- broken rules
- Natural Light
- Sunset
- Stars
- Star Trails
- Soft Light
- simple
- Outdoor
- night
- Natural
- calm
- Mountains
- lower thirds
- Long Exposure
- Leading lines
- Evening
- Directional Light
- Dark
- Center Framed
- Wide
The story behind the image
The result is a combination of the two “scenes” of images. The couple at a late sunset evening and the star trails just above. In order for this to have worked well, I also needed to pay attention to the framing for each shot as I wanted them to line up naturally in Photoshop.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I talked to the couple calmly. I asked them to touch each other but didn’t give any specific directions as I wanted this moment to feel natural and not forced. And since the star trails are such an impactful part of the image, there was no point in having the couple “Compete” for attention by doing something extravagant.
What did you say?
Guys, let’s have you stand here peacefully and make contact with each other. I’ll be up over there taking a bunch of shots and we’ll just need you to hang out down here.
Tone of Directions
Quiet
Composition
This image is heavily focused on a center-framing composition with the mountains and star trails taking the dominant attention. I had a choice to make; whether to have the center of the star trail ( the Polaris) be in the frame or to have those towering mountains and I chose the mountains since it just felt a lot better in my opinion. The star trails then took less of a main role but more a complimentary role to guide people to the mountains, then the couple.
Compositional Rules
Leading Lines
framing
Center FramedLower ThirdsWideFull BodyNegative Space
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Here, the focus is set differently depending on the shot: on the bride and groom, on the mountains, and set to infinity (sky). I mainly used manual focusing as autofocus does not work properly at night. And even manual focus is a challenge but it gets better with practice, and taking a ton of photos with a slightly shift in the focus just to be sure.
Focus Mode
Manual Focus
Focus POints
Multi Point
Focused on
Bride & Groom, Mountains & Sky
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
160/ 30s @ f/7,1 / 1.8 ISO160 WB-Auto
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
In the photo with the couple, the sun was coming from the left side of the frame where the sun had set and was at a rather later point in the sunset. For the evening photos, the only real light came from the stars as being out in the desert means that we had almost no light pollution. I think that all-night photos are a great adventure and especially in a dark desert, though it does have its challenges.
Light Type
Natural Light
Light Quality
Soft
Time of day
Night
Weather
Clear
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
This photo consists of a large number of photos combined into one. This method allows you to get the effect you see in the photo. I used several programs for this purpose, incl. Photoshop. I made many corrections, stamps, and brushes, and I removed unnecessary, distracting elements. I enhanced the natural colors of the stars (resulting from redshift).
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop
Preset Used
Own custom Preset
Challenges
This photo was taken in quite difficult conditions, at night, in the desert, in the dark, and far away from civilization. It is not possible to even light a flashlight, as it would ruin the frame. There were also flying planes.
Solutions
You have to like what you are doing and be calm and patient.
Location
Location Name
Wadi Rum Desert
Location aDDRESS
Wadi Rum Reserve, Jordan
Loation Type
Desert
Country
Jordan
A Star Trails photo is definitely a photo to prepare for, be knowledgeable about astronomy, have a tripod, plan, and plenty of time with you. It is not a photo that will be taken in a short time. But it’s worth it, because the effect is beautiful, and the execution itself is a great adventure. I am already planning another one.
