With years of experience shooting the night sky, talented astrophotographer and Sony Alpha Ambassador Autumn Schrock (@autpops) has learned what works best. Below she shares three of her pro tips for creating successful astro imagery.

1. Use A Sturdy Tripod

If you’re trying to shoot for the stars, Schrock explains that this piece of gear is essential. “If you don’t use a sturdy tripod, you’re risking introducing motion blur into your images. So that negates all of the money that you’re spending on your expensive camera gear.”

2. Focus On A Medium-Bright Star (Not THE Brightest)

You might expect to manually focus your lens on the brightest star in the sky, but Schrock says this doesn’t always work the best. “Often those brighter stars or planets have halos or glows around them that make it more difficult to see the edge of the star or the planet if it’s in focus,” she explains. “So what I often do is find a more medium-bright star. Usually this allows me to nail focus on the first try.”

3. Expect To Fail

The reality is, you’re not going to take perfect astro images on the first try. “You should expect to fail multiple times,” she says. “It’s just part of the process. You’ll get a little bit discouraged. You’ll get frustrated. But just have patience – it takes a lot of practice."

See more videos like this one on the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel.