When they happen, it’s natural to want to document them. But getting the perfect shot is challenging. And if you don’t take the proper precautions, you can damage your eyes and camera.
I knew I wanted to take an amazing eclipse photo, but I had no idea what I was doing. I needed some professional guidance. So, I contacted Babak Tafreshi, a National Geographic photographer who has been snapping eclipse shots for 30 years.
Ellyn Lapointe
With Tafreshi’s advice, I was able to take over 50 photos of the eclipse using both my iPhone and my DSLR. Here are the four tips he gave me that made these photos possible.
Protect yourself and your gear during the eclipse
Make sure you protect your lenses. This goes for your eyes and your camera. Unless you’re in the window of totality, you have to make sure you’re protecting yourself and your equipment from the sun’s harsh rays.
It’s never safe to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. Before and after totality, you need to wear eclipse glasses to view the eclipse safely.
Direct sunlight isn’t good for your camera or smartphone either. When UV radiation streams directly into your camera lens, it can cause damage.
Ellyn Lapointe
To protect your equipment while photographing the partial eclipse, you need to use an ND filter of at least 10 stops, and preferably 16 stops, Tafreshi said. ND filters are like sunglasses for your camera; they reduce the intensity of light coming into your lens. You can buy a solar filter for your smartphone, too.
I didn’t purchase an ND filter for my DSLR ahead of time, so I only used that camera for photographing totality — when it’s safe to photograph the eclipse without one.
For photos of the partial eclipse, I used my iPhone camera, which I protected with a spare pair of eclipse glasses. I just held the glasses’ lens over my iPhone camera lens, et viola!
Ellyn Lapointe
Keep calm and use a tripod
Solar eclipses are exciting, especially during totality when the moon’s shadow completely blocks out the sun and plunges you into darkness.
For some, totality is a visceral experience. Your physical reaction to the sudden change in light and temperature can make it difficult to hold a camera steady and focus on getting the right shot, Tafreshi said in an email statement.
Ellyn Lapointe
“The most challenging aspect [of eclipse photography] for sure is how to control your senses,” he wrote. “Because totality affects something very deep within us that is hard to control.”
And he was right. When totality struck, I was overwhelmed by the drop in light and temperature, the beautiful sight of the sun’s corona, and the sunset-like colors on the horizon. It took me a moment to catch my breath and refocus on the task at hand.
Any sort of shaking or vibration of your camera will ruin your eclipse shot, Tafreshi explained. This is especially important to remember during totality when you’re using higher exposure. If you anticipate shaky hands during the experience, using a tripod is best.
I used a 50-inch tripod to keep my camera steady while I took totality shots. It did help keep my camera stable, but I didn’t have a remote shutter release to prevent movement while I snapped photos. When you zoom in, you can see that my photos of totality are slightly blurry.
Ellyn Lapointe
Use manual camera settings
Cellphone cameras worked fine during the eclipse, but those who used a regular old camera may have learned it’s best not to rely on automatic settings, Tafreshi said, especially if you’re using a DSLR.
That’s because your camera’s sensor may get confused by the sudden drop in light in the last moments before totality, Tafreshi said. Even though totality doesn’t cause total darkness, “The drop in light is so fast that we feel it is becoming pitch black,” he said.
Your camera’s automatic settings aren’t able to adjust to this rapid lighting change quickly. Manual settings offer the dexterity you need to transition from photographing the partial eclipse to totality.
For example, to capture the final moments before totality (when the diamond ring effect appears), you want to use a shutter speed of about 1/1,000 of a second. But as soon as the sun’s last rays disappear, you need to switch to a shutter speed of 0.5 to 1 second.
Ellyn Lapointe
When shooting totality with my DSLR, I set my ISO to 100, my aperture to f/9, and used exposure bracketing — a setting that allows you to take multiple photos over a range of exposures at one time. It helps make sure that you don’t end up with an over or under-exposed image.
Get creative
“The best photo of the eclipse is not necessarily a clean, sharp, close up of the image,” Tafreshi said. “That is what everybody aims for. Find your own signature and creativity in this unique phenomenon.”
He suggested including interesting elements in the foreground, like other eclipse-watchers and their reactions to the event, or a beautiful landscape in the background, like mountains or water.
Ellyn Lapointe
When I wasn’t shooting totality, I tried to get some shots of the dusky horizon and silhouettes of excited eclipse watchers.
Jumping between shooting the partial eclipse, totality, the sunset-like horizon, and people definitely challenged my photography skills. But thanks to Tafreshi’s advice, I actually managed to get a fairly clear shot of the main event.
