Big shout out to @ismailcakirphotography who’s generous enough to let me use his milky way shots for the tutorials. To create this vertical panorama, İsmail took three 20sec shots for each set. 5 sets in total.
The stars rotate naturally during the course of shooting. With the help of stacking software, we don’t have to align the stars manually.
Stacking Software
Starry Landscape Stacker (Paid app for Mac users)
Sequator (Free for Windows)
Stitching Software
Adobe Photoshop
Step by step
1. Convert RAW files to TIFF in Lightroom
2. Import TIFF files to Starry Landscape Stacker
3. Erase any automatic dots on the ground
4. Find sky
5. Refine the sky mask using paintbrush
6. Align and composite
7. Selection composition algorithm
8. Save a copy of the sky mask for retouch later (optional)
9. Save the stacked file
Why TIFF?
TIFF files load much faster than RAW files
Why stacking?
Stacking is a technique used to remove noise and retain details that result in a nice crisp image, that is something the noise reduction tool in Lightroom can’t do.
The challenge here would be aligning the stars and separate the foreground. In this example, our foreground is trees. Starry Landscape Stacker did a pretty good job identifying and create a mask for the sky by default. You can always customize and refine the mask using the paintbrush. The sky mask will be useful later on for retouching in Photoshop.
There are 6 composition algorithms for you to choose from. Test and find out what’s best for you.
Why stitching?
Stitching panorama maximizes the overall quality than a single shot.
Photomerge automation isn’t new in Photoshop. In this version 22.5, the options of removing vignette, correct geometric distortion, and content-aware fill after the stitching are really powerful. Basically, save you the hassle from patching up after the automation process. You can sit back, relax and let it run =)
