Topline
How do I take pictures of the solar eclipse with my phone? On March 29, 2025, a partial solar eclipse will bring a dramatic crescent-shaped sun at sunrise to parts of 13 U.S. States in the northeast — and you can use your smartphone to take a photo. Here’s how.
Key Facts
It will be possible to image a dramatic crescent-shaped sun at sunrise, with viewers in New England and eastern Canada getting the best view, particularly those on the coast or observing from a hill that has an elevated view low to the eastern horizon.
Timing will be everything. Enter your location into Timeanddate’s eclipse map to get the time of sunrise where you are. It will also tell you exactly where to look on the horizon.
Take video, not stills. While it’s tempting to snap photos, the best way to capture a sunrise solar eclipse on a smartphone is to record video and extract high-quality still frames later.
Set your smartphone to video in as high quality as possible and zoom in as much as you can. The latest iPhone 16 Pro Max offers 15x zoom, which is ideal. During sunrise, you should be able to use autofocus. If the image is too bright, tap the sun and lower the brightness slider to avoid overexposure.
As you video the eclipsed sunrise, only look at the eclipse on your smartphone screen, never with the naked eye.
Use A Tripod And Stay Safe
Use a tripod and a universal phone holder to keep your smartphone steady, reducing blur and allowing you to aim much more easily at sunrise.
For the eclipsed sunrise, you don’t need to use a solar filter. However, a few minutes after the sun has risen you will need to, not only to protect your smartphone but for it to take any kind of shot. You can hold eclipse glasses over the camera lens. The Solar Snap app, available on Google Play and Apple App Store, makes it easy to zoom, adjust exposure and focus on the eclipse.
The simplest way to extract an image from your video is to pause the video at the moment where the eclipse looks best and then just take a screenshot.
Refraction And Atmospheric Effects
If the horizon is clear, expect a flattened sun caused by refraction near the horizon. According to Sky and Telescope, atmospheric layers can cause mirages, scalloped edges and stacked layers in a “cosmic lasagna.” The magazine advises observing from along the ocean or a large lake with a flat horizon to see these phenomena and to image the sun’s reflection in the water.
Key Background
This is a deep partial solar eclipse for North America, with Nunavik in Quebec, Canada, seeing the maximum 94% eclipse at sunrise. From a few locations in Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec, “devil’s horns” may be seen on the horizon as the sun rises with its cusps visible on either side of the moon’s silhouette. In the U.S., a maximum eclipse of up to 85% will be seen from northeastern Maine. This solar eclipse comes two weeks after a “blood moon” total lunar eclipse seen from North America.
