The first successfully captured photograph of a total solar eclipse was shot on July 28, 1851, by Prussian photographer Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski. Your eclipse photos can look better than this, with a little advice from some of our friends.
If you live in North America or are a citizen of planet Earth, you've probably heard chatter about the upcoming solar eclipse starting the morning of August 21st. It's a rare opportunity for a lot of folks across the United States to see and/or photograph a partial or total eclipse of the sun, and it's all happening just under a week from now.
We've already published our guide to photographing the eclipse (and a plea to consider not photographing it), but the Internet has no shortage of great information on the subject, some of which goes very in-depth. In an effort to provide you with the totality of eclipse photography resources, we've rounded up some of our other favorite articles and guides below. Good luck, and remember to protect those eyes and sensors!
Canon eclipse guide - 16 articles on shooting the eclipse
Canon's guide to photographing the solar eclipse is very impressive and thorough. It features more than 15 articles on the subject. There's also a nifty 'Solar eclipse pocket field guide' PDF you can download and print. The guide is slightly geared to Canon shooters, but we feel the information is useful to all photographers, regardless of brand of choice.
Read Canon's eclipse guide
B & H eclipse guide- An easy-to-read complete guide
B & H also posted a really thorough guide on everything you should consider to safely and successfully shoot the eclipse. And unlike the Canon guide, these tips are all in one (long) article.
Read B & H's eclipse guide
National Geographic - The creative side of photographing the eclipse
National Geographic's guide to shooting the eclipse is less technical nuts-and-bolts and more about planning, composition and creativity. Nat Geo pinged pro shooters Stan Honda and Babak Tafreshi to share their advice on getting the shot.
Read Nat Geo's eclipse article
Wired - Tips for shooting an eclipse with a smartphone
Smartphones, with their tiny sensors and wide-angle lenses might not seem like the obvious choice for photographing the eclipse, but Wired has some tips for making the most of the camera you likely always have on you. In short, they recommend purchasing an accessory telephoto lens to attach to your phone (there are several decent brands that make them), and stabilizing the rig with a small tripod.
Read Wired's eclipse article
Nikon - Exposure advice
Nikon put together some useful information on the various types of eclipses, and what kinds of exposures you might use over the course of a total solar eclipse. If you're a Nikon shooter, the post addresses camera settings for various Nikon lines.
Read Nikon's eclipse article
Nikon also put together a couple of videos on eclipse gear preparation and shooting advice, for those who prefer to watch instead of read. Watch them here.
Astropix. com - Catching the light
This eclipse guide was recommended in our forums by a reader. Written by astrophotographer Jerry Lodriguss, it is one of the most complete and detailed guides to eclipse photography we've come across on the Internet. If you are serious about nailing the shot, this is your guide. However, for the more casual/enthusiast photographers, this guide goes a tad above and beyond.
Read the Astropix. com guide
Popular Mechanics - How to photograph a total solar eclipse
Unlike the Astropix. com guide above, Popular Mechanics guide is more enthusiast-geared, but still covers all the core eclipse shooting information. There's also a nine-minute video that largely covers the same material found in the article. And the author also briefly addresses post-production, something most other guides gloss over.
Read Pop Mech's guide
Feel free to share your town eclipse resources in the comments below.
. dpreview.com2017-8-15 16:00