Astrophotography lets you capture the stars and get the perfect night sky picture. Don't worry if you don't know much about photography since the feature does the work for you. Thanks to the Astrophotography feature, you can get the perfect image of the available constellation.
Whether you're using the Pixel 9 Pro XL, the Pixel 9 Pro, or a previous model, the feature is easy to use. Please keep reading to see how easy it is to use the feature you may be unable to stop using.
Astrophotography mode: Best practices
There is more to Astrophotography than going outside and taking a few pictures occasionally. When you use a tripod, you avoid unwanted movements and get the perfect night sky picture. Ensure you protect your Pixel from winds since that can blur your image. For example, you can use a windshield made of sturdy material to block the wind effectively.
It's best to avoid the city lights and have a clear sky, so the darker and clearer the sky, the better. Using a light pollution app will also be of great help. Remember to reduce the screen brightness and turn on the dark theme option to reduce light pollution. You can use the best weather apps for Android to know what day you can head out. If you can't get too far out, one crucial thing to remember is to prevent the light from getting into the frame.
It's also best to use a timer since even the slightest movements can affect the result. You can choose between three and ten seconds when you open the camera app > Go to Night Sight > Settings and choose a time option. It's best to select the three-second option. You can also use your smartwatch to control your phone's camera. You must install the camera app on your smartwatch and the Pixel for this to work.
Since you will be away from a wall socket, taking a power bank with you is also a good idea. We suggest the SHARGE Shargeek 170 power bank or others that fall into the best portable and power banks category. Waiting for the right time is also important since you should wait 45 to 90 minutes after sunset to get your pictures. If it's possible to wait for the moon to disappear, even better; that way, you get the darkest sky possible.
You can also try finding amazing landscapes with your pictures to get the best possible photo.
How to use Astrophotography mode
When you're done with the setup and ready to use Astrophotography mode:
1. Open the camera app.
2. Swipe right and choose the Night Sight icon.
3. Tap the shutter button, and You'll have five seconds to put your phone down with it facing the night sky. It will be no more than four minutes. You can also stop the countdown early if you don't have time to wait for it to finish.
You can also use the time-lapse feature when using Astrophotography mode. To turn this on, go to the camera app's settings. The feature is on by default, but here are the steps just in case you turned it off and can't remember the steps to enable it again.
1. Tap More settings.
2. Choose the Advanced option.
3. Look for the option to enable time-lapse for astrophotography and toggle it on. Whenever you want to turn it off, follow the same steps.
Keep capturing the stars
Whether it's the Google Pixel 8 Pro or not, when your Pixel is in Astrophotography mode, it'll take 16 16-second pictures when the shutter is activated. With the Astro-lapse feature, you get a one-second time-lapse of those gorgeous stars. You can use other fantastic features on your Pixel, such as the Video Boost on the Pixel 8 Pro.
You might not get the perfect picture on the first try, but take advantage of the peace your surroundings give you, and hopefully, you'll get it shortly after. After that, you'll have a picture you may use as wallpaper to remember that fantastic image.
Cream of the crop
Enjoy other Pixel photography features, such as its 50MP primary camera. The primary camera also comes with Dual Exposure, which gives you sharper videos. You'll also get a selfie camera with autofocus, and you can manually change the shutter speed, ISO, and focus.
