

Starry Landscape Stacker (free trial available, Mac OS X).Stars move between the different images, but the landscape does not. The main difficulty in editing is to deal with a dynamic sky and a fixed foreground. Starry landscapes are probably the first kind of astrophotography you will attempt. The rest of the editing will be carried out in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. The software I will suggest to you in this guide is mostly freeware and easy to use. Softwareĭedicated software such Pixinsight is great, but such software usually has a steep price and learning curve. For each case, I will focus on the key steps of the editing workflow. Since there is not a single workflow that will fit all cases, I will break down the subject in four case studies. Luckily, software is available to help you with the process. Image stacking consists of three steps: image calibration (optional), alignment and stacking. Don’t forget to take them at the same temperature as your light frames. While you are packing your stuff, take some dark frames. Whether you are after a starry landscape or a faint nebula, take as many images (light frames) you can of your target. The work for image stacking begins in the field. Stacking increases the signal-to-noise ratio, giving a cleaner and more detailed image. This is the only step that is central to editing any kind of astrophotography. Image stacking is the process to combine all your light and calibration frames into a single image. Astrophotography Post Processing Technique: Image Stacking
