If seeing a total eclipse of the Sun is great, then actually photographing one must be better. Right? Not necessarily. On many total eclipses, I have advised first-time viewers not to try photography. The experience is so emotional, so engrossing, and so brief, that it would seem a waste of precious time to worry about taking pictures, especially since, if you wait a period of time, you will see professional pictures of the eclipse. It is logical advice, but almost no-one takes it. First eclipse, take a picture; that is what most people do.

So what camera should you use? What settings? If you are using film, what film is best? We begin with 10 simple rules, and then proceed by way of questions and answers based on the many queries I have heard from eclipse watchers anxious to make their first eclipse photography a successful and pleasant one.

Ten “commandments” for total solar eclipse chasers

1. (1) If this is your first eclipse, please do not try to photograph the total phase. Just concentrate on enjoying it. But since almost everyone ignores this advice …

2. (2) Never ever ever try to photograph the partial phases of a solar eclipse without filters or projection of the Sun's image. You can damage your retinas, and burn out your camera.

3. […]