PHOTOGRAPHY

Astrophotography for Beginners

Name: Astrophotography for Beginners
Brand: Tom Radford
Price: 85.0 CAD
Availability: InStock

Learn how to photograph the Moon and planets from the city using the smartphone or camera you already own. In this four-hour beginner workshop, you’ll connect cameras to telescopes, work with manual focus and exposure, practise shooting outdoors, and learn how urban light pollution, atmospheric conditions and frame stacking affect your results. You’ll leave with a practical workflow for continuing astrophotography on your own, plus one image from the workshop printed in-house by UAC.

All Materials Included

Demonstration telescopes, universal smartphone mounts, camera adapters and beginner astrophotography software demonstrations are provided.

ART HUB

Classroom instruction and outdoor stargazing at the Urban Art Collective Art Hub.

Small Class Size

6 minimum · 12 maximum

SKILL LEVEL

No Experience Needed

WORKSHOP RUNDOWN

Hour 1: Urban Sky Realities & Gear Expectations

Learn how urban light pollution affects astrophotography and what smartphones and entry-level cameras can realistically capture from the city. Explore the Bortle scale, exposure basics, sensor noise and the essential concepts you’ll use throughout the workshop.

Hour 2: Optics & Solar System Setup

Connect smartphones, DSLR and mirrorless cameras to telescopes and prepare the equipment for shooting. Practise manual focus, ISO and exposure settings for the Moon and bright planets while learning how stable mounting affects image quality.

Hour 3: Outdoor Stargazing & Hands-On Shooting

Head outdoors to align the telescopes and put the setup into practice. Capture lunar and planetary images while troubleshooting focus, camera shake, atmospheric haze and other real-world shooting challenges with hands-on guidance.

Hour 4: Stacking & Post-Processing

Explore how frame stacking can reduce noise and improve astrophotography results, particularly in an urban environment. Walk through a beginner-friendly post-processing workflow, review the images captured during the workshop and choose one image to have printed by UAC.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

By The End Of This Workshop, You Will:

Understand how urban light pollution affects astrophotography and how to work within it.
Know what smartphones and entry-level cameras can realistically capture at night.
Connect a smartphone, DSLR or mirrorless camera to a telescope.
Use manual focus, ISO and exposure settings for photographing the Moon and bright planets.
Set up and align basic telescope and camera equipment for more stable images.
Understand how frame stacking can reduce noise and improve astrophotography results.
Leave with a practical beginner workflow for continuing astrophotography from the city.
Take home one image from the workshop printed in-house by UAC.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Tom Radford

Tom Radford is a photographer and educator who likes pointing cameras at things that are literally out of this world.

VIEW FULL BIO →

Camera: Bring a smartphone, DSLR or mirrorless camera you would like to use during the workshop.
Dress For The Weather: Bring weather-appropriate warm clothing and comfortable footwear for the outdoor shooting portion of the workshop.

Have a question about the course or need to discuss accessibility or accommodations before class? Contact us at learn@urbanartcollective.ca.

Parking is available at 1088 Somerset St W at the UAC Art Gallery, as well as at 50 Bayswater Ave. The parking area at 50 Bayswater is accessed from Somerset St W, not from Bayswater Avenue.

Cancellation Policy

14+ days before the first class: Full refund to your original payment method.
7–13 days before: Full-value UAC LAB credit.
Less than 7 days before: No refund or credit.

Registrations can be transferred to another person at no charge before the class begins. Missed classes or sessions are not eligible for refunds, credits or individual make-up classes.

If UAC LAB cancels a class, you can choose a full refund or full-value UAC LAB credit. If we reschedule and the new date does not work for you, you may also request a refund or credit.

UAC LAB Class Registration, Cancellation & Refund Policy