Everyone has seen them. Stunning photographs of beautiful sunsets, full of color and warmth that seem to go beyond the boundaries of photography. When taking an evening stroll on the beach or sitting in the park, this guide will make it possible to take these breathtaking photos.
Steps
Step 1. Get out of the house early
You never know when there will be the best light, it usually occurs within a minute, so anytime between 15 minutes before and after sunset (this and the half hour window at sunrise is what they call a Hollywood the "magic hour"). So you should be there at least half an hour before sunset, to have enough time to look around and settle down.
Step 2. Set up your camera
Alternatively, don't do this and skip the technical details below if it bores you; having practice in the subject is useful, but not essential. It is more important to be there at the right time. Said this…
- Play with the exposure compensation (the function that the camera has to make photos lighter or darker). Try not to make much of the sky too bright. Remember, on digital cameras you can always recover anything, except extreme underexposure.
- Set the ISO to minimum on digital cameras. The sunset sky is still bright enough to take good photos in this setting. It will also give you a better chance to correct for underexposure, as mentioned above (since doing so after the shot inevitably takes away any noise). Don't increase the ISO unless you have to.
- Set the white balance; again, only for digital cameras. Many machines do a good job in the “Auto” setting. Otherwise don't do it; it may interpret too much red in the scene and try to balance (not what you want - the point is to capture just those colors). The "full light" or "shadow" settings are a good option, but I doubt you will want to experiment. Each machine is different, some are more skilled than others. This brings us to the last point.
- Try to study your camera. Few machines will always make a perfect exposure, many will make you anxious all the time. Some cameras are better for photographing sunsets than others. Many require some level of exposure compensation. If you're using center-weighted or spot metering, you may find it helpful to measure on one of the brightest (but not the brightest) parts of the sky, use auto-exposure lock, and then recompose.
Step 3. Go to the right place
Move around until you find the perfect angle. There is an infinite number of angles, places and compositions to play with; some ideas can be found below, if you lack them.
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Use reflections coming from streams, if you are close to one. Lower yourself as close to the water as possible and use the highest angle you can to get a completely different reflection in the water. Try to do symmetrical photography or try to photograph the sunset through its reflection. Experiment!
If you are near a stream, experiment with reflections. This was taken on the River Great Ouse in Norfolk, England -
Look for interesting figures. Try to portray trees, people, or anything else that stands out against the sky or the sun.
Sunset_silhouette_681 -
Play with the views, if you feel like you don't have enough sky in your photo (this is especially true for those with those compact digital cameras with small SLR sensors). Take several photos with the intent of merging them with a program.
A panorama made of 3 shots taken with a 29mm lens and merged using Hugin -
Try to use the flash to light things up differently. Make sure the closing speed is not faster than the flash speed; it may refuse to shoot or it will make a large part of the image dark (of course if you are smart enough you can use it as a creative effect).
You can use the flash to illuminate dark parts of the photo in different ways - Experiment with everything. It's cost-free with digital cameras. The more photos you take, the better equipped you will be for the future to recognize extreme light conditions, to understand what is good and what is not, and so on. If you have film, shoot what you can afford to develop.
Step 4. Wait for the sun to be in the perfect spot and take a photo (multiple if you have the memory space or film)
Recognizing the perfect moment is just a matter of artistic evaluation. If you run out of ideas, try to wait for the sun to hide behind a cloud; very often you will see visible rays coming out of the cloud.
Step 5. Wait
Sometimes the most spectacular light occurs shortly after the sun has set. Do not miss it! You don't want to find yourself on your way home (or worse still stuck in the car) when the sky is showing spectacular colors.
Step 6. Develop or print your photo and enjoy your artwork
Advice
- Some compact cameras have a function for photographing the sunset. Try it.
- Even if it's cloudy or raining, don't worry! You can use it to your advantage and capture a unique view of the sunset, different from the usual (but beautiful) photos.
- There is no specific, perfect moment that makes a sunset photograph perfect. It all depends on the amount of light and the colors you want to bring into the photograph. Timing is important, but it doesn't have to be precise.
- Try to use the aperture priority mode and decrease it a bit - the highlights will become small star shapes.
- Sunrise can be just as impressive as sunset, and there is even less distortion in the air. Get up early to photograph the sunrise.
- Try to take the exposure reading in the sky above the sun, with the sun just outside the bottom of the box. Freeze that reading (or put it manually), then recompose the image and shoot. This only works if you have an auto exposure lock or the ability to set manual exposures; otherwise use exposure compensation until it looks good.
Warnings
- The sun can damage your eyes if you're not careful. Never stare at it for long periods of time!
- The sun can also damage a digital camera's sensor over time (less so with sunrise and sunset when light levels are lower), so keep that in mind if you plan on becoming a sun photographer.
- You may find it difficult to see results on a 5cm display when you change settings with each shot. Keep a small notepad handy and write notes for each photo you take, with settings, to help you better look at the photos when you upload them to your computer.
