A star trail is a photography technique which shows the movement of the stars through the night sky. They are certainly one of the most challenging subjects to shoot, as they require meticulous planning and require you to stay up for hours on end while everyone else is tucked up in bed. However, they are certainly worth the effort as they can make for some truly breathtaking photos. So in this post we gathered 20 breathtaking star trail photos for inspiration.

Windmill Star Trails by James Hastie

Star Trails by Vincent_Ting

Lichfield star trails by Corica

Star Trail Road by sparkyloe

Glamping star trails by David Marriott

Vortex Star Trails by Benjamin Root Photography

2nd Degree Criminal Trespass by Andrew Curtis

Radial Stars by Shoart Photography

15 minute star trails by Marvin Bredel

Expedition 31 star trail by NASA_JSC_Photo

stars and trails by juances

Deserted by Casey Weinstein

Star Circles 2 by Harold Davis

Stars Spinning Over Water by Eric Kilby

Dinosour Egg by Kiall Frost

Big Bend Star Trails by mitalpatelphoto

Star Trails over the Kilauea Volcano by i_divo

Star Trails Over Twilight Thunderstorm by Jeffrey Sullivan

‘Gravitation’ by Kristofer Williams

Sydney Star Trails by Kiall Frost