Go and photograph the Perseid meteor shower
Saturday 2 August 2025, 14:07 by Nando Harmsen | 2,399 views | 4 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
The annual Perseid meteor shower takes place on the night of 12 to 13 August. This gives you a great chance to photograph shooting stars. You will need some luck and patience. Read how to set up your camera here.
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most active meteor showers. Every year, its peak is on the night of 12 to 13 August. The nice thing is that this is also the perfect time of year to photograph the Milky Way.
There are some conditions attached. You need to be in a dark location, and I mean 'really dark,' and the sky must be clear. Above all, the Moon must not be in the sky. That is a problem this year.
The Moon is 83% illuminated, making it look like a mini sun in the sky. The Moon rises at around 22:00, so from that moment onwards the conditions are not very favourable. But it is always worth trying.
You can follow the list below to photograph shooting stars. It is important to try this well in advance. That gives you time to practise.
- Find a really dark location with an attractive foreground
- Use a sturdy tripod and switch off image stabilisation
- Use a wide-angle lens of 24mm or wider
- Use the widest aperture (f/2.8 if possible)
- Choose ISO 3200 or ISO 6400
- Choose the shutter speed that gives the correct exposure (check the histogram)
- Set the white balance to 4000K (shoot in raw and you can always correct it)
- Set the camera to continuous shooting
- Focus manually on the subject (using Live View if possible)
- Take a test photo to check everything
- Use a remote shutter release and lock the button so that the camera keeps shooting continuously
- Instead of a remote shutter release, you can also use the camera's interval timer with 1 second between photos
- Keep shooting for at least an hour. The longer you shoot, the greater your chance of capturing shooting stars
- Enjoy the peace and the stars twinkling endlessly above your head
You can find a more detailed description in this article on the Photofacts blog.
After shooting, you can look through the photos at home at your leisure. Look for the photos with a shooting star in the frame. If you have not captured any shooting stars, or none that stand out enough to be worth a photo, you can still combine the photos into a star trails photo.
Are you photographing in an area with a lot of light pollution? You can use a night filter if you have one. To prevent condensation, you can wrap the camera in a woollen scarf. Or you can use a heating band.
Head out for an evening, or a night, to photograph the shooting stars. Take a chair, a blanket, something to drink and a snack. Go out together with another photographer and enjoy the peace. See a shooting star? Then you can make a wish.
About the author
Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.
You might also like
-
Use a foreground for star photosby Nando Harmsen
-
The annoying red light when taking night photographsby Nando Harmsen
-
The ideal all-round lens for Micro Four-Thirdsby Nando Harmsen
-
Nature photography tip: Discover a new world after sunsetby Rob Dijkstra
-
Don't Turn a Sunset into a Night Photoby Nando Harmsen
-
An Evening or Night Photo from a Surprising Viewpointby Nando Harmsen
4 comments
-
Ton Brosse wrote on Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 13:29 | replyHet is meestal wel leuk en leerzaam om artikelen te lezen over vallende sterren. In dit geval dus ook. Hetgeen meestal ontbreekt is: naar welke kant van de hemel moet je je camera richten om de vallende sterren te zien. Dat is niet alleen het geval bij dit artikel maar ook andere artikelen over andere vallende sterren van andere auteurs.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet. -
Nando
wrote on Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 21:45
| reply
Je kan alle richtingen in fotograferen. Er is niet een speciale plek waar je ze kan zien. Ze zullen willekeurig over de hele hemel vallen.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.
Echter, wil je het radiant in beeld hebben, de plek aan de hemel waar ze vandaan komen, zoek dan het sterrenbeeld Perseus. Daar komt de naam ook vandaan: Perseïden.
Perseus vind je ongeveer richting het Zuiden. Gebruik een hemelkaart (of app) om het te vinden. -
Wilfried wrote on Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 17:48 | replyIk denk dat de sterrenspoorfoto het antwoord geeft: richting noord. Het midden van de cirkel is de poolster.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet. -
Nando
wrote on Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 21:46
| reply
Zie mijn reactie hierboven. Je kan ze overal verwachten, maar ze 'vallen' uit het sterrenbeeld Perseus. Dat staat niet in het Noorden.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.
Overigens, sterrensporen hoeft niet richting het Noorden, hoor. Volg mijn cursus Sterrensporen fotograferen maar eens (of koop mijn boek).
Have your say
Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.
Elja Trum
Photofacts; everything to do with photography!
Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
