Comments on: Photographing the sun

By: Gail Bjork

Gail Bjork — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:43:29 +0000

Justin, light during the golden hour is rarely harsh. Maybe you got there too late? Yes, try at sunset; you'll know the direction from the direction of light. Check out this Golden Hour calculator for information about times in your areas. Does your camera have automatic exposure bracketing or an HDR setting? If so, try both to get the best exposure. Check your camera manual for specifics about either or both of these settings.

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:16:15 +0000

I’m trying to get natural lighting in my shot of myself (back to camera) as the subject, with a city scape background atop a mountain. I don’t want to use any reflectors or anything to shield or block some of the light. My first trial runs, the image blew out in the background because of the harsh lighting at 8am to the east. Should I take photos when the sun sets around the west, northwest?

By: Tan

Tan — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:51:21 +0000

ok…. thanks

By: Gail Bjork

Gail Bjork — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:20:24 +0000

Tan, we’ve pointed out in articles that you can damage your eyes by looking directly in the sun. But only a medical person, such as an ophthalmologist, can answer your question for sure. Suggest getting your eye checked.

By: Tan

Tan — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 22:39:16 +0000

I took two pictures of the sun through the viewfinder on my Canon 600D…. i looked at the sun directly for like 2 seconds…… any chance that I would have damaged my right eye??????? Please respond!!

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:44:22 +0000

thanx allot !

By: Gail Bjork

Gail Bjork — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:39:30 +0000

Adrian, I need to point out that it's unsafe to point the camera directly at the sun. You can not only damage your eyes, but the camera sensor. Here are some tips on Photographing the Sun with a Digital Camera.

By: Gail Bjork

Gail Bjork — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:24:22 +0000

Adrian, while the bar of light will not show in photos, it will be permanently recorded in movies. This happens wen the scene you're shooting is too bright. When shooting video and the light appears on the LCD, the only thing you can do is change your shooting angle until the light no longer appears on the screen. There is more information about the phenomena in this article.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:20:17 +0000

Hello.A have this digital camera (Olympus vg-130) and when i point this directly to the sun a big vertical black/blue line appears splitting the sun down the middle and going all the way from bottom to top.When i try to record movies the line is there(only when i record the sun –all the time was by mistake) but when i try to make some photos ..after i make it …the line disapear.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:50:21 +0000

For top of the line filters, see Singh-Ray.