Hey all! I'd like to mention two corrections: 1) When I recommended a DSLR for night sky photography, I meant to include mirrorless cameras too. To those mirrorless shooters out there - my apologies for the oversight! 2) I realize that I say "astrophotography" several times throughout the video and that is not technically accurate. I use the term to mean general night sky photography, and not just the sort of photography that combines the use of telescopes.

Still waiting for the questionI asked???????

When I was in the military, I was taught to always close one eye, when using a torch at night even a red light, it helps your night vision come back quicker. I hope this helps.

Also for a safety tip take a sidearm.

One tip I learned from a fellow photographer is to put a little bit of fluorescent tapes on the tripod legs, so I don't trip over them in the dark.

Trick: use an elastic band to hold a tissue to the base of the lens to reflect the shutter light so you can see it from any angle when light painting and using a remote shutter release.

I’ve learned to have a workflow-such as setup, shooting, and teardown. I can’t share how many times I wasted time fumbling in the dark😂

I found a four pack of “Micro” gaffer tape, it runs about $20 dollars and a single roll is 1” wide and about the diameter of a scotch tape roll. Very portable

I love that all your videos are so "content-dense". Many great tips here. You're good at organizing and your explanations are clear. Good job!

I found a near mint Nikkor A-FS 24mm G ED f/1.8 for a little over $300.00 with tax and shipping. Thanks again.With your guidance, I think I'm actually going to see a great view of the Milky Way, even if the photos aren't as amazing.😅🙏🏾

Gaffer tape, the hero of our kit bags! I loved the idea of wrapping some around a card for easy pack carry. Thanks for you tubing, lady!

Thanks Brenda. I am a self-taught astro-photographer (I also use a star tracker) and after many hours of shooting the stars, I have learned many of the same tips that you describe in the video, including using hand warmers to keep condensation off the lens. I also carry gaffers tape as you suggest, but rather than wrap it around a card, I wrap several feet around one of my tripod legs. I am less likely to forget my tripod. Lastly, I carry a roll of bright orange trail tape that I can use to mark the trail, making it easier to find my way out at

Thanks for all the tips! Brenda, you are the McGuyver of night photography. Love your channel, thanks for doing what you do.

Hi Brenda. I just discovered your youtube channel and I'm only at #2; How to prepare for Night Photography. I think they are excellent! However in this video, you mentioned twice how higher ISO introduce greater noise to the night image. I recently came across this video How to Find the Best ISO for Astro Photography from Lonely Speck. It's very interesting and informative. It claims there is virtually no difference in noise levels at higher ISO's on most cameras today for astrophotography as long as we don't change exposure or aperature, and that noise is mainly a function of how much light hits the sensor via exposure time and aperture. I'm paraphrasing but I believe I got it right. I actually went out and took my own shots at ISO's 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400, 24mm, f/2.8, 15 seconds. In LR, I pushed pushed or pulled the exposure to match the 3200 ISO image and then compared the noise and didn't see any significant difference. Here's the link to the Lonely Speck video if you're interested:

Great tips, i like the hand warmer on lens and red transparency tricks.

Another excellent tutorial! Well done! Thank you for doing such excellent tutorials.

Great tips...thank you. Many hours at a telescope eyepiece has taught me that choffee is invaluable also. A hot drink made with coffee and hot chocolate...great for the hands and the soul.

The PhotoPills tip alone was worth so much. I have been looking into Milky Way photos for a few weeks now and planning from several different sites. But with the app I can do it all in one place. I bought it about 15 minutes ago and I am blown away by the AR part, actually seeing what I will be photographing is amazing!!! THANK YOU! Great content too!!!!

Hey folks! Still waiting for clear skies to align with a moonless (or mostly moonless) evening here in Vermont to film Part 3 of my Milky Way Series. Thanks for your patience!

The red transparency film on the screen is a neat idea! I'll try that