Sunday, May 5, 2024
Get ready to point your iPhones to the sky. A jaw-dropping total solar eclipse is cruising over North America soon, and you've got a front-row seat to capture it all with the gadget in your pocket!
While the pros may lug around their hefty gear for those breathtaking, magazine-worthy shots, the most shared snaps are going to pop from the smartphones of everyday eclipse enthusiasts like you. And guess what? With a sprinkle of savvy and a dash of DIY, you can snag some seriously impressive celestial selfies. Let's dive into a few simple yet super-effective tips to help you nab that perfect eclipse picture with nothing more than your trusty iPhone.
Safety Gear: A Must for You and Your Tech
Top of the list, and non-negotiable: protect those peepers and your iPhone camera with a solar filter. That's right, staring at the sun is bad news, and snapping it without a filter is just as risky. Local astronomer and astrophotographer, Rick Mallek, puts it bluntly, "Even though you will be tempted, never ever look at the sun or the eclipse without eye protection. Just a very few seconds can damage your eyes or the electronics in your cameras and phones. Take it seriously. Wear eye protection and take pictures only through approved ISO filters.”
Eclipse glasses and solar filters are inexpensive and can still be ordered online and delivered before the big eclipse on April 8. However, if you wait too long to order and can’t get the proper safety gear, Mallek has another suggestion, “Another option is to go to one of the local gathering places that will have local astronomers present and will have the appropriate viewing equipment to enjoy the eclipse.”
Flash Off: Keep the Night, Keep the Magic
If you're inside the path of totality, there's one thing you must do to your smartphone — disable the flash before totality. Using flash won't help your photography, and worse, it will detract from the experience of totality for everyone around you, and you can expect groans and moans in your direction.
Lens Matters: Skip the Digital Pinch
Digital zoom is the archenemy of clarity in smartphone photography, especially during an eclipse. Pinching your screen to zoom is a surefire way to get grainy, smudgy photos. If your iPhone isn't equipped with a separate telephoto lens, resist the urge to zoom. Instead, grab a zoom lens attachment for your iPhone—prices range from about $20-$40 for a decent 12x to 18x magnification. It's a small investment for a leap in quality, allowing you to discern the sun's corona and its majestic shape.
Wide Angle: The Bigger Picture
If accessories aren't your thing, there's another route: embrace the wide angle. Zooming out can capture the eclipse in context, framed by the local environment. This technique nets you a more storytelling image, where the eclipse plays a part in a larger scene, etching a moment in time complete with its own setting.
Focus Like a Pro: Precision Counts
Your iPhone is many things, but it's not telepathic. It can't read the celestial script without your directorial input. Practice on the moon—eclipse's understudy—in the days leading up to the eclipse to understand how to handle focus and exposure. On iOS camera apps, tapping an object will center a box around it. This locks the focus manually. It will also show a little sun icon. This is the exposure slider. Drag it down until you see details on the moon image.
Burst for Brilliance: Diamond Ring in the Sky
Totality's grand finale is the diamond ring effect—an ephemeral sparkle just before the moon completely cloaks the sun. It's a split-second marvel that won't wait for slow fingers. Burst mode is your ticket to capturing this fleeting gem. To capture burst photos on your iPhone, start by opening the Camera app. Then, swipe the Shutter button to the left and release your finger when you’re ready to stop capturing!
Shoot Totality in Raw
Totality is dark. That means you need to think like an astrophotographer and shoot in RAW image format. RAW images retain the original sensor data and skip the built-in processing, which your smartphone automatically applies to JPEGs. RAW images especially thrive in low-light situations (like an eclipse) and in those with a high dynamic range (like a sunset).
If you have an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 (any model) and iOS 15 or later, you can take classic RAW photos with a third-party camera app such as Halide, Yamera, or Camera+ 2 using all iPhone lenses. If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro, or any more recent iPhone models, you can use Apple ProRAW with all lenses.
To enable Apple ProRAW on your iPhone, navigate to Settings, select Camera, tap on Formats, and then turn on the option for Apple ProRAW under Photo Capture.
However, be forewarned, since RAW images take up considerably more space, it's wise to make sure you have plenty of room on your smartphone, perhaps clearing out unwanted photos and apps before eclipse day.
Editing Magic: Post-Eclipse Alchemy
Here's a secret: the magic often happens after the event. With RAW images, you can tweak and tune to your heart's content with smartphone apps like Snapseed, Darkroom, Afterlight, or VSCO. The finished result will have much more dynamic range, color, and detail than any JPEG your smartphone's built-in camera app produces.
Stability is Key: Tripod and Shutter Remote
Take my advice: use a tripod and some sort of remote shutter for low-light imagery. The vibration of your hands will be enough to smear the image and make it very difficult to focus on it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for most people, so you don’t want to be all lined up for the perfect shot and have it turn out blurry and smeared.
If you have an Apple Watch, you can easily activate your iPhone’s camera shutter hands-free from your watch. If you don’t have an Apple Watch, any type of inexpensive Bluetooth shutter activator will work just fine and will make a world of difference in the quality of your photos.
Scene and Seen: Capture the Humanity of the Eclipse
The eclipse is the star, but the audience is part of the show. Snap the reactions, the ambiance, the collective breath-holding. These candid shots are as priceless as the astronomical phenomenon itself. A time-lapse can capture the atmosphere's transformation, offering a visual timeline of the event.
Totality: The Moment of Truth
But let's not forget why we're here. When the sun and moon align in their cosmic dance, make sure to experience it with more than just your camera lens. The digital keepsake is priceless, but the personal memory is the true treasure. Be present for the spectacle and let your senses revel in the universe's grandeur.
The Takeaway: Be an Eclipse Astronaut with Your iPhone
You're now equipped with the knowledge to turn your iPhone into a stellar observatory. Come April 8, with your viewing glasses, solar filter, and iPhone in hand, you'll be ready to capture the eclipse like a pro. Remember, preparation meets opportunity—this is your chance to seize an out-of-this-world moment with a device that fits in your pocket.
Whether you're shooting the darkness of totality, the brilliance of the diamond ring, or the wonder in a stranger's eyes, each photo tells a story. Be the narrator of your own celestial saga, and let your iPhone be the pen with which you write a visual chapter in your life's adventure. The solar eclipse is a reminder of the vast, beautiful universe we're a part of, and your photographs can be a bridge between that cosmic ballet and the earthbound spectators.
There's a reason eclipses have captivated humans throughout history. They're not just celestial phenomena; they're shared experiences that transcend the ordinary, turning our gazes upward and our thoughts inward. As you use your iPhone to chronicle this celestial moment, remember that you're not just a spectator but an active participant in a story as old as time itself.
micky@hcnews.com
