Astro Portraits
If you’ve found your way here to my little corner of the internet, then you probably already know that I love taking photos of people under the night sky.. And you’re probably wanting one of those little silhouettes against the Milky Way to be you! You’ve come to the right place..
I’ll start with some packages you can book in, then give some more juicy details of what may unfold on our adventure below.
Basic Astro Portrait session - $450
This gets us 6 long exposure images, one of which will be a big panorama of you under the Milky Way, Moon, stars, Aurora or whatever crazy beautiful feature the universe brings us on the night!
Astro Portrait session + Canvas Print - $680
6 astro images of yourself with a big panorama and a 75x50cm canvas print of your favourite image worth $330!
Astro Portrait session + Metal print - $900
8 astro images of yourself, panorama included, and pick your favourite image to get on a 61x41cm metal print valued at $640!
*Print sizes can be negotiated.
Now you’ve picked your package, whats going to happen?
To book, just fill out the form below with your info and I’ll send you details to pay an $80 booking deposit, easy as that!
What next?
Before we get in to too much detail, you guys need to know that for each photo, you’ll have to stand dead still for up to 25 seconds! This can be a little challenging in the dark, so its worth having a go, looking up at the night sky in the dark to see how it feels before we head out!
Check out how Yi did, he’s an orchestra conductor and held his arm up perfectly still for 25 seconds!
Now we have to pick a date around the new moon phase so the moon isn’t blocking our view of the Milky Way. This phase generally is around 2 weeks of each month, but can change depending on what time the moon is rising/setting and how bright it is. But don’t worry too much about all that, I’ll sort all the details and let you know what works!
We also have to work around the weather and clouds. If we can’t see the stars, thats not so fun! Its best to leave a few nights around your desired date free so we can pick the best clear night to shoot! But a little cloud can also look incredible at night! Check out this shot below from above Moke Lake, it even rained on us a little but wee still got some incredible images!
Where are we going??
Generally my first choice of location is Coronet Peak. The views are incredible up there, its easily accessible with parking right by our shoot location and theres great views to the south if the Aurora happens!
There’s also More Lake if its really calm as the reflections on the lake are amazing up there!
And for those that are feeling fit and adventurous, we can organise a night hike up a mountain like The Remarkables or to somewhere a little harder to reach!
What time are we going?
This changes throughout the year as the Milky Way is constantly moving. Early months of the year, the Milky Way rises quite late, around 3am in February, 1am in March and 11-10pm in April. During winter its dark earlier and the Milky Way core is visible most of the night, so we can get out a little earlier! Once it gets to September/October, the Milky Way is more setting to the west sideways in the sky, which is great for panoramas! This happens earlier in the night which is great for us so we can still get a decent sleep!