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Even smartphones can get great photos of the total solar eclipse on April 8.
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Scouting a great location and practicing your shots ahead of time is essential.
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For best results, create a shot with more than the sun in the frame.
Whether you’re on the ground or in the sky during this year’s Great American Eclipse, you can get great photos with a digital camera or smartphone. You just need to plan ahead a bit.
“The last thing you want is to try to play it by ear when it’s happening because then you’re going to miss it,” said astrophotographer Jon Carmichael, who took one of the most iconic photographs of all time in 2017, said Business Insider.
This is how to get the best shots, according to Carmichael and Andrew Studer, a photographer whose work has been published by National Geographic and BBC Earth, to name just a few.
1. Go to the whole
Thousands to hundreds of millions of people across the US will experience a partial solar eclipse on April 8. However, a smaller percentage will get the life-changing opportunity to see something called totality, when the moon completely eclipses the sun.
If you’re already on the path to fullness, you’re in great shape. If you’re not in the path of totality, you can still take some nice photos but they won’t be as dramatic because even if the moon covers 99% of the sun, the sky is still much brighter than if the sun is 100%. eclipsed.
“It’s literally a night and day difference,” compared to the partial eclipse that will be visible over a wider swath of the U.S., Carmichael said.
There will be over 30 million people along the entire route, moving from Texas to Maine. You can check to see if you’re one of them with this helpful NASA map.
2. Scout your location – then have a backup
The most important factor in great eclipse photos is something we can’t control: the weather.
When deciding where to view the total eclipse, choose your ideal spot by looking at historical weather patterns in early April, Carmichael said.
Then, have a backup location if the forecast is cloudy.
Even if you have to watch the eclipse from the side of the road, it’s more important to have a clear sky than a more picturesque but cloudy vantage point, he said.
3. Use apps to your advantage
There are many apps that can help you create a great eclipse photo.
Studer recommends PhotoPills, which allow you to plot the position of the moon and sun ahead of time.
Carmichael likes Solar Snap, an app developed by former Hubble Space Telescope Astronomer Doug Duncan that acts as a solar filter for smartphones and lets you use long exposures to get great shots of the sky.
It is important to have a filter on your smartphone or camera. Otherwise, if you point it at the sun during an eclipse, you could direct too much heat at it and destroy the electronics.
4. Consider renting equipment
A great photo of the total solar eclipse can be taken with your smartphone or a basic digital camera. But if you want a close-up of the sun and moon, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
Studer recommends renting one. A 200 millimeter (mm) lens is good for most shots, he said, while a 400 mm lens will reveal even more detail, like the sun’s corona or craters on the moon.
5. Go automated
You don’t want to spend the entire time during the eclipse trying to take the best photo. You will miss the opportunity to appreciate this cosmic event without looking through a lens or screen.
“I promise anyone it will be the most beautiful moment you will ever see in your life,” Carmichael said.
With that in mind, Carmichael recommends using a tripod and adjusting your camera settings so it can automatically take photos while you’re taking a moment for yourself.
The total period during this eclipse will be up to 4 minutes and 26 seconds, depending on your location. So you can even take a few handheld photos, then enjoy the whole thing for yourself, if you time it right.
6. Practice 24 hours before
Once you’ve found the perfect location, go to the location 24 hours before the eclipse.
“It’s really good to spend the day before planning things,” Studer said.
The sun will be nearly the same as it will be during the eclipse, so use its position to plot where you’ll stand, how you’ll frame your photo, and the angles you’ll shoot.
7. Don’t forget glasses – for your phone
Before you start shooting on the day of the eclipse, make sure your equipment is safe. This is especially important if you’re taking photos with a smartphone, which has a sensitive light sensor, Carmichael said.
The simplest setup is to hold a pair of eclipse glasses over the phone lens to help filter light. If you’re using a camera, a solar filter can help you get a great photo without damage.
8. Include subjects other than the moon and the sun
Although the moon and sun are the stars of the eclipse, having other subjects in your photo helps give it context, Studer told BI.
He took this approach with his well-known 2017 photograph showing a rock climber against the background of the eclipse.
Whether it’s a dramatic rock formation, a tree, or the profile of a loved one, the juxtaposition of the subject and the sun is very powerful.
“Having content in the image makes it more fun, unique and special for the photographer,” Studer said.
9. Zoom out
The famous photo of Carmichael that he snapped in 2017 took shape in his head long before the actual event.
He knew he wanted a wide shot that included not only the eclipsed sun but also the shadow of the moon and the shape of the land around it.
To get such shots, his advice is simple: “Zoom out,” especially if you’re on a mountain or other vantage point.
For his famous photo, Carmichael was thousands of feet in the air on a Southwest commercial airliner.
10. Look around
While your eyes are trained on the sun during an eclipse, there’s a lot going on around you, Carmichael said.
During the partial periods of the eclipse (before and after totality) shadows take on a peculiarly strange shape, there is a dramatic 360-degree sunset effect, and animals often behave strangely.
All of these phenomena can make for great photos, Carmichael said.
11. Enjoy it
The next total solar eclipse will cross the continental US in 2044, but it usually takes about 1,000 years for the path of totality from a solar eclipse to return to the same location.
For most, the April 8 eclipse will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so take time to enjoy it.
“It’s a wonderful moment to pause, look up at the heavens and appreciate something so miraculous,” Carmichael said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
