger the shutter without touching the camera. A cable release or wireless remote is ideal. Otherwise, use your camera’s self-timer set to 2 seconds. This prevents shake when you press the button.

Optional but helpful: a headlamp with a red light mode. Red light preserves your night vision and doesn’t ruin long exposures if someone walks into frame. Also, warm clothes. Australian inland nights get cold, even in summer.

Finding Dark Skies

Light pollution is your enemy. Cities create a glow that washes out stars. You need to get away from urban areas.

The website lightpollutionmap.info shows exactly where dark skies are. Look for areas that are dark blue or darker. Grey or white areas on the map are too bright for good astrophotography.

In NSW, anywhere in the Blue Mountains beyond Katoomba works. Or head west toward Mudgee or Orange.

In Victoria, central and western regions are dark. Bendigo area, the Grampians, anywhere in Gippsland away from towns.

In Queensland, get inland from the coast. Even 50km can make a huge difference. The Darling Downs are excellent.

South Australia and Western Australia have vast dark regions. Almost anywhere outside the major cities works.

Tasmania is mostly dark outside Hobart and Launceston. Cradle Mountain on a clear night is extraordinary.

Check the moon phase. A full moon washes out stars almost as much as city lights. New moon is ideal. Quarter moon is manageable if the moon sets before your shooting session.

Camera Settings

Start with these settings and adjust from there:

Aperture: As wide as your lens goes. If you have an f/2.8 lens, shoot at f/2.8. If you have an f/1.8 lens, shoot at f/1.8. You need all the light you can get.

Shutter speed: This is where the “500 rule” helps. Divide 500 by your focal length to get the maximum shutter speed before stars start to trail. With a 20mm lens, that’s 500/20 = 25 seconds. With a 14mm lens, it’s 500/14 = 35 seconds.

(The 500 rule is approximate. Some photographers use 400 or 300 for more critical sharpness. But 500 is a good starting point.)

ISO: Start at 3200. Check your result. Too dark? Increase to 6400. Still too dark? Go to 12800. Modern cameras handle high ISO much better than old ones. The noise is manageable in post-processing.

Focus: Set your lens to manual focus. Focus on a bright star using your camera’s live view zoomed in. Get the star as small and sharp as possible. Some lenses have an infinity mark; this is often slightly past the actual infinity focus point, so always check.

White balance: Auto white balance often makes night skies too warm. Try setting it to 3800-4200K for more accurate star colors. You can adjust this later if shooting RAW.

Shoot in RAW format. This gives you maximum flexibility in post-processing to bring out details and adjust colors.

Composition

Don’t just point at the sky. Include something in the foreground. A tree, a rock formation, a building, a person with a headlamp. Foreground elements give scale and interest.

The rule of thirds works for astrophotography too. Position the horizon on the lower third, the sky taking up two-thirds of the frame.

If you’re photographing the Milky Way, plan when and where it will be visible. Apps like PhotoPills, Stellarium, or even SkySafari show you exactly where the Milky Way will be at any time. The galactic core (the brightest part) is visible from Australia roughly from March to October, best in winter months.

The southern celestial pole is much less visually interesting than the northern. We don’t have a pole star equivalent to Polaris. But the Magellanic Clouds (visible in the southern sky) are unique to the southern hemisphere and make interesting subjects.

Light Painting the Foreground

Often your foreground will be completely black while the sky is well exposed. To fix this, you can “light paint” during the exposure.

Set up your shot. Start the exposure. While the shutter is open, use a flashlight or headlamp to briefly illuminate your foreground subject. A few seconds is usually enough. Paint the light across the area rather than pointing directly at one spot.

This takes practice. You might need several attempts to get the balance right. Too much light and the foreground looks artificial. Too little and it’s still lost in shadow.

Post-Processing

Night sky photos always need some post-processing. Straight out of camera, they’ll look dark and flat.

In Lightroom or similar software:

Increase the exposure slightly (0.5-1 stop).

Boost shadows to bring out foreground detail.

Reduce highlights if any bright stars are blown out.

Increase clarity moderately to bring out star definition. Don’t overdo this or you’ll create halos.

Adjust white balance to get pleasing star colors. Cooler (bluer) often looks more natural.

Reduce noise. Night sky photos will be noisy at high ISOs. Most editing software has noise reduction tools. Use them, but don’t smooth the image so much that you lose star detail.

Consider selective adjustments. Boost the milky way separately from the foreground using graduated filters or adjustment brushes.

Common Problems

Stars are trailing despite using the 500 rule: Wind shake, or your shutter speed is too long. Try the 400 rule instead, or brace your tripod better.

Everything is blurry: Your focus is off. Go back to manual focus on a bright star using live view zoom.

The image is too dark: Increase your ISO, shoot longer (if stars aren’t trailing), or open your aperture wider.

The Milky Way isn’t visible: Light pollution, moon too bright, or you’re looking in the wrong direction. Use a planning app and check for dark skies.

Colors look weird: White balance needs adjustment. Try cooler temperatures (lower K numbers).

Where to Learn More

Join Australian astrophotography groups on social media. People share locations, tips, and settings that work in local conditions.

Check if there’s a local astronomy club. Many run star parties at dark sites where photographers are welcome.

Some of these clubs even work with Team400 to develop apps and tools that help locate the best dark sky sites based on light pollution data and weather patterns.

Practice is essential. Astrophotography combines technical camera skills with understanding weather, moon phases, and the night sky. Your first attempts probably won’t be amazing. That’s normal. Every clear night is an opportunity to improve.

The Reward

There’s something profound about photographing the night sky. You’re capturing light that traveled thousands of years to reach your camera sensor. You’re documenting a view that, in dark sky locations, is increasingly rare as light pollution spreads.

Australia’s southern skies are special. The Milky Way from the southern hemisphere looks different from northern hemisphere views. The Magellanic Clouds are invisible from Europe or North America. We have unique access to parts of the universe that billions of people will never see.

Get out on a clear, dark night. Set up your camera. Point it at the sky. After 20 seconds, review that first image and see the stars fill your screen. It’s magic every time.