E
ACH YEAR, the September/Octo-
ber issue is one of my favourites to
put together. That’s because we get
to pore over the previous 12 months’ worth
of reader-submitted astrophotos and high-
light a small selection of the very best with
our Photo of the Week contest awards. And
to everyone who sent in photos, we say
thank you.
Some readers might wonder what sepa-
rates an award-winning image from the
rest. I can tell you.
It’s not that I’m an expert astrophotog-
rapher myself (not by a long shot!), but
thanks to my position here at SkyNews, I get
to review every single submission—hun-
dreds and hundreds of photos. So, in no
particular order, here are some of the most
common mistakes I see.
By far, “overcooking” an image is the
most frequent problem, especially among
beginners who find the impressive process-
ing power of modern software irresistible.
Solar system targets are particularly prone
to excessive sharpening, while nightscape
shots are often badly oversaturated. There’s
a fine line between just enough and too
much—a little really does go a long way.
One strategy I personally find helpful is
to work a photo until it looks about right,
then leave it alone for a couple of days.
When I return to it, I often experience one
of those “what was I thinking?” moments
that prompts a redo, but with a lighter touch.
If an image can be overcooked, it can
also be underdone. I’m not sure how the
notion originated, but some photographers
seem to regard a picture “straight from
camera” as more “honest” than one that has
been tweaked—as if any amount of post-
processing is cheating. It’s not. At the end
of the day (night?), the only thing that mat-
ters is the result. After all, a lousy yet “hon-
est” photo is still a lousyphoto. Besides,
very few night sky shots don’t demand a
substantial amount of processing to look
like anything at all. It’s just the nature of the
enterprise. Don’t get me wrong—minimal
processing is the right answer some of the
time, but such images are the exception
rather than the rule. Even if your goal is to
represent exactly what you see with your
own eyes, a degree of adjustment will be
required to render the scene accurately.
Another common rabbit hole is obsess-
ing over sharpness and noise. Although the
two parameters go hand in hand, you gen-
erally can’t improve one without diminish-
ing the other. Aggressive sharpening usu-
ally leads to enhanced noise, while too
much noise reduction produces images that
appear soft and unnatural. Excessive noise
reduction also erases faint stars and mutes
fine details. Equally, too much sharpening
makes images look harsh and brittle. As al-
ways, restraint is key.
Most deep-sky submissions manage to
get the basics right. As a rule, the pictures are
sharply focused and display round, untrailedstars. And perhaps because those parameters
are tricky to nail down, composition ends up
being a secondary concern. It shouldn’t be.
It takes only a few extra minutes to frame
a target correctly, which is why I’m always
surprised when I receive a shot that required
(literally) hours of exposure time but fea-
tures a subject awkwardly parked off-centre
in the frame.
Finally, it’s important to keep in mind
that astrophotography is as much an art as
a science. That means there’s considerable
leeway when it comes to deciding whether
an image is good, bad or indifferent. When
the SkyNewsjudges sit down to review the
Photo of the Week entries, rarely is there
unanimous agreement on which shot de-
serves to win a particular category. How-
ever, I guarantee that the photos garnering
votes have all gotten the processing, framing
and technical details right. ✦EDITOR’S REPORT by GARY SERONIK
4 SKYNEWS •SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
ASTROPHOTO MISHAPS
Taking the perfect shot requires care and consideration
WHEN IT ALL WORKSCombining technical proficiency with careful composition and processing
artistry can produce stunning results, such as this superb photo of the spiral galaxy NGC6946, in
Cepheus. Taken by Patrick Dufour of Saint-Louis, Quebec, this image was one of the finalists in last
year’s Photo of the Week contest.