Use a foreground for star photos

Saturday 9 August 2025, 20:10 by Nando Harmsen | 1,731 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Are you going to photograph the night sky? Make sure there is always something that can serve as a subject. A starry sky on its own is rarely a subject. Choose your location carefully.

The starry sky can be very beautiful. Especially when you get the chance to include the Milky Way in the frame. This can be a challenge in the Netherlands. You only have a good chance of doing so in the northern provinces.

A starry sky with the Milky Way in one of the darkest places in Noord-Brabant. The lack of a good foreground makes the photo uninteresting.
Whether or not the Milky Way is visible, when you head out at night, make sure you choose a beautiful location. Don't just look for a dark place and assume the photo will turn out well. Make sure you have a good foreground.

A foreground can be a simple but striking silhouette sticking up above the horizon. It can also be a building that is partly lit. This does present a challenge in terms of exposure, but it is worth the effort.

A slightly less dark place in Noord-Brabant, but with an interesting foreground as the subject. That makes all the difference when photographing a starry sky. The Milky Way is even in the frame, along with a Perseid meteor.
A good foreground makes all the difference. It gives you something to look at. The starry sky itself, with or without the Milky Way, is not enough as a subject. It does not make the photo interesting.

Lyngvig Fyr, a lighthouse in Denmark. It works as a foreground. As a result, the photo of the Milky Way and Perseid meteor is much more interesting.
Are you on holiday and is it really dark at night? Then make sure you photograph the Milky Way. From the end of July, it is usually the perfect time to do so. In August, you also have the Perseid meteor shower.

Are you heading out? Find a beautiful location. Don't forget. It makes the difference between a not very interesting starry sky or Milky Way photo and an engaging photo of a subject beneath a starry sky.

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