Milky Way photo - is this useful?

[mc416]

Hello all,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post in, but I just want some opinions. 

I have spent some time photographing the Milky Way, but I'm wondering if my photos are too bright or over exposed to do anything decent with in the editor. Any attempts I make end up being a mess (to me). There's either too much noise, too much red or orange, etc. I'm wondering if it's because the photo itself isn't very good for a basis.

The colourful pop I am trying to achieve never really happens. I've tried to follow along with tutorials but mid-way, my photo looks like a chaotic mess.

So, what I am wondering is if this photo is no good and I should shoot darker or if my lens is no good.

If anyone has a tutorial that could help me, please link it.

Thanks for your time.

IMG_8151.CR2

[thomaso]

Hi mc416,
Welcome to the Affinity Forums!

It's hard to judge what exactly went wrong, quite likely a combination of various reasons. If you use different settings you will notice improved results:
• ISO 100 – 200 (instead of 3200, to reduce noise)
• Aperture 5,6 – 8 (instead of 4, to increase sharpness by coming closer to the 'critical aperture' of this lens)
• Exposure Auto / or a series of variations (the 30 in your sample appear overexposed, assuming the sky was black/without dust)
• RAW (instead of sRAW)

A detailed review about your lens: https://www.lenstip.com/267.4-Lens_review-Sigma_10-20_mm_f_4-5.6_EX_DC_HSM_Image_resolution.html

[carl123]

7 hours ago, mc416 said:

The colourful pop I am trying to achieve never really happens.

What exactly do you mean by "colourful pop"?

 

[mc416]

20 hours ago, thomaso said:

Hi mc416,
Welcome to the Affinity Forums!

It's hard to judge what exactly went wrong, quite likely a combination of various reasons. If you use different settings you will notice improved results:
• ISO 100 – 200 (instead of 3200, to reduce noise)
• Aperture 5,6 – 8 (instead of 4, to increase sharpness by coming closer to the 'critical aperture' of this lens)
• Exposure Auto / or a series of variations (the 30 in your sample appear overexposed, assuming the sky was black/without dust)
• RAW (instead of sRAW)

A detailed review about your lens: https://www.lenstip.com/267.4-Lens_review-Sigma_10-20_mm_f_4-5.6_EX_DC_HSM_Image_resolution.html

Thanks for your help. 

I will try this out.

[mc416]

15 hours ago, carl123 said:

What exactly do you mean by "colourful pop"?

 

Hello, 

I meant when you see an edited Milky Way photo online, usually they are very colourful and vivid. I'm just disappointed with my quality.

I will have to try with some different settings I think. I was hoping to make a nice edit with Affinity, but I feel like the images I have are no good.

 

[thomaso]

12 minutes ago, mc416 said:

Milky Way photo online, usually they are very colourful and vivid.

This sounds you want to achieve an image according to a certain idea, rather than to the "true" visual impression. There are quite a few enthusiasts around, discussing different approaches and workflows. For instance: https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/43028/how-to-have-colors-in-milky-way