How to photograph a total solar eclipse by Loren Fisher

[@andyhinds542]

What you have said in this video is absolutely spot on. I don't want anyone coming up to me on the day and asking me how to take photos of the eclipse and expecting me to give them a crash course on how to work their camera in 2 minutes when I have been working on it for weeks.

[@charlesirsak9513]

I wanted to thank you for making this video. I'm in Cleveland and it really added to my viewing experience. My pictures would have been nearly as good without this video and it's resources. Thank you so much!! Unfortunately, we had some haze, but I'm still really happy with my pics. I couldn't have done it without this video.

[@LorenFisher]

Thanks so much, that means a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to comment afterwards. I'm happy you got some good photos.

[@shermn8]

Thank you for your expertise Loren; you're my Guru!

[@LorenFisher]

Thanks so much

[@miroslavk.5049]

Getting ready for April 8th, 2024 Total solar eclipse. I thought I was ready and I knew everything about but your video opened my eyes and mind. Thank you very much Loren!

[@shivercanada]

You are THE MAN! You answered all the questions that nobody else bothered with. Thank you so much!

[@LorenFisher]

I'm glad you like it. Think clear skies!

[@jimbelle-isle3205]

Wow. Based on the current weather forecast Northern NY, Vermont and Maine may be the best place to be! I’ll be in West Charleston, VT. Hope you get clear skies in Dallas!

[@KenColangelo]

Oddly, this video shows up at 360p on every device I try,. Nothing else is available in the KZbin resolution settings. It's still great information, thank you so much!

[@seanwest7568]

Thank you so much for this video! I wasn’t sure if I would be able to find all the info I wanted in one place. You answered my questions and more. I plan to shoot from the Russellville, Arkansas area but may end up in Texas depending on weather.

[@LorenFisher]

Thanks. Give me a shout if you end up in Dallas!

[@lwangvt]

Great presentation! Looking forward to photographing this event!!

[@andyhinds542]

Me too!

[@LorenFisher]

Thanks so much, it will be a special day!

[@jeromejacobsen2130]

I made a solar filter for my camera lens using a plastic peanut butter jar lid (I lucked out that the 16 oz size fit my lens), cut off the top of the jar just below the threads, filed and sanded the cut edge smooth. I cut a hole in the lid close to the edge, filed and sanded the edge smooth, cut the filter to a circle to fit in the lid. Then just screw the pieces together with the filter inserted. Easy on and off the lens. I suppose some padding could be added if your lens diameter is a bit smaller. A larger lens would need a larger diameter jar - you might have to wander around your local grocery store with a small ruler to find a jar that is the right size.

[@LorenFisher]

Sounds cool. Just make sure no sunlight can sneak in around the sides.

[@tony_r_pierce]

Espenac and Jubier have exposure charts for all the phases but they don't agree. The partial phase photos are no problem because there's plenty of time to review and adjust, and post-processing can easily brighten or darken the images based on preference. The tricky shots are the diamond ring and Bailey's Beads, where experts are suggesting different camera settings. I expect bracketing to help, but these are fleeting moments. With totality of minutes duration, should be able to get decently exposed shots with bracketing and reviewing. So I'm really only worried about C2 and C3. Thanks for all your tips, nice presentation. Plan to try from near Austin in my backyard.

[@LorenFisher]

The exposure variations from the two big boys are due to the filter being used. I highly recommend running test shots in the next week and see what exposure during the partial phases work best for your filter. I've found that there isn't a "proper" exposure for Diamond Ring and Bailey's Beads. They are basically flaring events and I vary the exposure at C2 & C3 to make sure I get fairly close on one of them. If you shoot at ISO 400, f/11 at 1/125th second and no filter, you'll be in the ballpark and probably close enough.

[@evenhandedcommentor6102]

Actually, looking at cloudiness graph, Rochester comes in as better than any place Northeast of Cleveland. It's really not so bad. Even compared to Texas. If you want a lot better, then you need to go to Mexico. Lake Ontario is helping Rochester and Lake Erie helps Cleveland.

[@TammyBrown-t2q]

Love all the info. Great video!

[@LorenFisher]

Thanks so much

[@jwastroimaging2711]

This is a great resource Loren! I hadn't thought about Iceland for 2026 but I've got a great spot for sunset in Spain. Just need a clear sky! Hope this one goes well for you.

[@LorenFisher]

I know Iceland extremely well, which makes me think that Spain is the place to be, but I don't know that area. Do you happen to know any local guides?

[@jwastroimaging2711]

@@LorenFisher I'll be on Mallorca, if it's cloudy I'll be trapped on an island. Not decided whether to go up to the clifftops with a SW to NW full horizon view or use the mountains as part of the distant landscape. There will probably be a billion people on the clifftops.

[@shermn8]

Today my 2nd NISI ND solar filter arrives. 77 & 82 mm. Hopefully we’ll have clear skies

[@LorenFisher]

I wish the sky would be clear everywhere for at least the right four minutes Monday!

[@astroshooter1960]

Went to Spain for an annular in 2005.....❤

[@jwastroimaging2711]

Me too, on the seafront at Moraira by the Castell. Great sunny day. Had not a clue what I was doing camera wise and no helpful online resources either!

[@astroshooter1960]

We were in Valencia... right on the beach.

[@bach2future]

Any tips on how to focus? Differences in focusing for partial eclipse versus totality?

[@LorenFisher]

Before the eclipse, focus on the farthest thing away from you that you can. You'll be focused on infinity. If you used autofocus, now turn it off and set it on manual focus. Get out some tape and tape your focus ring on your lens so it can't move. You are now in focus for the rest of the day.

[@vanessakauffmann8032]

Thanks for a great tutorial. You shot the diamond ring at F16, but what about all the bracketed corona shots? Did you open up the aperture for those?

[@LorenFisher]

Yes, I open up to f/8 for those.

[@08tcoc]

Loren, my planned setups are a 100-400II and a 500II on the 7DII and the R7, respectively. Is there a resource where I can see how big the sun is in the frame for each of these effective focal lengths? I'm worried about cutting off the corona on the 500mm, effective focal length of 800mm on APS-C. Also why not shoot the corona wide open? f/4 on my 500 is very sharp. I will probably stop the 100-400 down to f/8 for max sharpness.

[@08tcoc]

Great video btw

[@LorenFisher]

Since both of those cameras are crop sensors you are going to be pretty tight with the 500mm. Fred Espenak has samples at www.mreclipse.com/SEphoto/SEphoto.html that show how big the sun is with various focal lengths including crop sensors. But the best way is to go outside as soon as you can, put on your filter and aim it at the sun. You'll see exactly what you'll get on Monday.

[@08tcoc]

@@LorenFisher thanks for helping quick response. With the sun near its decadal maximum for solar activity I am hoping for an exceptional corona. I may have to rely on the 100-400 more than I thought . What about shooting wide open at f/4 on the 500II?

[@LorenFisher]

@@08tcoc Wide open is fine if the lens is sharp, but your aperture really doesn't matter much. Be sure to bracket your exposures with your shutter speed.

[@DMS20231]

My plan is to shoot in south Texas with a Nikon D750 (full frame), a 300mm f/2.8 prime lens with a 2x teleconverter (lose two stops of aperture). I plan to shoot at ISO 100/200 and dial aperture down to about f/8 but I might bracket aperture as I also bracket exposure. All on a tracking mount under laptop control. I’ll have more than 4 minutes of totality - plenty of time for lots of multiple parameter bracketing. Seem reasonable?

[@LorenFisher]

Very reasonable but bracket only shutter speed if you are going to put together a massive HDR of the corona. Be sure to leave plenty of time to take in totality while not making photos.

[@DMS20231]

@@LorenFisher Yep for sure and “enjoy it” is my advice to everyone. Hence the laptop this time. I saw 2017 in Casper. Got to take it in but spent at least half of it buried in the camera. Thanks! Great video.

[@alandyer910]

Eclipse Maestro and Eclipse Orchestrator have not been updated in recent years and either won’t work with recent operating systems or recent cameras. And there is a free version of EO. So with either program get it and test. You might find the program won’t even run!

[@LorenFisher]

I ran a test with Eclipse Maestro last week and it worked fine on my M1 MacBook Pro. I can't test the Windows program.

[@croenan]

I heard updates are coming too, but also that some of the camera software can do bracketing well enough.

[@echoauxgen]

When looking at the mm's pictures it is very wrong! In '17 I used the full frame camera A7RM2 Sony FE 24-240mm and at 240mm it filled the frame like the 1000mm picture and at 24mm it is like the 200mm image. I recommend not going more than the 240mm because you want to get more of the sky around the eclipse like the diamond ring sparkles. But remember you can always crop in. Also most Full Frame cameras have a button for APS-C and with this lens you can get 36-360mm in APS-C mode. During bracket 5 at +/- 2EV and process in HDR software.

[@septembertwenty-nine9989]

How will you polar align you star tracker during the daytime?

[@LorenFisher]

Fortunately it doesn’t have to be exact. Aim toward the sun and adjust until the shadow hitting the ground behind the camera is the smallest possible. You’re then in the ballpark

[@LindyLooo99]

I have my ND100000 filter. Tripod that is TALL so I can set it up and I don't have to stoop down. Location secured on a private ranch in the HillCountry of Texas. Ready Set Go!! Coronal stuff will need massive HDR and clarification like mad! Would be so much EASIER to shoot the "scene" shots OF TOTALITY ONLY with your cell.... Dynamic range is better... and face it, we ain't selllin these shots... everyone will have one themselves but it will keep you from having to switch lenses out in a critical time... just raise the cell and go for it!

[@marcelisler8145]

You mentioned that ND filters won't work. Is that true for a 24mm lens as well? I'm planning to do a Nikon D750 with a 24mm lens on a tripod with intervalometers to do the wide sun transition and then have my D850 with the 500PF on an astro tracker in solar mode to take the close up shots. The 500PF has an AstroSolar filter on it... for the 24mm, I was planning to use an ND1000 with small aperture and short exposure times (for the partial phases) though if needed, I can always make a second AstroSolar filter for the 24mm as well.

[@LorenFisher]

Your ND filter won't do much to prevent the sun from burning out your sensor. But the direct sunlight is much less magnified by your wide angle 24mm lens than a telephoto, so the chance of torching your sensor is much less. With the wide angle, you're actually better off not using the ND and getting the fastest shutter speed/smallest aperture you can, thus minimizing the amount of direct sunlight. Think of shooting the sun during a normal midday, no problem with wide angle. The problem occurs during partial eclipse, when the light is less but there is still plenty of direct sunlight. You naturally increase your exposure to make up for the lower light level but you still have that direct sun damaging your sensor.

[@pba4256]

I am going to be shooting in an area that will max at 92.7%. I assume I will need to leave my filter and glasses on for the full event. Correct?

[@LorenFisher]

Yes, you need to leave the filter on the whole time. But I strongly suggest finding a way to get to totality, it is a huge difference. Major difference.

[@pba4256]

@@LorenFisher If I could - I definitely would! My schedule just won't permit the time required. I have to settle for maybe taking a short ride west and hope New York State isn't cloudy or rainy. Fingers crossed.

[@krismeaney2841]

Hi, I'm wondering on your @34:50 why you suggest f2.8 for capturing the Diamond Ring? I would have thought you would want something like f/16?

[@LorenFisher]

Sorry for the confusion there, I meant I'm using a 400mm f/2.8 but yes, I will be shooting at f/16

[@sciencoking]

I took one picture and it turned out my ISO was still at 12800

[@stevenanderson8986]

I was hoping to be able to set up auto-bracketing to take shots during totality from 1/1000 to 4 seconds, but it doesn’t seem possible. Do you suggest setting up two sets of auto-bracketing for prominences and corona capture?

[@LorenFisher]

That depends on your camera, if you can get it to do it flawlessly in several tests then you should be fine. I'm doing it manually so I know it works and I'll get 3 or 4 sets off in 30 seconds or so.

[@andyhinds542]

Have you considered using video and adjust the exposure in real time and then stacking still images? I haven't tried it before but I might this time around.

[@TheMacastronomer]

Are you rethinking Dallas yet?

[@LorenFisher]

The forecasts are looking better. We may have to scramble to Arkansas

[@ChicagoAstronomer]

Anywhere people are not.

[@DanielKaltofen-k5q]

Focussing on the 4 min around C2: Using 400 mm on APS-C how quickly does the event move out of the picture?

[@ArtUniverse]

Due to Earth's rotation, the Sun crosses its own diameter (half a degree) every two minutes. At 400 mm focal length, with a FOV of about 4 degrees side to side, it would take roughly 16 minutes.

[@LorenFisher]

The sun moves its full diameter (0.5°) every two minutes. You can see how full your frame will be by photographing a full moon and you'll then be able to determine how big the eclipse will be in your photos and how long it will take to move out of your frame.

[@DanielKaltofen-k5q]

@@ArtUniverseThanks, that helps!

[@DanielKaltofen-k5q]

@@LorenFisherThanks, going to test that asap.

[@andyhinds542]

You can find out yourself by doing some practice shots with a solar filter in place. Practice and rehearsal is vital before any eclipse photography.

[@astroshooter1960]

I did mine in Photoshop....it took a while.

[@LorenFisher]

Yes, it takes a bit of work in Photoshop, but worth the effort!

[@bonjovirocks24]

What about trying to photograph a Mitsubishi Eclipse?

[@SkipW]

Good idea taking an Eclipse, to the Eclipse. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqTMdHx5o6qZi5o

[@zalllon]

Some good outlines in the lecture, but some dumb questions by people on the call. Hilarious, a guy on the call who can’t be bothered using a tripod, on a call for photography the eclipse. And people worrying about looking their LCD screen 😳. God, how did people get to this point of owning a camera?

[@andyhinds542]

You do realise that flat earthers are going to take that first diagram as quite literally to scale, don't you, citing you as an expert so it must be true, right?

[@arthursadlovsky6313]

I was viewing 2017 totality near Nashville Tennessee. Folks it is life mental changing event. And actually i would prefer not to try foto shutting for who? Just to experience more with my own eyes and brainmemory. One thing from my experience you don't realy need to use solar filters on your cameras lenses ! You may use 2 rotating polarizing filters attached to each other and 1 or 2 in front of them ND filter. So still shutter speeds before totality needs changes . But on polarizing filters you need only between 0⁰ to 90⁰ rotate one polarizing filter so the amount of light hiting camera sensor will change. And less steps on shutter will be required . And of course shutter speed can be keep on longer rather than shorter speeds when changing polarizing filter angles

[@LorenFisher]

You are pushing your luck stacking regular ND filters, they just can't handle extended direct sunlight. You might get away with it but why risk ruining your sensor when you can easily make your own filter for under $20?

[@erichouck9487]

how can I practice before the eclipse? Will the exposure settings be close to taking pictures of the sun? I do have a solar filter

[@LorenFisher]

You can go out on any clear day and practice, the sun will be the same brightness as during the eclipse until you get to totality. Then it will be vastly darker because the moon is blocking the sun.

[@erichouck9487]

@@LorenFisher Thank you