How to EDIT (and shoot) images of TOTALITY!

[@han5k2]

Thanks for making the Ps part so easy to follow!

[@forestchaput]

Glad you like them!

[@douglasgoodman226]

Super clear instructions for a noob like ME! Thanks. More clear than other similar tutorials on this! Kudos

[@forestchaput]

Great to hear!

[@stephenschmid492]

Forest, you did a great job making this information understandable. Very clear presentation. Thank you!

[@forestchaput]

You're very welcome!

[@peterq9359]

Fantastic tutorial and very beginner friendly! Thank you!

[@forestchaput]

You're very welcome!

[@GmanfromTexas]

New Subscriber here. This is the best eclipse video on KZbin. Thank you so much!!!

[@forestchaput]

Wow, thank you!

[@RVNmedic]

Thanks so much. One of the best and easiest to understand videos for this. I've recofigured your setting for F8 because that's where my lens is sharpest. Got ISO 400 1/1000th

[@forestchaput]

Glad it helped!

[@davidrousseau8066]

10000 thanks! By far the best tutorial for editing eclipse shots! New subscriber here ! ;)

[@forestchaput]

Welcome to the crew!

[@317Media_Indy]

Great video. Two questions... 1. Why not use AE Bracketing. Would 7 or so images not be enough? It would certainly be faster with less fiddling with the camera. 2. As a non-Photoshop guru here... In the editing portion, why did you start with JPG as opposed to bringing int the raw files. Wouldn't you have more dynamic range to work with then? I appreciate your videos leading up to the event.

[@dreydle]

I, too, am wondering about these two questions, especially the bracketing! My plan was to take every shot bracketed with 9 images 1 stop apart. Set my intervalometer to bulb mode, then press the trigger and let it do it's thing so I don't touch the camera.

[@dreydle]

@RMSPtv

[@forestchaput]

Sorry for the delay. I'm trying to catch up on all comments today. 1. AEB will work, but seven images (one stop apart) won't provide enough range in exposure. That's why I choose to do it manually. 2. Great question! JPEGs work fine when stacking because we have so many of them at all different exposure values. The reason we shoot raw is to be ready to fix things like WB in post before stacking in PS.

[@brunoburlamaqui]

thank you SO MUCH! I just got back home and already editing the photos I can see that all of your recommendations worked perfectly!

[@forestchaput]

Happy to hear!

[@GmanfromTexas]

I just did your editing with my eclipse images. It came out SUPER!!! we had totality in East TX.

[@forestchaput]

Woo Hoo!

[@mich8261]

Fantastic. I only have four images to work with but I will try this method. I have a nice prominence that is a little blown out. How would you recommend getting that magenta colour back?

[@forestchaput]

If it's blown out there won't be many ways to recover it. You could try a curve with a single point that you bring down. That might help.

[@tony_r_pierce]

That's true, the difficulty is that we can't practice this. I have no idea where my camera's shutter speed will need to start for the aperture of my lens at 560mm (f8 is as open as I can go). And every video I watch seems to indicate a different ISO haha. I think I'll try bracketing so I don't have to touch the camera as much. I don't know if you used JPEG just for the video or if you don't think there would be a difference. Thanks for the info, hope you get some great shots!

[@forestchaput]

I would shoot Raw just in case you need to fix things like WB in post production before stacking. As for exposure settings, yes, many people are quoting different starting places. In the video I featured my exact settings that I used successfully in 2017. Here's a link to our exposure cheat sheet: online.rmsp.com/eclipse

[@runningman682]

I agree, a great video, very helpful. I have the same question, why did you edit jpg files and not the raw files? It does seem like you would have more info to work with. Thanks for these instructions!

[@forestchaput]

Great question! Only because Photoshop won't stack Raw files. I shoot Raw in case I need to fix something (WB, or exposure) in LR before I send the images to PS for stacking.

[@runningman682]

@@forestchaput I was able to stack the raw files. I would attach the result if I could. I followed the instructions, very helpful in shooting and processing the images.

[@briandietz8270]

Great information as the other professor, well to many of us who tried to get a great shot with a great cell phone camera and a canon camera with a 250mm lens. I have some video that perhaps the white out or white balance needs to be corrected. I have some great shots on my Samsung Fold but they are almost the same intensity. Is there a way to reduce that over powering effect of the sun? Thank you, Brian

[@forestchaput]

Thank you! If you don't have an image that's dark enough you could try adding a Curve layer to the image and bringing the curve down to help darken the image.

[@1greatnate]

Great video! Would you have any tips for focusing and getting a sharp moon during totality and prior?

[@forestchaput]

That's a great question. I would point my camera at something that's many miles away like a tree, cell tower, or mountain. If you focus on that (and it's far enough away), you should also have focus on the moon/sun.

[@JeredSternaman]

Hello, I just had some questions. I did see the eclipse in Indiana. It’s my first time trying to photograph the eclipse. I was a little late to the game of what I needed to bring and be prepared but we do plan on traveling to Spain in 2026 what lens and solar filter do you recommend? Can you link them in your description, I use a 70-200 GM lens

[@forestchaput]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIqqondvepuLm9Ufeature=shared

[@indymustang1969]

This is such a great video and you explain everything so well. Thank you so much. I do have a question. I stacked a lot of images at different exposures. I have great sun rays extending out, but I am finding that I also have a very pronounced halo around the sun/moon due to the brightness of the images in that area. How can I get rid of that but keep the exposure of the rest of everything I want to keep that is close to the sun/moon?

[@forestchaput]

Thank you! I would try to simply remove a few of the brighter exposures from the stack. That will stop that area from getting too bright when you change the stacking mode to "Mean."

[@StringrPress]

WooHoo post production!

[@forestchaput]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Steve.Daugherty]

I'm finding that processing the corona images is tougher than I expected. I was taking 7-shot brackets that were 1 stop apart, and when I stack them using the method described in this video (or any other method I've tried), there is banding in the darker areas just outside of the corona. You can see some of this banding in your example. Is there a trick to getting a big extended corona shot processed without banding?

[@forestchaput]

It's tricky. Banding is usually a result of the dynamic range in the image being stretched too far. One thing to try would be to bring 16-bit TIFF files into photoshop instead of the 8-bit JPEG files.

[@richritter]

Great information, thanks! Will be trying this Monday. Quick question, where'd you get that awesome desktop wallpaper of the earth from space? That's cool!

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@lordnelson63]

Will it matter if the image shifts during these 30 seconds or so given both the sun and moon will be moving (well, the sun doesn’t really move, earth does). Great video by the way. By the way, it seems that it will be cloudy or partially cloudy tomorrow here in the Dallas area, which is a bummer. Any advice on shooting during a cloudy scenario? Hoping for high clouds, not low clouds.

[@forestchaput]

It shouldn't matter because we are taking the time in Photoshop to realign them. The clouds shouldn't matter too much if they are high. You'll just need to adjust exposure a bit to allow more light into the sensor.

[@tommiranda3158]

Inexperienced Photoshop user here. Why did you import the original images as JPG and now raw?

[@forestchaput]

Just for ease of use (and not having to use Adobe Camera Raw). You definitely could, it just provides extra complexity without much reward.

[@jamesgolando8862]

Great video and information! Where I am located we will see 90% totality, do I need a solar filter?

[@gutierrezvluis]

The only part of the eclipse when it's safe to shoot without filter is totality, even with a 90% eclipse you risk damaging your camera, you could get a mylar filter, they are less expensive than the cristal ones, and work just the same

[@GlaceonStudios]

Yes. 90% total is not total; a total eclipse is only as bright as the full moon. Any bit of sun, except Baily's beads and the diamond ring, _will_ damage your camera.

[@forestchaput]

As the others have said, yes, you absolutely need a filter for everything except for totality!

[@ImTheBoss914]

does diamond ring get shot with solar filter, since it’s right before totality ?

[@forestchaput]

No filter for diamond ring. Just leave your filter on until about 30 seconds before totality begins.

[@BrutalBeauty90]

I just said I was going to put a piece of spare glasses over my lense and I found this 😂. But, I’m using a phone, so that’ll have to do.

[@forestchaput]

Good luck!

[@frankb4094]

After I aligned the layers, the SAVE option was not available (it was greyed out)

[@frankb4094]

Fixed it.

[@forestchaput]

Glad you could fix it!

[@Hartley94]

❤

[@forestchaput]

✅

[@DavidLorent]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@Parallax-3D]

This is really the WORST way to do it! The better way is to use AE Bracketing, taking multiple shots, and changing your base exposure a couple of times to get a wider range of exposures.

[@forestchaput]

Depends on the camera. Most cameras don't have nearly enough exposure range with AEB to cover the dynamic range needed in the scene. So no, not the worst.

[@patrickmurphy6602]

Dangerous advice about use of glasses and solar filters. If you try to shoot without those things then you are foolish!

[@forestchaput]

It's impossible to photograph totality with a solar filter.

[@patrickmurphy6602]

@@forestchaput sorry i did not make my point clear. I was referring to the use of protection before and after the totality phase.

[@1Bonnie777]

Please don't edit.

[@Sir-Darmstadt]

Why?

[@1Bonnie777]

@@Sir-Darmstadt Like to see the eclipse as it is, unedited. Natural is always better. No makeup. :)

[@forestchaput]

Having seen two eclipses in person you need to edit eclipse photos to have a hope of them accurately representing what you see with your eyes. Cameras just aren't great in high contrast situations, and this video explains how to correct that and get an accurate image of what an eclipse actually looks like.