Sunset Photography

Sunsets are a favorite of many photographers. They make some of your most interesting photographs when exposure and the composition is right. With automatic cameras, it's sometimes difficult to get a good sunset photograph as your auto setting are trying for the best average exposure and color balance of the sunset; neither of which you want. Try the following method for taking sunset photographs.

Full Auto Sunset Mode

For comparison, first take a photo at full auto mode.  Then, if your camera has a "sunset" mode turn to that mode and take one or two more pictures.  Sometimes the sunset mode gets good photos, sometimes not.

Manual Mode Method

You always want to steady your Camera when taking any photograph. Put your camera on a tripod for this experiment.  You may want to practice the steps on any sunset or sunrise prior to going out to shoot the ones you really want. Now, with the camera on a tripod, follow these steps:

1. Set the white balance to "daylight", "cloudy," or "overcast" instead of Auto White Balance (AWB).  These settings will maintain or increase the warm tone of the photograph. Auto white balance will try to neutralize some of the red. To see the difference take a couple of shots and examine them on your preview screen. Also, compare them to your full auto mode shot. Set the white balance to the setting you like best.
2. Set your ISO to 100 or lower.
3. Set the mode control dial to Aperture Value mode (Av). 
4. Using your aperture controls set your aperture to F-3.5 or your largest aperture opening for the focal length of the lens. The reason for this is, small apertures openings like F-8, F-11 or F-16 may cause flare in your photographs. The flare that you would see is a hexagon shape caused from the sun reflecting off the edges of the aperture blades onto the internal lens elements. A large aperture opening helps prevent this as the blades are not in the way. Also, since you are shooting at the distance of infinity, depth of field will not be a factor. Another point for this is that there is more adjustment range with shutter speed than aperture. 
5. Move the camera to the right or left so the sunset is a short distance outside of the frame. This will give you a better exposure for the sky and the horizon by preventing the bright sun to cause real under exposure.  You may even want to zoom in on the sky above the horizon with the sun outside the frame, just be sure the aperture setting doesn't change as it will automatically do with if not locked. 
6. If you have automatic exposure lock (AEL) this would be a good opportunity to use it. Otherwise, press the shutter button halfway down and note the exposure settings. They may read something like F-3.5  1/1000.  The only variable here should be the shutter speed, as you have manually set the aperture setting.
7. Now, so you don't have to continue to hold the shutter button 1/2 way down. Reset your mode dial to "manual" mode. 
8. Set your aperture to F-3.5 and the shutter speed to what was indicated (1/1000) when you took your exposure reading. 
9. Reframe your picture for the desired composition and make an exposure. 
10. Without moving your camera takes three more photographs after changing the aperture to, F-4.0, F-5.6 and F-8.0.  Do not change the shutter speed. These three are full stop settings that will reduce the light by 50% with each adjustment. If your camera is able to adjust the f-stop by one half stop settings use it and take a sequence of six more photographs instead. If your camera adjusts by 1/3 stops you will want to take nine more shots.
    If you get unwanted lens flare then use the smallest F-stop where you don't get it and then double your shutter speed with each new shot; 1/2000, 1/4000, 1/8000 what ever shutter speeds you have.
11. Download the images to your computer, Open your images with Photoshop Elements or ACDSee Pro3, or your photo editor and compare and choose your best exposure or the one you like best.  Take a 3x5 card and write down the steps you used and put the card in your camera bag for the next time you want a creative sunset photo.

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Composition suggestions:

·  Place the horizon in the lower or upper one third of the frame, depending on your desired composition. Keep it out of the middle.

·      Do not place the sun in the center of the frame; use the rule of thirds. Move the composition left or right.

·      Include an object or people in your scene.

o    Is there something that you can use as a picture frame?

o    How about the silhouette of some people, object or animals?

o    What other objects could be placed in the frame to make it more interesting than just an orange ball sitting on a horizon?

·       Try different zoom settings.

·       If you do video, try shooting a time sequence of stills 30sec to 1minute apart for several minutes or for several minutes after the sun has completely gone below the horizon.  Use the sequence as a fad out at the end of your video.

HAPPY SHOOTING!

Photo Information

The shot at the left was taken in Arizona. Traveling down the road we were admiring another beautiful desert sunset.  There was nothing but desert and horizon. As we passed this lone tree I stopped and backed up.  By the time I setup my camera the sun had dropped below the horizon but I feel this is still an effective image.  The image here is unmodified in any way. I zoomed and manually locked the exposure for the sky just above the horizon then zoomed out to frame the shot.

The Sunset photo at the right was taken at the Naples, Florida pier.  We fished most of the afternoon.  Deciding to go to dinner after not catching any fish we put our fishing gear in our car parked in the lot a little to the left and behind me.  I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked back down to the beach. I set up the camera and shot about 10 frames.  There was at lease four other photographers just outside of this view taking pictures.  The man in this photo was also set up and taking photos while his family sat and waited at the picnic bench.  I felt by including him and his family it added more interest to the photo. The only editing to the photo is the edge burning in at the top, lower right and left side.  Actually, the top is a little hard and I would redo it, feathering it more if I were to print this photo. Also, I didn't print this image because the man's head is in the pilings of the pier and the image would have been much better if he were a clean silhouette. Another good reason to take your time and inspect your composition before pressing the shutter button.  Would the average viewer notice? I doubt it, but for my wall art it just didn't make the cut.

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