Local

Planning to snap a pic of the eclipse? Be careful, it may damage your phone's camera

By Wendy Corona, WSB-TV
By Wendy Corona, WSB-TV

ATLANTA — The celestial event of the year is just five days away.

Your social media timelines will soon be filled with photos from your friends and family of the solar eclipse.

So what are some tips for the perfect shot from a professional astrophotographer?

“Taking pictures of a solar eclipse is actually one of the most difficult photos to take in all of astronomy and astrophotography,” astrophotgrapher Andrew Symes said.

“You never want to have your telescope looking at the sun unfiltered in any way,” Symes said. “It needs a special certified solar filter at the front of it.”

That goes for iPhone photography too, if you want it to resemble the spectacle you’re seeing.

RELATED STORIES:

Symes said using the same glasses that you would use to look at the eclipse yourself, put them over the lens of your iPhone, then take the picture. That way, the picture will actually resemble the sun and not just be a bright blob.

“That’s a concern when people are using bigger, longer lenses that are magnifying the sun where you definitely need a filter in front of those,” Symes said.

NASA said by putting a filter over your iPhone lens, it protects your camera, and they warn people not to point it at the sun without a filter.

Even with phone cameras getting better with each generation, the lens doesn’t let in a harmful amount of light.

WSB-TV is your home for everything Total Solar Eclipse. We’ll have exclusive content and everything you need to know leading up to the big day on Aug. 21!

Then, when the Total Solar Eclipse crosses through the United States, make sure you’re relying on Channel 2 Action News for complete LIVE coverage from across the country!

Be sure to LIKE us on Facebook, FOLLOW us on Twitter and download the free WSB-TV news app to receive our latest content!

Cox Media Group

Most Read