How to Photograph August’s Solar and Lunar Eclipses

August gives us two unusually good reasons to point a camera towards the sky.

On 12 August 2026, a total solar eclipse will cross Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, northern Spain and a small part of Portugal. Across much of the rest of Europe, northwestern Africa and parts of North America, it will be seen as a partial solar eclipse. Then, during the night of 27–28 August, a deep partial lunar eclipse will be visible from much of the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa. At its greatest phase, more than 96 per cent of the Moon will enter the Earth’s dark inner shadow.

They may both be called eclipses, but photographically they have very little in common.

The solar eclipse is primarily a problem of safety, filtration and preparation. The lunar eclipse is a problem of rapidly diminishing light, exposure and movement. One happens around an intensely bright Sun that can damage your eyes and equipment. The other involves a Moon that becomes much darker than many photographers expect.

There is also a larger question that applies to both events: are you trying to record an astronomical object, or are you trying to make a photograph?

A tightly framed Sun or Moon can show the eclipse clearly, but hundreds of thousands of photographers will produce something similar. A photograph in which the eclipse appears beside a bell tower, mountain ridge, lighthouse, minaret, bridge or recognisable skyline tells us where the event happened and what it felt like to stand there.

That second photograph requires more planning, but it will usually be the one people remember.

Before choosing a lens or looking for suggested camera settings, decide what you want the finished picture to contain.

There are three basic possibilities.

You can photograph the Sun or Moon tightly with a long telephoto lens, making the eclipse itself the subject. You can work more widely and include the landscape or city around it. Alternatively, you can create a sequence showing several stages of the eclipse moving through the frame.

None of these approaches is inherently better, but they require different positions, lenses and preparations. A 600mm close-up of the Sun may be technically impressive, yet it tells us almost nothing about where you were. A smaller eclipsed Sun positioned above a Venetian church, Icelandic mountain or Spanish castle may make a more distinctive photograph.

The mistake is arriving with the longest lens you own and only then wondering what to do with it.

Visit the location beforehand. Check which parts of the horizon are visible, where the Sun or Moon will appear, whether buildings block the view and whether you will have space for a tripod. Look for foregrounds and silhouettes. Decide whether the place is likely to become crowded and whether access may be restricted on the day.

An eclipse is predictable. Your planning should take advantage of that.

A partial solar eclipse is never safe to view directly without appropriate eye protection. This remains true even when most of the Sun appears to be covered. Ordinary sunglasses are not sufficient, regardless of how dark they are. Proper eclipse viewers should conform to the ISO 12312-2 safety standard.

Your camera needs protection too.

Use a proper solar filter manufactured for photographic or telescopic observation and place it securely over the front of the lens. A filter that screws into the normal filter thread or a purpose-made solar film assembly is preferable to anything improvised.

Do not place an ordinary neutral-density filter on the lens and assume it will provide adequate protection. Photographic ND filters are designed to control visible light for exposure. They are not necessarily designed to block the ultraviolet and infrared energy involved in direct solar observation.

Do not look through an optical viewfinder at the Sun unless a suitable solar filter is correctly attached to the front of the lens. With a mirrorless camera, use the rear screen or electronic viewfinder, but remember that the camera’s sensor still requires protection. Avoid leaving an unfiltered camera pointed towards the Sun, particularly with a long lens, which concentrates the light and heat.

If you are photographing from somewhere that experiences only a partial eclipse, the filter stays on throughout the event. There is no safe totality phase during which it can be removed.

If you’re planning to photograph the partial solar eclipse, this is one piece of equipment you should not improvise.

A standard neutral density (ND) filter, even a very strong one, is not a safe substitute for a dedicated solar filter. For every partial phase of a solar eclipse, your lens should be fitted with a certified solar filter designed specifically for solar photography.

Many photographers use filters made from Baader AstroSolar Safety Film (OD 5.0) or commercially manufactured glass solar filters from reputable manufacturers. Whatever you choose, make sure it is designed for photographing the Sun, fits securely over the front of your lens, and is free from damage before you begin.

The good news is that none of this applies to the partial lunar eclipse. The Moon can be photographed exactly as you would on any other night, simply adjusting your exposure as it becomes darker while passing through the Earth’s shadow.

This is the one part of the lesson where improvisation is not creative. It is simply dangerous.

The safety rules are the part nobody should have to pay to read. They matter too much, particularly with a solar eclipse, and getting them wrong can damage both your eyesight and your equipment.

The rest of the lesson is where we move from simply pointing a camera at the sky to planning an actual photograph.

For paid subscribers, we will look at how to place the eclipse beside a landmark, how tools such as PhotoPills, PlanIt Pro and The Photographer’s Ephemeris can help you choose the right position, which camera settings provide a sensible starting point, how solar and lunar eclipse photography differ, and how to avoid the most common technical and compositional mistakes.

Includes a free downloadable Solar & Lunar Eclipse Photography Checklist.

A paid subscription also gives you access to the full archive of practical photography lessons, monthly live conversations, Red Pen critique sessions, subscriber questions and future downloadable guides. More importantly, it supports the time needed to produce articles that go beyond quick tips and explain not only what to do, but why it works.

Continue below for the complete eclipse photography lesson.