Royce Bair

3 Levels of Astro Editing

Added 2025-12-15 16:23:22 +0000 UTC

I recently asked Mike Abramyan to be a Guest Artist for the Spring 2026 update to my Milky Way NightScape ebook.

His contribution will share the "3 Levels of Astro Editing" he uses for his nightscapes. His first two levels are similar to my own, but with some interesting twists. His "Beginner" methods are virtually identical to what I've already shared in version 2.0 of my ebook, except that he's added an "ISO-invariant" factor that I will further elaborate on in my next ebook update.

Mike Abramyan's "Beginner" level editing is explained in the PDF attachment, listed below.

Mike's "Intermediate" methods are somewhat different than my approach. He does not use Photoshop "Curves" as I do, but prefers other ways to build controlled contrast and character to his images.

Mike Abramyan's "Intermediate" level editing is explained in the PDF attachment, listed below.

This is the reason I've added "Guest Artists" to my ebook. Every experienced nightscape photographer has a few uniquely different editing techniques that they’ve developed over the years. I will continue to share several of these techniques over the next few months, as I update the post processing section of my ebook.

Mike's "Advanced" level shares techniques that go beyond Lightroom and Photoshop. They are tools used in some of the astronomy editing software, such as Astro Pixel Processor and PixInsight. These techniques will really up-your-game if you want to produce extremely detailed and colorful images for large wall prints.

Mike Abramyan's "Advanced" level editing is explained in the PDF attachment, listed below.

See Mike's "3 Levels of Astro Editing" in the PDF below. This PDF download is accessible to all my NightScaper "Supporting" Patrons (who subscribe for $3/month or more). NOTE: This PDF page will be included in my next eBook update (version 2.1), expected in the Spring of 2026. This will be a free update to all my Supporting Patrons, and it will include several new pages on nightscape post processing.