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Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A total solar eclipse will pass over Canada, the United States and Mexico on April 8.
- NASA has released some tips on how to take better photos of the event.
If you haven’t heard yet, a total eclipse will pass over North America on April 8th. For those who want to watch the event as it happens, NASA has provided some tips on how to best capture the moment with your phone or camera.
It doesn’t matter if you are a professional or an amateur, anyone is capable of taking great photographs of an eclipse. As NASA points out in its blog postYou don’t even need a fancy DLSR camera to get the results you’re looking for.
First of all, the organization advises to be careful, because looking directly at the sun is dangerous for your eyesight, as well as for the camera. If you want to take photos during the partial eclipse phase, you’ll want to use a special solar filter. This filter works similar to how eclipse glasses protect your eyes from blinding light. However, once the moon completely blocks the sun, you can remove the filter.
The second tip is for those who do not have a telephoto zoom lens. If this includes you, NASA suggests taking landscape photos to capture how the corona’s mysterious glow is changing the look of the environment around you. Additionally, he adds that to avoid taking blurry photos, you may want to use a tripod or a delayed shutter timer.
Next, check if your camera or phone camera has adjustable exposures. Using adjustable exposure will help you lighten or darken images to account for the lighting challenges created by the eclipse.
Specifically for DLSR cameras, NASA says:
For DSLR cameras, the best way to determine the correct exposure is to test the settings in the uneclipsing Sun beforehand. Using a fixed aperture of f/8 to f/16, try shutter speeds between 1/1000 and 1/4 second to find the optimal settings, which you can then use to take images during the partial stages of the eclipse. During totality, the corona has a wide range of brightness, so it is best to use a fixed aperture and an exposure range of about 1/1000 to 1 second.
Last but not least, NASA says to remember to look around you. The unique lighting situation caused by the eclipse will create many opportunities to capture the landscape in a way you’ve never seen before.
If you want to see the path the eclipse will take, NASA has shared a clean graph That shows how everything will play out. You can also find out what time the eclipse will occur in your area.
