BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – As hundreds of thousands of Vermonters and visitors prepare for the eclipse, do you know how to snap the perfect pic of the rare solar sight?
At Green Mountain Camera in South Burlington, Tessa Ferrario offers tips on how to capture Monday’s once-in-a-lifetime event on camera.
“Get all of your gear in one place — and I would do that tonight and start testing things, like does your battery charge all the way, do you have enough batteries, maybe you want one more,” Ferrario said.
Photographers suggest not zooming in. Instead, take wide shots, keep the flash off, and use a tripod. “Practice beforehand, because tripods and lenses and filters are sometimes hard to move around and to adjust, and you’re going to have filters on during the partial eclipse leading up to totality,” said photographer Caleb Kenna.
Experts say if you do want to take pictures on your phone during the eclipse, use some eclipse glasses and put them over the lens of your phone to take pictures safely.
Those using a professional camera should double-check all of the other equipment that they may need. “Check your memory card — and this is going to be important — for some parts of the eclipse will move slow and other parts of it will actually move pretty quickly,” Ferrario said. “If you use a camera that has an optical viewfinder, you’ll want to make sure you have your glasses on with your solar filter. The solar filters are great but they’re only great for the lenses in the camera, they’re not going to protect your eyes if you’re looking directly through the camera.”
Enjoying the total eclipse without a camera is always an option, too, just remember to wear your solar eclipse glasses.
Click here for all our eclipse coverage to help you get ready for the big day.