You’ve probably seen a million words written about the upcoming solar eclipse on the internet. If you’re in North America, this is going to be a pretty big deal, and in most of the United States and Canada, it should be a spectacular show.
This photo won’t be over my house like the 2017 eclipse was, but it will be close enough that I wanted to make sure I was ready to take at least one really good photo. In 2017, phone cameras were kind of terrible and most of the photos I took back then were crap. In 2024, I can do better. We can all do better!
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The hardest part about getting good solar eclipse photos is making sure you’re in the right place at the right time. NASA has a great interactive map showing locations and times that you’re in for a treat if you live in or around places like Dallas, Memphis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Toronto, or Montreal. If you live on the West Coast or Southeast of the United States, you probably won’t see anything worth taking a photo of.
You can’t just run outside, point your phone (or your eyes) at the sun, and start taking pictures. This can damage your eyes and possibly even burn out your phone’s camera sensor. Luckily, the gear you need is cheap. What’s more, the implementation is very simple.
What you need and how to do it
There is a lot of good advice on the internet about taking photos of the solar eclipse. real full. This is great and highlights what a cool resource the internet is, but it can be a little overwhelming.
If you want to know how it works or the techniques for professional photos, by all means Google it. Some of the articles are full of great content and I enjoyed reading them. Even Google is talking about how to get great images from Pixel phones.
Let’s make it simple. Before you can take a good photo of a solar eclipse, you need four things:
- your cellphone: You can get better results with a phone dedicated to photography like the Galaxy S24 Ultra or Pixel 8 Pro, but the phone in your hand will work too. I’m not saying you should rush out and buy a new phone, just know that a cheap phone won’t take photos like the ones you see on Instagram the next day.
- tripod. If you want to go this route, you can buy a cheap phone tripod on Amazon before the eclipse happens. This is what I use and I love it. You can also make a tripod using a phone holder and something sturdy. Find a way to keep your phone steady while pointing it toward the sky.
- lens filter. Some say pointing your phone camera into the sun won’t damage it. Some say you will. I can tell you that phone cameras in 2017 can be damaged by taking photos of the sun, because that’s what happened to me with my HTC U11. I recommend you err on the side of caution and purchase a specially designed filter like this. It also makes it easier to get pictures because you can see what you’re doing through the screen. Never look directly into the sun without eye protection.
Finally, you need to know how to use the manual settings on your phone’s camera. Take the time to learn how to do two things: turn off the flash and adjust the brightness. If you can, turn off features like “Ultra HDR” (if your phone has it). If you let it, phone camera AI can and will ruin your eclipse photos.
Once you have the gear and know how to adjust a few camera settings, taking photos is easy. Find a good place to keep your tripod or homemade rig stable and set up. Remember, it will be dark for a few minutes, so be careful not to trip or knock over anything.
Now, get ready to take some eclipse photos:
- Place your phone on a tripod and make sure you have a clear view of the sky.
- Follow the instructions that came with your phone to install the phone camera filter. Masking tape might be your best friend.
- Don’t use your digital camera to zoom. If your phone has a zoom or telephoto lens, use it. Keeping pinching is a great way to get grainy photos. Remember, it will be dark most of the time and you won’t be using a flash.
- Find the sun before the eclipse begins and focus on it.
- Use the manual setting to lower the brightness until you see a clear silhouette of the sun on a very dark background.
- When the eclipse begins, try not to move too much when clicking photos. If you do this, take a second or two to reset. You can also use your phone’s camera’s remote shutter like this instead of touching the screen to take a photo.
- take a lot of picture.
There are several things you should do after a solar eclipse. Sort all the pictures on the best screen you can find, keeping every one that looks good. These are the pictures you want to run through your editing software.
You can find tons of photo editing software for your phone, and some of the apps available work really well. Alternatively, you can transfer the picture to another computer and edit it. Just be prepared to adjust sharpening and exposure to make your good photos even better.
You should support them too. If you have your own backup solution and have a NAS at home, use it. Use an online backup, too; Google Photos is great (and comes with a really good built-in editor), and Amazon Photos is great too. Make sure you save them somewhere other than your phone.
Finally, remember to share. You think photos of solar eclipses are cool, that’s why you take them. A lot of people feel the same way (guilty) and we want to see your photos!