Alan Dyer, an astronomy author and photographer, gave a presentation on how to shoot (and still enjoy!) the 2024 complete solar eclipse 2024 to the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers organisation. The future annular solar eclipse that will cross the Americas on October 14, 2023, can also use these suggestions. On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cover the United States from northeastern Canada to Mexico, giving millions of people the chance to see one. As a result, you can watch Alan Dyer’s tips in the video up top if you’re interested in trying your hand at photography as well. Or keep reading for a summary of his advice.
How to photograph a solar eclipse 2024
Total solar eclipses happen rather frequently. When the moon blocked out the sun in Wyoming in 2017, I was treated to the fastest two minutes and 19 seconds of my life. Therefore, you must first choose whether taking pictures of the eclipse is actually worth your time, energy, and concern. I personally simply intend to hold my phone up briefly during the 2024 complete eclipse in order to take a few shoddy pictures. I am aware that my results will not be as stunning as those captured by astrophotographers. And that’s what Alan Dyer advises in the first of his five stages for taking eclipse photos: Using your phone to take a photo is the simplest option.
Here are his five options for photographing the eclipse, in increasing order of difficulty
1)Phone camera
2)Wide-angle time-lapse
3)Telephoto videos
4)Telephoto stills
5)Telescope on tracking mount
Fred Espenak captured this image of the hybrid solar eclipse on April 20, 2023, from a ship in the Indian Ocean. The image is a composite of 11 images shot with different shutter speeds to record the vivid detail of the corona. This photo was the Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 29, 2023. Image via APOD/ Fred Espenak. Used with permission
ALSO READ:Unveiling The Spectacular Annular Solar Eclipse: A Celestial “Ring of Fire” Experience In The US
1. A phone camera photograph of a solar eclipse
According to Alan, you can use your camera’s wide-angle lens setting to simultaneously capture the ground and the sun. Another option is to enlarge the image to get a close-up of the sun during totality. But he claims that mounting your phone’s camera on a tripod and setting it to take a time-lapse will give you the greatest results. Better yet, perhaps, would be to record your reactions to the eclipse in 4K so that you may look on in amazement and awe as it unfolds. In this instance, he advises starting just prior to totality so that you can enjoy the experience without having to mess with it.
2. Wide-angle time-lapse
Put your camera on auto exposure and mount it to a tripod. Set the lens’s manual focus to infinity. Then, before totality, turn on the camera and let it handle everything! While you see the view in real time, the camera will capture hundreds of pictures.
You might be able to include the landscape in your picture depending on the size of the lens you select. In regions where the sun will be higher in the sky, this will be more difficult. You could want to set up the framing and composition of your photographs using planetarium software that has field-of-view indications. Planning and framing should be done in advance to avoid being pressed for time when the eclipse occurs.
Alan mentions some of the more technical elements, such as using an intervalometer with a 1-second interval and wide area sampling rather than spot metering for the exposure setting.
The same camera could be used to record 4K footage, and this time you’d also get audio.
Also, remember to turn off your camera after the totality is through!
3. Telephoto videos
Alan advises mounting a solid tripod and a 300mm to 500mm lens on your camera to capture telephoto footage. You need an authorised solar filter for the partial phases. Before the eclipse day, prepare your equipment and practise capturing pictures of the sun.
A few minutes before totality, Alan rechecks the focus after setting up his camera with the filter on. When he is no longer staring through the lens, about a minute before totality, he removes the filter. Of course, as always, remember that staring at the sun via a camera can cause blindness. Don’t do that, then! And after totality, don’t forget to change the filter.
He claims that using autofocus will produce outcomes that are simple and clear, similar to the earlier techniques. And simply allow the sun to pass through the picture. He also suggests having a low ISO and leaving the lens’s aperture wide open as other technical parameters. Make sure your tripod and head are sturdy.
4. Telephoto stills
Use a small telescope or a telephoto lens on a tripod if you want to capture close-up still photographs of the eclipse. What you want to capture will determine how long the exposure should be. On the moon’s dark side, additional earthshine and corona wisps can be seen with a one-second exposure. A 1/1000 exposure, however, will allow you to see the diamond ring more clearly.
Alan advises using live view on your DSLR and taking the largest RAW shot you can. Alan advises using the electrical first-curtain shutter while using a mirror-less camera.
With auto-exposure bracketing, you can press the shutter once to have the camera capture a variety of exposures. To make it simple to enter and exit, you can configure this as a custom shooting mode.
5. Telescope on a tracking mount to photograph a solar eclipse
Using your telescope on a tracking mount to take pictures of the eclipse is the trickiest choice. Ideally, you are already familiar with your telescope and mount and have taken practise shots using them. However, to ensure that your photographs are clear and you can see the eclipse up close, you must have it tracking the sun and moon.
Alan advises getting ready for the eclipse by observing the crescent moon. While practising snapping photos of the moon, consider the following questions:
Is everything securely connected?
Can you maintain precise focus?
Does your image blur when you hold the camera?
How much exposure time can you handle?
Shoot long exposures if it’s cloudy on eclipse day, especially during the partial or diamond ring phases. Who can tell what your camera will record? When the tracking is configured, your camera can detect the eclipse even when it is obscured by clouds.
Watch the entire video up top for more advice from Alan!
Bottom line: Author and astronomer Alan Dyer will share advice on how to capture a solar eclipse on camera. Use these recommendations for the annular eclipse on October 14, 2023, and the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
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