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Tips for taking photos of Monday's solar eclipse
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Solar eclipse mania is here and one thing is for sure when the moon crosses the path of the sun creating the eclipse Monday morning, social media feeds will be flooded with all sorts of photos from anyone trying to capture that moment. - photo by Carter Williams
Solar eclipse mania is here and one thing is for sure: when the moon crosses the path of the sun creating the eclipse Monday morning, social media feeds will be flooded with all sorts of photos from anyone trying to capture the moment.

For those looking for the best shots to share with their friends or just for their own memory of the rare moment, here are some helpful tips for getting the right shot.

Camera

You dont need a fancy DSLR camera to photograph the eclipse. However, the same safety is required on both. NASA notes many photos of the eclipse will be taken on smartphones this year, which it notes is perfectly safe with a solar filter.

That said, the same safety is recommended for whatever method you choose.

Buy a solar filter

This is just as helpful for safety as it is for photography. Much like protective glasses to see the eclipse forming with the naked eye, photographers should use a proper filter to prevent damage to their eyes viewing through their viewfinder.

However, not all solar filters are strong enough for a photographer to safely view through a viewfinder. Some are meant for photography only. Canon states filters with a CE or ISO certification are the safest route to view and take photos.

As Fred Espenak explains in an article for Nikon, even 1 percent of sunlight is dangerous enough to cause serious eye damage or blindness.

Filters also lessen the impact of the suns light into the lens making it easier to photograph. Canon and other photography experts recommend these filters are at least 16 stops on the F-stop scale, which is used to determine how much light enters the lens.

Many of these lenses, the company said, will likely transmit white light and various options provide different effects for photos.

Non-silvered glass and metalized Mylar produce a bluish-white sun disk while professional silver/black polymer solar film produces a yellow sun disk, wrote photographers Dave Henry and Ken Sklute for the company.

Hydrogen-alpha filters are another option used more by scientists looking to find details on the suns surface, Henry and Sklute added.

Most people trying to take a photo of the eclipse will use white light filters. One filter Henry and Sklute recommend as an example is the Hoya Pro ND100000 (5.0), though it should be used for photography only and not viewing directly at the eclipse.

NASA notes that those taking photos with their smartphone should wrap their lens with a solar filter before shooting. One way to do this is placing ISO-Certified sunglasses (not regular sunglasses) over the phones camera lens. For those attempting this, make sure you are not looking directly at the sun with unprotected eyes.

Tripods

These are nice, especially for those hoping of taking shots throughout the period of the eclipse or those videoing the eclipse. However, since the sun produces as much light as it does, it wont be as necessary as night photography because a fast shutter speed is recommended for eclipse photography, writes Todd Vorenkamp for B&H Photo.

Its also nice for photographers with photography-only solar filters so they are not looking directly at the sun. This includes those using smartphones to take photos of the eclipse.

Shooting the eclipse

Solar filters are recommended and essentially required to be used at all times except for the few moments when, in full totality, the filter should be removed to photograph the suns corona, according to Canon. That period may last up to two minutes to get the perfect shot. Photographers should keep their filters on in areas that will be less than full totality.

For those using a DSLR, MrEclipse.com created this helpful sheet for the perfect f-stop, ISO and shutter speed settings.

But as all professionals recommend, practice safety before anything else.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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