Astrophotography: 14 MUST KNOW Starting Tips!

1) Astrophotography is more than deep-sky imaging
2) Become obsessed with your progress
3) If it were easy, everyone would do it
4) Take online advice with a grain of salt
5) Your mount is really important, get a good one
6) Don’t start with a long focal length telescope!
7) Get ready for image processing
8) Weather is cruel, and you will obsess over it
9) It's expensive - there is no way around it
10) Social media sharing joys and letdowns...
11) Get out there and shoot
12) Dark skies make a big difference
13) Don’t be afraid of the dark…
14) Join your local astronomy club

[mashpotatomountainobserver]

You made me realize about three years ago that it was possible to see deep space objects in such detail from a backyard. Until then I thought a huge observatory was needed to get such images. It's been a very rewarding three years full of ups and downs and not until recently have I produced an image that could actually hang on a wall. Yet the amazing sights to be seen and the fun nights have made it all well worth it. Doing visual first then EEA and then on to astrophotography has been a life changing experience. It has helped me profoundly and given the confidence to accomplish very complex tasks when cold, tired and frustrated. Truely a life-long pursuit of looking up at the heavens and wondering. Thank you very much for letting me know.

[darktiex]

First YouTuber that doesn't end their videos with like and subscribe. I just love people like that.

[potatochip]

I got a 4.5 inch reflector telescope for Christmas, I went out last night and looked at Jupiter and the Orion Nebula, I didn’t get a single image of either before my toes almost froze off in the 10°F weather, but I had the time of my life looking at what I did look at, and figuring everything out, I’m excited for what’s to come in my future of astrophotography, you are a big inspiration for me :).

[CaptConnoissuer]

This video has been so reaffirming to my struggles

I’ve been doing Astro photography for about 2 1/2 years now and I’m still not quite in the place I want to be yet. My main problem is how expensive the hobby is. I’m 14 and don’t have a job so it takes me a long time to gather all the equipment I need from various sources, but this video has inspired me to keep going and I really have seen a lot of progress from when I’ve started, so thank you.

[helphelp]

I drive a semi for a living and I see so many beautiful places. I’ve been trying for two months and I finally finally got a good landscape with thousands of stars in the sky. I’m just blown away with how much more my camera can see mounted on a tripod with a 20 second exposure. I saw a black hillside and a couple stars.

[sinsunjajpdfja]

I love how calm peaceful and positive you guys are

[lichasvocke]

As a newcomer in Astrophotography i can only confirm everything you said. Im doing this hobby now for 2 years and just a few month ago i got to the point where my images are like i wanted them to be. It was a lot of frustration, trial and error to get there but its worth it!
Awesome video Trevor
Hopefully this will get more people started in this hobby like i did because of you 2 years ago!

[Astro_Lugia]

I’m 14 and just got my first telescope. It’s nothing fancy but it does the job. And holy moly I’m hooked. I’m out there every night looking at random things, even if they just look like white dots. When I get bored of just white dots, I look for other things like planets and well, the moon. Sometimes you just have to get your telescope and go to random stars just to see what they are

[KreatandZonalwolf]

this advice did help i was capturing the orion nebula and i kept trying i'm really proud of my self it may not be the best but your right i took it I me spend my time learning to do this and you helped

[rudyamaya]

What great tips. I have been in this hobby for the last 2 years, and just now are my photos getting to the point where I can consider enlarging and printing. Point #15 - don't get discourage with your initial images. They will get so much better and it okay to continuously revisit the same target year after year.

[SailingAway]

Hey I bought your book and, I’m just blown away at how detailed you made it. It’s like reading a tutorial. I wasn’t expecting 133 pages either. Thanks 😊

[kmydet]

stating that cloudy nights come whenever something new arrives or you're excited is so true. i had perfectly clear nights for weeks and as soon as my new ad8 came, the next week was full of cloudy and rainy nights

[kalle_s]

Damn, #8 really hit home. I chose maybe the two worst hobbies to have somewhere with frequent bad weather, motorcycling and astrophotography.

[bowkso_o]

At 2:10 - This is exactly what I tell anybody I know getting into astrophotography. Your journey is yours, no one else's. By all means learn from those who create images you aspire to achieve, but always keep everything relative to your own development path and equipment.

I have had times where I seemed to get nowhere for long periods of time, but I found you have watershed moments where something will suddenly make sense, or a technique becomes easier through repetition or more research. Take the wins as they come - I still remember the first time I took my rig to a remote site and aligned it perfectly first shot using just the reticle and Synscan hand controller. Sounds small, but I had seasoned astrophotographers with all the fancy plate solving gear coming over and patting me on the back, marveling at my near perfect 3 star alignment 😬 (that night I captured Andromeda for the first time from Southern Australia, so a big night all round).

Thanks for Showing your wonderful work Trevor, and keeping it real for the masses.

[ronallen]

I give this video one million likes. “Life is too short to spend it on the sidelines, watching and critiquing others. Get out there! Capture. Create. Inspire.” Thank you for the inspiration I needed today.

[sunset]

This video is a great pep talk. I’ve watched it several times already and get the inspiration to keep me going. I never dreamed this hobby could have so many challenges yet be so rewarding.

[michaelmuyambo]

The concept of failure, learning, improvement and repetition I've come to appreciate from astrophotography has helped me become more calm and grounded in other aspects of my life. Thank you for introducing me to the hobby and for sharing your insight and knowledge. Clear skies

[spacenthusiast]

Truly inspirational... I'm a young astrophotographer (I'm 15) and this video made me very very very proud of my passion!!! Thank You!!!

[mejksonnenschein]

I haven't seen such an inspiring and motivational video in a long time. Thank you for that.

[briankotak]

Super pumped that you were one of the first YouTube astrophotographers that I discovered when I started thinking about igniting my life-long passion for astronomy in 2020. You constantly give thoughtful advice. #5 - invest in a good mount that can handle larger and heavier rigs in the future. My first purchase was a beefy mount. It took almost a year to subsequently get a telescope! Spent many days just staring at the mount in my home office. It has served me well though (3 telescopes later). Thanks for your dedication to this amazing hobby and your exceptional videos. Merry Christmas to you, Ash and Rudy! Clear skies my friend. Dr B from Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦