Sunset Photography

Skills Necessary for Taking Pictures at Sunset

© Keith Norman

Sep 12, 2009

Some of the most dramatic landscape photographs are taken at start or end of the day. The magical time of sunrise and sunset when nature’s palette of colors expands to utilize oranges, reds and yellows.

But capturing that moment on film or in a digital photograph involves some major challenges.

• Setting The colors of the sunset provide the backdrop. It is what is in the foreground that makes the picture. Keep in mind the objects in the foreground will end up as a silhouette in front of the sunset. Keep the objects simple and identifiable. People make excellent subjects in sunset pictures but individuals will largely be unidentifiable. It isn’t the place to try to make a portrait for a friend.
• Contrast By definition sunset photographs are going to be high contrast. The silhouettes will be black with the other colors often as light as yellow. Cameras with High Dynamic Range capabilities will help deal with the range of brightness and colors. Composition can also help control the amount of contrast. If the actual sun is excluded from the photograph, the picture is framed just to the left or right of the sun, the brightest spot is excluded, lowering the range of light in the photograph.
• Exposure The automatic exposure control of most modern cameras will produce a good sunset with a silhouetted foreground. Try experimenting by adjusting the exposure. Adding a stop of exposure, either manually or by the exposure compensation control on most modern cameras, will add a bit of detail to the silhouettes. Going down one stop will darken the sunset which may overwhelm the silhouettes if overdone.
• White Balance Another area to experiment with is white balance. Automated white balance settings may be a little cool as the camera tries to compensate for the warm colors it sees in the picture. Manually setting it to daylight will retain the warm colors of the sunset. For photographers shooting in a raw mode they can make these adjustments in post-production.
• Post-Production All photography software offer a variety of adjustments for brightness, color temperature and contrast. There are also color filters that can be utilized to add even more color to the picture. Still, for the best results, start with a good capture in the field.

Sunset or sunrise photography requires some special skills and also some dedication. Sunrise is often more colorful than sunrise but comes at an inconvenient time for many cameramen. Many photographers find it easier to be in the right place at the right moment for sunset photography.

Sunset at Roy Lake, South Dakota

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