|
|
|
|
Home > TME Community > Features > Night Photography > Stacking Technique for Star Trails by Patti Schulze
TME Community
Stacking Technique for Star Trails by Patti Schulze
Started November 28, 2008 @ 7:42pm by Kel
|
Post Message |
Kel
Administrator
Posts: 246 |
|
|
| Stacking Technique for Star Trails by Patti Schulze | November 28, 2008 @ 7:42pm | In this Night Photography tutorial Patti Schulze gives you an alternate way to create star trail photographs. This technique, known as the stacking method, involves making a number of short exposures, and combining them using an action in Photoshop to create the illusion of one long exposure with long star trails. This method eliminates the need for using noise reduction and can dramatically reduce the amount of time needed in the field to create star trail photographs. Patti outlines the equipment, exposure, and Photoshop techniques needed to execute this wonderful Night Photography technique.
"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer." ~Ansel Adams | My Blog |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Thanks for the links too! | November 28, 2008 @ 8:22pm | Patti,
Now this is something I need to try. But I'm thinking in terms of busy Christmas shoppers or night time traffic as well as star trails. Nice job on the tut and thanks for sharing!
Murry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Patti
Posts: 10 |
|
|
| November 28, 2008 @ 11:19pm | Murry,
Good idea on the Christmas shoppers! Let us know how that goes. One error I need to mention. In the tutorial I said that after the test shot at 1600 ISO I reset the ISO to 1600. Whoops! I meant to say I reset the ISO to 200.
Patti |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
|
|
| November 29, 2008 @ 7:55am | Patti - many thanks for showing us how this short star trails technique is done. I'd read about it, but had not seen an actual demo. I wish we could seize the cursor to go back a few frames to review something we missed or didn't quite "get" when hearing it for the first time.
Why did you use Brown's stacker instead of Photoshop's? I've never tried stacking images before. I've just aligned by hand, with mixed results.
One point I must have missed - those 19 layers - when you duplicated the merged result, you could still paint through the layers and bring out the shadows? So you didn't flatten. But does this stacking tool do something like Merge Visible?
Sorry for these probably elementary questions - but most of what I can do with PS I've taught myself. Books have been little if any help.
One final question: why not use multiple exposures on the same frame?
Flo
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
|
|
|
Last Edit: November 29, 2008 @ 7:56am by Flo | |
|
|
|
| |
Patti
Posts: 10 |
|
|
| November 29, 2008 @ 9:44am | Flo,
Thanks for your comments and questions.
There are a couple of reasons for using the Russell Brown script. One, the Load Stack command is only in Photoshop CS3 or CS4 Extended. So if you have "plain" Photoshop you need the script. Next, the script "connects" Bridge and Photoshop so you can select the images in Bridge where you can see them, then call the script from there. Once in Photoshop the Load Stack script takes over. If you have a folder with all your images, you could just open them with the File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack command within Photoshop. Assuming you have the Extended version of Photoshop.
The Load Stack command creates a single layered file of all the files you select, then creates a Smart Object out of the layers. The separate layers are not merged or flattened. Once the Smart Object is duplicated, you can add a mask as I did just as you can on layers in PS.
Creating a Smart Object allows you to modify the objects non-destructively. In this case, since the layers are combined into a Smart Object, you can edit any of the separate layers and the Smart Object (the stack in this example) is updated. For example, if I had not previously edited the one file with the jet trail, I could do that once the images were combined into the Smart Object. Once I save the edited file, the Smart Object stack would be updated, with that change. I hope that makes sense! Perhaps I need to make a short tutorial on Smart Objects?
For your last question about multiple exposures. Are you a Nikon shooter? With Canon, what I use, you can't do multiple exposures. I am not sure how Nikon handles multiple exposures and if using it would work for shooting star trails.
I hope this answers all your questions.
Regards,
Patti
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Flo
Posts: 15,844 |
|
|
| November 29, 2008 @ 10:13am |
Quote (Patti)
Flo,
Perhaps I need to make a short tutorial on Smart Objects?
For your last question about multiple exposures. Are you a Nikon shooter? With Canon, what I use, you can't do multiple exposures. I am not sure how Nikon handles multiple exposures and if using it would work for shooting star trails.
I hope this answers all your questions.
Regards,
Patti |
|
Yes! Please do make a tute on smart objects. I have it set so that my images open in Camera raw as smart objects. And every once in a while, they need to be rasterized to complete a certain step. But that's no problem.
But I do not have the Extended version of PS CS3 - wish I'd spent the money and gotten that. But there is a "Stack" tool in CS3, except I've never had success with it.
I have the Nikon D300, which does allow several multiple exposures on the same frame. I've had mixed success with it in broad daylight - and have never tried the feature at night. Perhaps the D3 could do it - Wes, would you know?
Anyway, Patti, thanks very much for all your help. 
Flo
Flo - PPY
"May we live in peace without weeping. May our joy outline the lives we touch without ceasing. And may our love fill the world, angel wings beating." aziza
http://photos.tonebytone.com |
|
|
|
Last Edit: November 29, 2008 @ 10:14am by Flo | |
|
|
|
| |
Patti
Posts: 10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| December 2, 2008 @ 3:14am | | I have been using this method for a couple of years now. One problem I find with this texhnique is that gaps appear between the trails. Theyare only small but they are noticeable. Previously I have duplicated the blended exposure and transformed it (with a lighten bledn mode) to close up the gaps, but this is a very time consuming method and it isnt perfect because the slight disortions in the lens mean a simple rotation does not work particularly well. Do you have any suggestions to solve this problem, is it something you have experienced? Do you know the cause? (I would estimate that there was a 1 second lag between exposures) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Patti
Posts: 10 |
|
|
| December 2, 2008 @ 4:04pm | Alexnail,
Yes, this method does result in small gaps due to the delay between each shot. You would think that 1 second wouldn't be that noticeable, but it is. The one second delay I used was due to the Canon Interval cable release. The smallest amount you can enter between shots is one second.
I just did a quick Google search and found some references about a method that may solve the problem, using shorter times for each exposure. I haven't tried this and don't know that it will work, but the concept is to set the camera to Continuous shooting, set to 30 second exposure, and with a cable release, press and then lock the release. Then the camera continues to shoot until it fills the card or you release the cable lock. Setting the mode to jpeg was also suggested since you may have a lot of frames. The 30 second time for each shot may not be long enough so you'd have to experiment. You might end up with a bunch of dots instead of dashes for star trails!
If I have an opportunity to experiment with this method, I'll pass on my results.
patti
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| December 4, 2008 @ 2:55pm | Hi Patti
Just to say thank you for your tutorial. Really well done and much appreciated.
Jim |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
assignment
Community Assignment #53
Picture Window
Due Date: September 16, 2011 |
Have you heard about the Backyard Shots Photography Guide "Street Portraiture with CraigTanner"?
|
|
