I have been playing with Astrophotography for a few years, but I have never had the time to really sit down and learn in depth the post processing. I just opened a two year old photo and tried this and it blew my mind how much of the image I was missing!!! Thank you for this.
Excellent tutorial Stacy. Your tutorials are very well understood and the pace is just perfect for someone like me. I'm an intermediate photographer but very much beginner in this realm of astrophotography. Your tutorials help me to bridge the difference. Thank you. Keep them coming. I'm in New England which has become just as cloudy as England lately and besides that there is smoke from the West coast fires here too lately to deal with.
This was a short to the point video with excellent information. Thank you! I've used the three sw for stretching, and this video helped me to understand what I was actually doing. Thank you!
Great information Stace! Post processing can be a struggle for most of us. Great to have someone explain it in such a way that everyone can understand! Keep up the great work!
AstroStace , I just bought Pixinsight because of you!!! Don’t you know I’m Scottish and it hurts to spend money..lol. Friends tell me my wallet makes a creaking sound when I open it due to lack of use. Thanks again for your videos and commitment to Astrophotography.
@@gregorymckenna6609 oh wow! Enjoy pixinsight...it's a very powerful program...I'm still learning it's quirks myself. I'll try and get some more videos done soon 😁
Hi Stace, I am a total newbie and have been a bit overwhelmed by the post processing part of Astrophotography. I took my first real sequence of subs last night and was disappointed after stacking them until I watched this video tonight and to my amazement after doing your few suggested adjustments in PS saw to my disbelief the Lagoon Nebula and the Trifid Nebula. I’m in a Bortal 5 area in outer suburban Sydney and am now looking forward to more Astrophotography!!Cheers John.
Hi John! Thanks for getting in contact! It's comments like this that make doing my videos and stuff all worthwhile :) So pleased you managed to stretch your data, onwards and upwards now. Ps I'm very jealous...I'm in bortle 8! Best wishes, Stacey
You have lots of comments, which shows an avid interest in the subject and your presentation. Some obviously don't understand that this is only the beginning of processing. But it would be interesting to know (by video) what method you prefer or enjoy the most, to completly process an image. For example, do you prefer to use a combunation of softwares? Do you prefer one software over another for stretching? I prefer to use Deep Sky Stacker to stack only and then I open in RAW through Adobe Bridge and will adjust chromatic abberation and a few basic things, but then process everything in photoshop. I may do a little in Lightroom. Using layers, everything is non-linear. But its always a good habit to save original versions anyway. I do tend to save a lot of versions. For people with little cash, Affinity Photo will be a brilliant software or Gimp. Affinity, you buy, not rent. Very cheap.
Hi. Great video. Thank you for posting. If your image is that dark, how does the stacking program know how to stack it? Doesn't it need to be able to see the stars to stack them? Also is it better to use lower ISO and stretch more or higher ISO and less stretch? Thanks!
Hi Stace yet another great tutorial, I couldn't even stack my fits files in Astro pixel processor when trying to get rid of my amp glow. APP kept saying the darks, lights, and flats do not match....they did honest.I love Photoshop and try to stretch my data the same way as you phew! at least i'm doing that right. It's all to easy to get carried away making little adjustments and before you know it the Rosette Nebula looks like something on the Great British Bake Off. Can't wait for the next installment
Hey Tony! Thanks for the great feedback as usual :) I suspect you forgot to tick force CFA and then remembered to do it after. Or did you shoot them in different programs? Honestly APP is the best I find when it comes to stacking and calibration :) it handles the new modern astro cameras the best too :)
@@AstroStace Hi Stace Yep all shot on the same night with the same gain and exposure. Darks taken before I packed up for the night. Captured with Altair Capture software (I just really like it :) Deep Sky Stacker.
Well explained Stacey, better than most, thankyou. One snag i have is, when i eventually get to prosessing or even get the scope out. I have Ps, CS4 Design, its on mac Snow leopard platform. Windows 10 doesn't like my CS4, it doesn't accept it. Astro Tool doesn't like mac Snow leopard. To top it up, my windows Vista is no longer supported by any updates. (Bin it) Maybe its a sign that im not to go into prosessing. Lol. Clear sky last night (08/10/19) thought of your RASA sneaking out for a test run. Clear sky's to you. Great video. Thanks.
Thanks Melvin! Yeah it sounds like you're having a few issues! Hope you can get them sorted. Have managed a couple of sessions with the RASA so far...did a mini write up :) it's on my site at www.astroastace.com
Hi quick question I'm a newbie at astrophotography does Stretching and Post processing is different?? Cause I only have tripod dslr and a 200mm lens I'm targeting north america nebula and pelican nebula my current data is only 30mins total expo time I'm not sure if my data will have already color like your's or do I still need to do something after stretching in photoshop Thanks😁
I have problems with the color of my MilkWay stacked photo, too much yellow and brown and it's not possible to see red color of the nebulosity. I don't understand how Deepsky stacker works but I believe that levels adjustment is the key, what do you thing?
Hi Marlon, actually the milky way is mostly yellow (due to the age and colour of stars in our galaxy). As for red nebulosity, what camera are you using? Is it astro modified?
In APP, no. As the stretch kind of happens along with everything else. In pixinsight, yes do the colour calibration first. As for photoshop i sort of do it at the same time as everything else
PixInsight is a good program but it's like PS. Inordinately complicated and needs time to master. It's also rather dear!!!! Reminds me a lot of Blender. Good program but not for a beginner. I much rather APP in any case. Good price point and more than adequate to do the job.
![A Full Guide on AstroPixelProcessor [Astrophotography Stacking Software]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9EAKNqZ201Q/mqdefault.jpg)
![Astrophotography: The ABSOLUTE BEST way to STRETCH your Astro Image data in Photoshop [PS]!](/img/n.gif)
I have been playing with Astrophotography for a few years, but I have never had the time to really sit down and learn in depth the post processing. I just opened a two year old photo and tried this and it blew my mind how much of the image I was missing!!! Thank you for this.
Refreshing to see a video that get's to the point without any BS, 10/10! :) subbed
Excellent tutorial Stacy. Your tutorials are very well understood and the pace is just perfect for someone like me. I'm an intermediate photographer but very much beginner in this realm of astrophotography. Your tutorials help me to bridge the difference. Thank you. Keep them coming. I'm in New England which has become just as cloudy as England lately and besides that there is smoke from the West coast fires here too lately to deal with.
This was a short to the point video with excellent information. Thank you! I've used the three sw for stretching, and this video helped me to understand what I was actually doing. Thank you!
Hi Stace. Excellent information. New to Astrophotography and this was the best explanation on stretching in Photoshop I have seen! Thank-you.
First video I’ve found that goes through it in a way that made sense to me so thank you!
Great information Stace! Post processing can be a struggle for most of us. Great to have someone explain it in such a way that everyone can understand! Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for the great feedback :) always happy to help
AstroStace , I just bought Pixinsight because of you!!! Don’t you know I’m Scottish and it hurts to spend money..lol. Friends tell me my wallet makes a creaking sound when I open it due to lack of use. Thanks again for your videos and commitment to Astrophotography.
@@gregorymckenna6609 oh wow! Enjoy pixinsight...it's a very powerful program...I'm still learning it's quirks myself. I'll try and get some more videos done soon 😁
Very nice and useful video on stretching. Well presented
Hi Stace, I am a total newbie and have been a bit overwhelmed by the post processing part of Astrophotography. I took my first real sequence of subs last night and was disappointed after stacking them until I watched this video tonight and to my amazement after doing your few suggested adjustments in PS saw to my disbelief the Lagoon Nebula and the Trifid Nebula. I’m in a Bortal 5 area in outer suburban Sydney and am now looking forward to more Astrophotography!!Cheers John.
Hi John! Thanks for getting in contact! It's comments like this that make doing my videos and stuff all worthwhile :)
So pleased you managed to stretch your data, onwards and upwards now. Ps I'm very jealous...I'm in bortle 8!
Best wishes,
Stacey
Great video! It would be awesome to see all 3 photos compared. 😊
This was really easy to follow and super helpful, thank you for making this video! Just got Pixinsight and it's a little daunting at first.
It really does have a big learning curve, but keep at it :) you can do it :)
You have lots of comments, which shows an avid interest in the subject and your presentation. Some obviously don't understand that this is only the beginning of processing. But it would be interesting to know (by video) what method you prefer or enjoy the most, to completly process an image. For example, do you prefer to use a combunation of softwares? Do you prefer one software over another for stretching? I prefer to use Deep Sky Stacker to stack only and then I open in RAW through Adobe Bridge and will adjust chromatic abberation and a few basic things, but then process everything in photoshop. I may do a little in Lightroom. Using layers, everything is non-linear. But its always a good habit to save original versions anyway. I do tend to save a lot of versions. For people with little cash, Affinity Photo will be a brilliant software or Gimp. Affinity, you buy, not rent. Very cheap.
Super useful information, thanks Stacey!!
Thanks David :)
Hi. Great video. Thank you for posting.
If your image is that dark, how does the stacking program know how to stack it? Doesn't it need to be able to see the stars to stack them?
Also is it better to use lower ISO and stretch more or higher ISO and less stretch?
Thanks!
Great guide! Thanks Stace.
thank you Jim! 😄
Very useful, thank you!
Great video! Thank you very much for sharing this.
Love this Stace! I am a Pixinsight Guy. So this PS tutorial is nice!
thanks Ray! :)
Hi Stace yet another great tutorial, I couldn't even stack my fits files in Astro pixel processor when trying to get rid of my amp glow. APP kept saying the darks, lights, and flats do not match....they did honest.I love Photoshop and try to stretch my data the same way as you phew! at least i'm doing that right. It's all to easy to get carried away making little adjustments and before you know it the Rosette Nebula looks like something on the Great British Bake Off.
Can't wait for the next installment
Hey Tony! Thanks for the great feedback as usual :) I suspect you forgot to tick force CFA and then remembered to do it after. Or did you shoot them in different programs? Honestly APP is the best I find when it comes to stacking and calibration :) it handles the new modern astro cameras the best too :)
@@AstroStace Hi Stace
Yep all shot on the same night with the same gain and exposure. Darks taken before I packed up for the night. Captured with Altair Capture software (I just really like it :) Deep Sky Stacker.
What a great video. Very useful for newbies like me. That's a very nice image and well framed. Was that taken with your RASA 8 inch?
thank you :) it was taken with my Altair 72edf scope with a 0.8x reducer and the Altair hypercam 294c pro Tec
Great video Stace, thanks for sharing
thanks for the great feedback
Very informative video.
Well explained Stacey, better than most, thankyou. One snag i have is, when i eventually get to prosessing or even get the scope out. I have Ps, CS4 Design, its on mac Snow leopard platform. Windows 10 doesn't like my CS4, it doesn't accept it. Astro Tool doesn't like mac Snow leopard. To top it up, my windows Vista is no longer supported by any updates. (Bin it) Maybe its a sign that im not to go into prosessing. Lol. Clear sky last night (08/10/19) thought of your RASA sneaking out for a test run.
Clear sky's to you. Great video. Thanks.
Thanks Melvin! Yeah it sounds like you're having a few issues! Hope you can get them sorted. Have managed a couple of sessions with the RASA so far...did a mini write up :) it's on my site at www.astroastace.com
Hi quick question I'm a newbie at astrophotography does Stretching and Post processing is different?? Cause I only have tripod dslr and a 200mm lens I'm targeting north america nebula and pelican nebula my current data is only 30mins total expo time I'm not sure if my data will have already color like your's or do I still need to do something after stretching in photoshop Thanks😁
simple and nifty , well done, you have a way with words, keep it up.. In fact you could do a 12 part series for new ones...
thank you :) hmmm I may think of what to cover next :)
@@AstroStace Simple noise reduction..
@@BrokenPik good idea! :)
This is really helpful thanks much!
glad it helps :)
Totally in love with your voice
Thanks for the info.
Thank you. This has helped me eliminate Pixinsight. Definitely too robust and not quite intuitive enough for me.
I have problems with the color of my MilkWay stacked photo, too much yellow and brown and it's not possible to see red color of the nebulosity. I don't understand how Deepsky stacker works but I believe that levels adjustment is the key, what do you thing?
Hi Marlon, actually the milky way is mostly yellow (due to the age and colour of stars in our galaxy). As for red nebulosity, what camera are you using? Is it astro modified?
It's a DSLR camera, no modified, but in the RAW image, there are red zones that in the stacked photo look white.
Hi, do you perform color calibration before stretching?
In APP, no. As the stretch kind of happens along with everything else. In pixinsight, yes do the colour calibration first. As for photoshop i sort of do it at the same time as everything else
@@AstroStace thanks
PixInsight is a good program but it's like PS. Inordinately complicated and needs time to master. It's also rather dear!!!! Reminds me a lot of Blender. Good program but not for a beginner. I much rather APP in any case. Good price point and more than adequate to do the job.