CLEVELAND — What is the first thing we all do when we want to remember a special moment? Many of us pull out our cell phones. During the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, many of us will try to capture the memory in a photo or video.
Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeff Kew said there are some things you can prepare yourself for so you won't have to fumble with your phone during the celestial moment.
"You can set up a phone on a tripod or you can set it up anyway in which it's angled toward the sun, but you can use your smart watch if you have a camera app on your smartwatch, and take pictures via that way you're not fumbling with your phone in your hand and looking at the eclipse through the phone," said Kew.
Kew said capturing the eclipse on your phone shouldn't damage your lens: "We take pictures of sunsets, we take pictures of sunrises, we do long exposures, we all do it on a daily basis, and there's no widespread damage done to lenses on phones."
If you decide to snap a picture of the sky, Kew suggests turning off your flash, not zooming with your fingers, and capturing the moment in burst mode.
"If your phone has the ability to go with raw mode, that is going to create a picture that this the biggest data file possible but its going to be the view from the naked eye," said Kew.
To activate raw mode on an iPhone, go to settings, click your camera app, click formats, and enable raw mode. To activate raw mode on an Android, open the camera app, go to settings, head to advanced, and turn on the RAW + JPEG control option.
Even though you don't need a lens for your phone like you need a legitimate pair of eclipse glasses for your eyes if you can find one, it could help you capture the moment even more clearly,
"If you put a lens cover over your phone, it's really going to give you the best picture, and it's going to give you a pretty decent view of the moon as well," said Kew.
Kristen Weaver, a deputy coordinator from NASA, said this will be a unique opportunity for everyone to see the outer layers of the sun.
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