🖥️ Editing Your First Milky Way Photo (Beginner’s Guide)
So, you’ve been out under the stars, nailed your focus, captured your first Milky Way image… and now it’s sitting on your camera looking flat, noisy, and not quite what you imagined. Don’t worry — that’s normal. The magic happens in editing.
Here’s a simple workflow to turn your RAW file into a glowing nightscape masterpiece.
📂 Step 1: Import Your RAW Files
Always shoot RAW. JPEGs crush the detail and make editing harder.
Import into Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or similar RAW editor.
Pick your best frame (sharp stars, no tripod shake, no airplane trails).
👉 Insert image block — “Side-by-side RAW vs. final edit.”
🎚️ Step 2: Basic Adjustments
White Balance – Set between 3800–4200K for a natural night sky.
Exposure – Gently increase until stars start to pop.
Contrast – Boost slightly to separate the Milky Way from the background.
Highlights/Shadows – Drop highlights, raise shadows to bring out detail.
🌌 Step 3: Enhance the Milky Way
Clarity / Dehaze – Add a touch of dehaze to cut through atmosphere and make the core stand out. Be subtle — too much will make it look fake.
Vibrance / Saturation – Boost vibrance slightly to bring out natural colors in the galactic core.
Tone Curve – Add a gentle “S-curve” for extra contrast and punch.
👉 Insert image block — “Milky Way core before and after dehaze.”
🧹 Step 4: Reduce Noise
Noise Reduction – Apply just enough to smooth the sky without killing star detail.
Sharpening – Add sharpening to stars only (mask out the sky if possible).
Pro tip: If you took multiple shots, stack them in software like Sequator (PC) or Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac) for cleaner results.
🎨 Step 5: Creative Touches
Add a subtle vignette to draw the eye toward the Milky Way.
Balance the foreground exposure with the sky — lift shadows slightly if your land is too dark.
Crop for impact — try a vertical frame to emphasize the height of the galaxy.
🌠 Final Thoughts
Editing isn’t about faking the night sky — it’s about bringing out what your camera already captured. With practice, you’ll find your own style, whether that’s natural and subtle or bold and dramatic.
If you’d like to see my editing process step by step, I’ve created tutorials and behind-the-scenes videos on my YouTube channel Nightscape Odyssey.