CDLC: Using Multipe Cameras & Multiple Exposures for the Solar Eclipse

The Canon Digital Learning Center has two new articles for those who are interested in photographing the upcoming solar eclipse.

Multiple Camera Eclipse Coverage

Written by Dave Henry and Ken Sklute

It’s always a good idea to take advantage of technology and labor saving devices and try to multi-task whenever you can.

For example, your automatic lawn sprinklers water your yard, while your dishwasher is washing the dishes, while your robotic vacuum cleans your floors and your DVR records your favorite ball game – all while you are having fun editing your vacation photos on your computer. Add to that a self-driving lawn mower and that would be the ultimate in multi-tasking.

The same multi-tasking possibilities occur in photography.

It is possible to have one camera shooting a time-lapse sequence with an intervalometer automatically clicking the shutter while you’re operating a second camera. You can add to that a video camera documenting your movements and/or that of your friends and family at the same time. It just takes planning, coordination and equipment.

Written by Dave Henry and Ken Sklute

A photograph is all about visual communication and telling a story.

Combining multiple images into one composite photograph helps to tell a complete story in one view. The process however, takes some forethought.

First you have to visualize the end result. Do you want to produce a sequence of the eclipse at several phases, or a series of images of the entire eclipse crossing the sky with a recognizable foreground? With that decision in mind, you have to put a plan into motion and begin accumulating the hardware you’ll need to make it happen and begin scouting your foreground location.

The illustrations shown below are composites, meaning that each image is composed of numerous individual component photographs. What makes the two composite images different is the concept and the execution.

In this article, we're going to discuss using an image-editing program (such as Adobe Photoshop), to stack numerous individual images of the sun into one finished composite image. It's beyond the scope of this article to go into detail about the software process of layering images, working with layer masks, and so on, but this information is readily available online from numerous sources. We won't be using the in-camera multi-exposure feature found in many Canon EOS and other digital cameras, although that's an alternative users can consider. One benefit of the composite approach — using individual images and creating a final image in software — is the creative flexibility it provides, after the eclipse has occurred.