In our recent The Camera Life Podcast episode (episode 46), Justin and Greg from team Lucky Straps chatted with nightscape and astrophotographer Richard Tatti.
Watch the episode on Youtube, listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Richard is a returning guest on the podcast and wasted no time getting into the joys and challenges of night sky photography. The night sky has fascinated and influenced Richard for much of his life. Richards's images captivate and mesmerise due to their compositional structure and use of everyday foreground objects to juxtapose with the exposed galactic core in the background. Astro and nightscape photography are among the most challenging genres to attempt, let alone master. The absence of available light requires a mathematical approach to ensure that sharp star clusters or spiralling star trails fill the sky. Long exposure work of the stars requires knowledge, skills, and unique tracking devices to keep pace with the rotation and orbit of the Earth. Richard’s approach to his craft is far from a secret held tight to his chest. Richard runs outdoor and online workshops and has hundreds of free instructional videos on YouTube.
If you’re looking for tuition, tips, or tricks related to astrophotography and nighttime photography, you only need to head to Richard’s YouTube channel - Nightscape Images. The popular YouTube channel contains hundreds of informative and inspirational videos with countless hours of informative, detailed, and easy-to-follow guides to the genre. It’s clear to anyone browsing Nightscape Images that Richard works to strip away the unnecessary complexity and distraction often associated with nighttime photography. He humbly talks about mastering the basics of whatever camera you have available, regardless of its complexity or promised feature set. It’s a topic we discussed at length during Richard’s time on The Camera Life Podcast, and I'm also passionate about it. Working with manual camera settings to master the Exposure Triangle is a fundamental skill set for any photographer or videographer.
One of Richard's standout contributions to the nightscape photography community is providing online and in-person workshops. Heading to the Nighstacpe Images, you’ll discover Richard's tutorials and workshops broken into three segments: Workshops, Online Workshops, and Editing Tutorials. Richard’s face-to-face workshops have proven incredibly popular, and the 2025 workshop schedule is already sold out. During these workshops, Richard takes a small group of photographers to a remote location and guides them through the nightscape photography experience. Furthermore, Richard offers these workshops to photographers of all skill levels and encourages group support and the fostering of learning from one another.
“I take a relaxed approach to teaching and give plenty of time for participants to practice the craft and ask for assistance when required. We spend lots of time discussing the concepts and principles needed to produce an outstanding image, but equally, we just do it ... go outside and shoot the night landscape. No two events are the same, but the rewards are endless. - Richard Tatti”
While Richard’s face-to-face workshops are an ideal learning platform for hands-on experience and focused support, not everyone can attend such an event. Fortunately, Richard recognises the privilege required to afford or get to a face-to-face workshop or the ability to fit in a two-night adventure away from responsibilities. To accommodate anyone wanting to learn about astro and nightscape photography, Richard’s site hosts Online Workshops containing downloadable PDF guides, tutorial videos, and samples of RAW and JPEG files for user review. The online workshops are broken into two series: Learn Nightscape Photographer (ideal for beginners) and Simple Nightscape Images, which offer more advanced lessons. It’s an excellent primer for anyone interested in exploring the nightscape photography process and mastering the basic skills. It’s also a great place to start if you’re waiting for one of Richard’s face-to-face workshops to become available.
Capturing mesmerising nightscapes or astrophotography images is a fantastic skill to obtain. However, it’s often the editing process that thwarts many visual creatives. Richard’s Nightscape Images site also hosts a section on Editing Tutorials. Knowing how to master the camera settings while on a shoot makes a world of difference when editing nighttime images. Editing nightscape images is a process or workflow unlike any other. Richard’s Editing Tutorials are designed for beginner or intermediate photographers looking to improve their image editing skills. The tutorials include stacking multiple images, editing single-tracked photos, and using Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to produce stunning night shots. The online editing tutorials include links to relevant instructional videos and Richard’s RAW image files to use while learning the process. It’s yet another example of how Richard gives back to his community to elevate everyone’s experience with the craft.
Having Richard Tatti back on The Camera Life podcast was an absolute pleasure. His work is outstanding, and his open-book approach to how he works and supports his peers is inspirational. Anyone wanting to learn the basics or beyond of nightscape photography should do themselves a favour and head to Richard’s Nightscape Images site or YouTube channel. If you’re unfamiliar with The Camera Life Podcast, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for the latest episodes and, of course, our back catalogue of weekly shows. Our shows are also available on popular audio podcast platforms. If you like what you see, please give us a thumbs up, Subscribe to The Camera Life, and click on the bell icon to receive notifications of upcoming shows.
Check out the links below to look at Richard’s work, learn from his videos, or discover more about his upcoming workshops.
Richard Tatti - Nightscape Images
