Eclipse Photography: How to Capture Solar and Lunar Eclipses

Few astronomical events are as visually stunning, or as time-sensitive, as an eclipse. Whether it's the Sun's corona blazing around the Moon's silhouette during a total solar eclipse, or the Moon glowing blood-red during a lunar eclipse, these are moments you want to capture. The good news is you don't need exotic equipment. With some planning and the right settings, you can photograph eclipses with gear you may already own.

Part 1: Solar Eclipse Photography

Solar eclipses come in three flavors: total (the Moon completely covers the Sun), partial (only part of the Sun is covered), and annular (the Moon is too far away to fully cover the Sun, leaving a ring of light). Each requires slightly different approaches.

Gear for Solar Eclipses

• Camera: Any DSLR, mirrorless, or even a decent smartphone. Manual exposure control is strongly preferred.
• Lens: 200-600mm focal length captures the Sun at a good size in the frame. A 300mm lens on a crop-sensor camera gives roughly 450mm equivalent, a nice compromise between image size and portability.
• Solar filter: A white-light solar filter for your lens is essential for the partial phases. These cost $20-40 for film-type filters. Remove it ONLY during totality.
• Tripod: Absolutely essential. You'll be shooting at long focal lengths where any movement shows.
• Remote shutter release: Eliminates vibration from pressing the shutter button. A 2-second self-timer works as a free alternative.

Settings for Solar Eclipse Partial Phases

During the partial phases (with your solar filter in place):

Totality: The Magic Window

If you're lucky enough to be in the path of totality, the 2-4 minutes when the Moon completely covers the Sun are the crown jewel. This is when you remove the solar filter and capture the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, a ghostly, structured halo of plasma that's invisible at any other time.

Totality requires bracketed exposures because the corona's brightness varies enormously from the inner to outer regions. Shoot a rapid sequence covering a range of exposures:

• Short (1/2000-1/500s): Captures the bright inner corona and any prominences (pink loops of plasma at the Sun's edge).
• Medium (1/60-1/250s): Shows the mid-corona structure, including streamers.
• Long (1/4-1s): Reveals the faint outer corona extending several solar diameters from the Sun.

Many photographers use auto-bracketing to rapidly fire 5-9 exposures across this range. Later, these are combined into a single HDR image that shows the full dynamic range of the corona.

Part 2: Lunar Eclipse Photography

Lunar eclipses are far more forgiving than solar eclipses. They last longer (totality can exceed an hour), they're visible from anywhere on the night side of Earth, and there's zero safety concern, you're looking at reflected sunlight, which is always safe.

During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon turns a deep red or copper color because Earth's atmosphere bends red sunlight into the shadow. The color depends on how much dust and cloud cover is in Earth's atmosphere, volcanic eruptions can make lunar eclipses significantly darker.

Gear for Lunar Eclipses

• Camera: Any camera with manual exposure control.
• Lens: 200mm minimum, 400mm+ preferred. The Moon is only about 0.5 degrees across, so longer focal lengths give more detail.
• Tripod: Essential for the long exposures needed during totality.
• No filter needed: Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses require no special filters.

Settings Through the Phases

The challenge with lunar eclipses is that the Moon's brightness changes dramatically as it moves into Earth's shadow. You'll need to adjust your exposure throughout the event:

Composition Ideas

Beyond close-up shots of the Moon itself, consider these creative approaches:

• Wide-field with foreground: Use a wide-angle lens to capture the red Moon above an interesting landscape, mountains, city skylines, or trees. These compositions tell a story that close-ups can't.
• Time-lapse sequence: Shoot the Moon at regular intervals throughout the eclipse and composite them into a single image showing the progression from full to red and back. Classic and dramatic.
• Stars during totality: During a total lunar eclipse, the sky gets dark enough to see stars that are normally washed out by moonlight. A medium-focal-length shot showing the red Moon among the stars is beautiful.

Post-Processing Tips

For both solar and lunar eclipse images:

• Shoot RAW: The dynamic range in eclipse images is extreme. RAW files give you the latitude to recover highlights and shadows that JPEG clips.
• Stack multiple frames: Stacking reduces noise and increases detail. Use dedicated software like Registax, AutoStakkert, or Sequator.
• White balance: For lunar eclipses, try adjusting white balance to enhance the red/copper tones. For solar corona images, a neutral or slightly warm balance works well.

If you're new to processing astro images, our astrophotography beginner's guide covers the fundamentals of stacking and post-processing.