Ron Leach

You’ve no doubt marveled at the beauty of starlit skies, and scenes with the sparking Milky Way are among the best. Many photographers pass up these great opportunities, thinking that astrophotography is beyond their skills.

Blue Hour is that magical time right before sunrise and immediately after sunset, that provides an extra-special opportunity for making spectacular images. Getting the job done right requires more than good timing, and that’s what the following tutorial is all about.

Let’s get this out of the way up front: The old adage that, “you’re not a real photographer unless you shoot in Manual mode” is sheer and utter nonsense. Plenty of pros use Aperture or Shutter Priority depending upon the situation at hand. Feel better?

Yesterday we featured a very helpful tutorial, explaining how to consistently nail exposure when shooting outdoors. But what happens when you make a mistake and a photo is badly underexposed?