It’s no secret that star photos are very unique! And the photo shoots themselves are just as unusual. (And, dare I say, awesome?!)

But what does an astrophotography wedding or engagement shoot actually look like? 

Astrophotography has become one of my favorite types of photography in recent years. With every starry night photo I take, I get more excited to take the next one!

Planning a star photo shoot is very different from planning a “regular” photo shoot. So here is everything you need to know before your star photo shoot!

1) We are headed to the middle of nowhere

Ok, not necessarily nowhere, but it is vital to astrophotography to get away from the light pollution of cities. The bigger the city, the farther away we will need to get to a dark enough spot. 

So, if we are in Minneapolis or St Paul, Minnesota, we will most likely be driving about two hours or more to get to the photo shoot. If our home base is Duluth, Minnesota, we will need to drive about an hour. The darker the spot, the better view we will have of the stars!

2) The photos take longer than “normal” photos.

A typical daytime photo takes less than a second to be captured – just a click and you’re done. Capturing the stars takes much longer, usually 40-60 seconds per photo to allow the camera time to see more stars than we can even see with our eyes. 

But don’t worry! You don’t need to stand still that whole time. I will let you know when your part of the photo is being taken, so you are ready to pose. And the extra time is definitely worth it!

3) Mother nature gets to decide when star photos are possible.

Things like the weather play a part in every wedding day and photo shoot – rain, clouds, sunsets, etc all affect what photos are possible. But that is even more true when it comes to photography at night. 

Clouds can certainly cause problems seeing the stars, but there is one thing that matters even more – the moon. The moon shines much brighter than stars do, so we need to factor that into our shooting plans. We will keep an eye on the moon phases and when it rises and sets as we pick a night for star photos. Don’t worry, I will help with that!

4) It might be a late night (but maybe not as late as you’d think).

This one is pretty simple, way easier than mapping out moonrise times for sure! You need to wait until the sky is truly dark to do star photography. Even though the sun has set, there is light in the sky for about two more hours. So we will plan our astro shoot for that time or later. 

That means during the long days of summer, plan on a very late night! We can’t even start taking photos with the stars until 11:00pm. But for winter days we can do them in the early evening. We just need to be willing to brave the cold 🙂 

5) The photos are INCREDIBLE.

There is a reason I am so obsessed with taking starry night photos of my wedding and engagement couples – because they are so freaking beautiful. The first time I started taking night shots with the stars, I was absolutely hooked.

These photos are so unique and belong in a place of honor on your wall. They will be wowing your friends and family for years to come.

See my favorite star wedding photos here!