Photograph a Sunset

Everyone has seen them. Stunning pictures of gleaming sunsets, rich with colour and warmth that seems to reach out beyond the boundaries of the photograph. Whether you're taking an evening stroll across the beach, or just sitting in your local park, this guide will make these breath-taking images possible for everyone.

Steps

  1. Get out there early. You never know when the best and most beautiful light is going to happen, but it usually happens in a one-minute window, which can be any time within 15 minutes before and after sunset (this, plus the half-hour window at sunrise, is what the folks in Hollywood call "magic hour"[1]). Consequently, you want to be on location at least half an hour before the sun sets, to give you time to look around and set up.
  2. Set up your camera. Alternatively, don't, and skip the technical trivia below if it bores you; some proficiency with these things is useful, but not essential. More important is being out there at the right time. With that said...
    • Play with exposure compensation (the feature of your camera that makes pictures lighter or darker). You want to make sure that you don't end up with large parts of your sky blown out to pure white. Remember, on digital cameras, you can always recover from all but the most terminal underexposure.
    • Set your ISO to its lowest setting on digital cameras. The sky at sunset is still bright enough that you can get away with doing this. It'll also give you much more latitude for correcting underexposure, as per the above (since doing this in post-processing inevitably brings out any noise present). Don't increase it unless you have to.
    • Set your white balance; again, this only applies to digital cameras. Many cameras do a reasonable job of this in "Auto". Others don't; they may see too much red in your scene and try to balance it out (which is not what you want -- the whole point of being out there is to capture these great colours). "Daylight" or "shade" settings are a good bet, but you'll doubtless want to experiment with this. Every camera is different, and some are much smarter than others. Which brings us around to the last point.
    • Get to know your camera. Few cameras will get a perfect exposure all the time, and many will require tweaking every time. Some cameras are smarter about photographing sunsets than others. Many will require some degree of exposure compensation. If you're using center-weighted or spot metering, you may find it useful to meter on one of the brighter (but not the brightest) parts of the sky, use your auto-exposure lock, and then recompose.
  3. Get in the right place. Move around as much as you can and find the perfect angle. There are an infinite number of angles, locations, and compositions you can play with; some ideas, if you're out of them, follow below.

    • Use reflections off bodies of water, if you're near one. Get down as low to the water as you dare, or do the opposite and go to the highest angle you can get at, to get an entirely different reflection in the water. Try making your picture near-symmetrical, or don't, or try taking a photograph of the sunset through its reflection alone.[2] Experiment!
    • Look for interesting silhouettes. Try silhouetting trees, people, or anything else against the sky or the sun.
    • Play with panoramas, if you don't feel that you're getting enough sky into your picture (this is especially so for those of you with small-sensored digital SLRs). Take several photos with the intent to stitch them together later in software.
    • Try using your flash to illuminate things in unexpected ways. Make sure that your shutter speed doesn't go any faster than your camera's rated flash sync speed; it'll either refuse to fire or (in the case of off-camera flashes) cause a large part of your image to be blacked out (of course, if you're clever about it you can use this to creative effect).
    • Experiment with everything. Doing so is free on digital cameras. The more photos you take, the better equipped you will be in future to recognise peak lighting conditions, to figure out what looks good and what doesn't, and so on. If you're on film, shoot as much as you can afford to get developed.
  4. Wait for the sun to be in the perfect spot, and then snap a picture (multiple ones if you have the film or memory card space). Exactly what is the perfect moment is a matter for your artistic judgment. If you're out of ideas, try waiting around for the sun to hide behind a cloud; more often than not you will get very visible sun rays coming from the cloud.[3]
  5. Wait around. Sometimes the most spectacular lighting happens a short while after the sun has gone down. Don't miss it! You don't want to find yourself on the way home (and, worse, stuck in your car) when the sky turns spectacular colours.
  6. Develop the film or print out your picture and then enjoy your work of art!

Tips

  • Some compact (point-and-shoot) cameras have a mode for photographing sunsets. Try it out.
  • Even if it is cloudy or raining, do not freak out! You can use this to your advantage and capture a unique view of the sun setting that is different from the usual (but still beautiful) pictures.
  • Know that there's no one, perfect, specific time that makes for a perfect sunset picture. It all depends on the amount of light and colors you want to convey in the photograph. Timing is important, but it doesn't have to be exact.
  • Try using aperture-priority mode on your camera and stopping down a little -- points of light will turn into tiny star shapes, called "sunstars".
  • Sunrises can be every bit as dramatic as sunsets, and there is less distortion in the air. Consider getting up early to photograph a sunrise.
  • Try taking your exposure reading on the sky above the sun with the sun just outside the bottom of your frame. Lock that exposure setting (or set it manually) then recompose your image and shoot. This will only work if you have an auto-exposure lock or the ability to set metered manual exposures; otherwise just use your exposure compensation till it looks right.

Warnings

  • The sun can damage your eyes if you are not careful. Never stare at the sun for extended periods of time!
  • The sun can also damage the sensor of a digital camera over time (less so with sunsets/sunrises when the light levels are lower) so keep that in mind if you plan on being a sun photographer.
  • You might have difficulty seeing the results on the {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} display when you change your settings for each shot. Keep a small notepad handy and jot notes as to how many pictures you took at each setting to help you when you get back to your computer to really look through the pictures.

Things You'll Need

  • A camera. Use whatever you have; nearly anything with a working meter is capable of taking great photographs at sunset. Just get out there and shoot; the most important thing is being there when the best colour happens. If you're just starting out, a digital camera might well be better here, for the immediate feedback on exposure, white balance and so on that they permit. If all you have is a film camera, then don't worry about it.
  • Film, if you're shooting a film camera. Try a slide film like Fuji Velvia or Kodachrome, rather than print (negative) film; you'll get much more dramatic colours. Even the best colours on print film will be at the mercy of the person developing it.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ See How to Get Great Colors by Ken Rockwell.
  2. ↑ For an example, see this: http://www.tripntale.com/pic/494/25194.
  3. ↑ See another example here: http://www.tripntale.com/pic/651/31647.
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