It’s a straightforward option for those who want to dabble in stacking shots or get started in astro image editing that provides powerful results and enough manual input to optimize images effectively. Tools such as star reduction, star glow, sharpening, and structural enhancements make a big difference to editing astrophotography due to their unique nature of consisting of dark subjects and high image noise. Unlike other industry-standard image editing software which focuses on more commercial features, Affinity Photo actually has a dedicated astro mode called the Astrophotography Stack Persona. There’s a good swathe of astro software out there that was created in the early 2000s and hasn’t been updated for years causing all sorts of bugs and compatibility issues. The tough part when looking for astrophotography software is in finding a program that’s reliable, has a good database of information, and has a feature-rich interface. Image editing is another stage in the astro-capture process which can make the process difficult, with some software dedicated to professionals (or serious enthusiasts) which are just way too technical for the average photographer. There’s even software that helps control kit such as telescopes for the ultimate in night sky imaging. Though there are hundreds of apps filled with in-app ads which ruin the experience. Planning your astro shoot has never been easier, with so many apps and online software available now we can hold our smartphones to the night sky and figure out what that shiny, distant object is.

Astrophotography tips (opens in new tab)īut getting started can be a little challenging, luckily though, there’s a bunch of astrophotography related softwares available to help you from planning your shoot, taking the images themselves, right through to editing said photos on the computer later.

Best star tracker camera mounts (opens in new tab).

Best cameras for astrophotography (opens in new tab).Best telescopes for astrophotography (opens in new tab).

Best lenses for astrophotography (opens in new tab).

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