A Beginner’s Guide to Planning Night Sky Photos

Great photos of the moon, stars, and The Milky Way don’t happen by accident—they’re planned. In this one-hour, hands-on workshop, we’ll show you how to be best prepared using PhotoPills, a photographer’s best friend for planning legendary photos.

PhotoPills is an incredibly powerful app for our smartphones—but not always intuitive. Our goal is to simplify it. We’ll walk you through the tools that actually matter, explain them in clear, straightforward language, and help you start using the app with confidence right away.

We’ll begin inside the studio with guided demonstrations, then (weather permitting) head to a nearby park to put what you’ve learned into hands-on practice. By the end of class, you’ll have a much better understanding of how to plan for key moments like sunrise, sunset, moon phases, and even the Milky Way—without getting lost in the process.

Suggested Prerequisites:

None—this workshop is designed for beginners and anyone curious about astrophotography planning tools.

Topics Covered:

• A clear, beginner-friendly introduction to PhotoPills

• How to plan for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset

• When and where to find the Milky Way

• Understanding star movement and planning star trails

• The most useful tools in the app (and what you can safely ignore)

What to Bring:

• Smartphone or tablet (recommended for hands-on practice)

• Camera (optional—welcome if you have questions)

• A bit of curiosity

Note: PhotoPills is a $10 app for both android and apple devices. It can be downloaded in advance if you’d like to follow along during class.

Class Details:

• Duration: 1 hour

• Location: South Boston studio + short outdoor session (weather permitting)

• Cost: $99