Get your cameras ready: the eclipse is coming!
On Monday, April 8 at 2:05 p.m. EDT, the moon will begin to pass between the sun and the earth, creating temporary darkness across portions of North America. The solar eclipse will be visible from certain places in southeastern Canada, generating the perfect setup for what many photographers consider to be a bucket list shot.
According to timeanddate.com, the eclipse will start to reach totality at 3:12 p.m. EDT — this will be the ideal time to capture the spectacle.
But before you point and shoot, there are a few things a photographer (and viewers) must do to prepare for a safe and successful eclipse viewing. |
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| (Photo: Jongsun Lee/Unsplash) |
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| | (Photo: Mathew Schwartz/Unsplash) |
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Safety tips
We all grow up learning that it’s not safe to look directly at the sun. However, when an infrequent event like an eclipse takes place, your curiosity may get the better of you.
Do NOT look at the sun with the naked eye. Instead, find a pair of eclipse glasses, which have special filters that protect your eyes. NOTE: sunglasses and eclipse glasses are not the same. Solar viewers (eclipse glasses) are much darker and should meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard for filters when viewing the sun.
Do NOT use a camera, telescope, binoculars or any other optical device with or without eclipse glasses. Instead, if planning to look at the sun through your camera, ensure you have a solar filter to help protect yourself and your equipment from intense rays.
Don't forget to protect your skin! As always, wearing a hat and sunscreen when in the sunlight for extended periods of time will help prevent skin damage and burns. The only time it is okay to remove any safety devices is during the brief total phase when the moon has blocked the sun entirely. |
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Eclipse photography tips
With proper precautions, settings and timing, solar eclipses can be photographed with the potential for some of the best images in a photographer’s portfolio.
As mentioned above, make sure you have a solar filter for your lens. Never point your camera at the sun unless your lens has been fitted with a filter. The optics of your equipment can magnify the brightness of the sun's light, causing potential damage to your camera.
Shooting manually will ensure your images come out the way you want. However, ensuring you have the proper settings is paramount for a captivating image. Depending on where you are and what the weather is like, each photographer’s settings will be different. The best way to figure out what settings are right for you is to take a series of images with different settings. Start with a a fixed aperture (f/8 to f/16) then use every shutter speed from 1/1000s to 1/30s. Using the camera's histogram display, you can then see what exposure is best for you.
A tripod is a must. To get a clear shot, make sure your camera is steady by using a tripod and setting your camera’s timer for about three seconds. This will ensure that pressing the shutter button will not wiggle the camera.
Practice, practice, practice! Experiment with your camera on the non-eclipsed sun before the event. This will ensure you know what you are doing when the time comes and will also let you test out your equipment to troubleshoot what settings work best (just note that settings will change depending on the weather the day of the eclipse).
Photographing the eclipse with a smartphone
Capturing images of the eclipse with your smartphone is possible, but here are a few extra steps to make your photographs look like they were captured by a pro.
Make sure you are using manual mode (here is how to access manual mode on iPhone). Set the focus to “infinity” and reduce the exposure so your image is not too bright.
Use an extra pair of solar glasses as a filter for the camera lens of your phone. This will help create a more dramatic image and also protect your phone's camera against potential damage as a result of long exposure to sunlight. |
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| Don't forget to upload your best eclipse shots in theCan Geo Photo Club and use the tag #shareCanGeo on Instagram! We’ll be selecting our favourites to feature on our social media platforms and in the April Photo Club newsletter. |
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