Astrophotography Post-Processing: From RAW to Stunning

Here's what nobody tells beginners: every stunning astrophotography image you've seen has been heavily processed. This isn't cheating—it's revealing data that's actually in your image but invisible to the eye.

**Camera sensors capture far more than monitors can display.** A single RAW file contains 12-14 stops of dynamic range compressed into a narrow tonal range. Processing "stretches" this data to reveal hidden details.

**RAW straight-out-of-camera looks terrible.** Flat, dark, noisy. That's normal. The processing is where the image comes alive.

**Processing is not optional.** For astrophotography, it's an essential part of the workflow—not a creative choice.

You have options at every price point:

Here's my step-by-step process for Milky Way images:

**1. Import and lens corrections** - Apply lens profile corrections - Enable chromatic aberration removal - Fix any vignetting

**2. White balance** - Set temperature to 3800-4200K for cooler tones - Adjust tint slightly toward magenta (+5 to +15)

**3. Exposure and tone** - Boost exposure +0.5 to +1.5 stops - Reduce highlights to recover blown stars - Boost shadows to reveal foreground - Add contrast (+20 to +40)

**4. Color and vibrance** - Boost vibrance (+30 to +50) - Slight saturation increase (+10 to +20) - Use HSL panel to enhance Milky Way colors

**5. Noise reduction** - Apply AI denoise if available - Or use luminance NR at 30-50

**6. Sharpening and export** - Apply masking to avoid sharpening noise - Export as high-quality JPEG or 16-bit TIFF

Once you've mastered the basics, try these:

**Stacking** — Combine multiple exposures to dramatically reduce noise. Use Sequator (Windows, free) or Starry Landscape Stacker (Mac). Stack 8-16 images and the difference is dramatic.

**Sky replacement/blending** — Composite a tracked sky with an untracked foreground for tack-sharp stars AND sharp landscape. Advanced but produces professional results.

**Star reduction** — Use the minimum filter technique to shrink bloated stars and make nebulae more visible.

**Light pollution removal** — Use gradient tools or plugins like Astronomy Tools for Photoshop to remove color casts from artificial light.

**Nik Collection** — Free plugin suite from DxO with excellent tools for contrast and color grading. The "Pro Contrast" filter is fantastic for Milky Way images.