CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you’ve looked up at the sky recently, you’ve probably noticed the haze blanketing the air. It’s been all over the news, but if you missed it, the haze is coming from a plethora of wildfires in Canada, and the smoke has been crossing the border (where’s that wall when you need it) and filling the air from the Midwest to the East Coast.
So, you’re probably wondering “how can I get a cool photo of the orange sun setting over Lake Erie with my cell phone?”
It’s actually pretty simple. You need to make sure your exposure is slightly underexposed, or darker than you would normally want.
To do this on most cell phones, go into camera mode and compose your shot by positioning the sun somewhere in the upper third of the photo (it’s called the “rule of thirds.)”
Using an iPhone you’ll want to compose the photo, then tap on the sun in the frame and you’ll see an exposure adjustment slide appear. Using the slider, drag it downward and you should see the entire image getting darker, and you’ll also notice the sun is appearing more orange due to the smoke blocking it.
To do this on a Samsung phone, you’ll want to use the Pro Mode in the camera app. You get there by launching the camera app, then swipe to “More” and select the “Pro Mode” icon. Once in there you’ll be able to control the shutter speed. Raise the shutter speed to a higher number and you should be able to see the image getting darker.
And, for the best results, you’ll want to take the photo in the last hour or so of the day, when the sun is setting and the light has to travel through more smoke in the atmosphere.
Finally, a cool spot to get the photo might be along the shoreline of Lake Erie, for an even more eerie Mars-surface-like image.