Photographing Sunsets

[Judge Sharpe]

Getting back tothe question for a change- In the "old days" I would meter off the sunset and meter in the opposite direction, average the reading and perfect sunsets. I have maybe a thousand on slided and prints.
I always used Figi film because it was warmer than Kodak which always had a bluish tint at sunrise and sunset.
JS

 

[Clutch]

I second the graduated filter suggestion, and also recommend a polarizer, they are always useful, sunset or not.

Doooooohhhh... how'd I forget the polarizer? IMO, if you're going to own just one filter make it that one!

(Outside of a protective UV or haze filter, of course)

 

[KhronoS]

PS: Lamborghini - end of story!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

 

[JerryPH]

Doooooohhhh... how'd I forget the polarizer? IMO, if you're going to own just one filter make it that one!

(Outside of a protective UV or haze filter, of course)

...or if you own Photoshop already, you can save yourself some money and do it in PP.

 

[D-50]

I strongly disagre with Khronos when he says shutter speed is what matters not aperautre.. the opposite is true when shooting landcapes be they a sunset, sunrise, or just generla shot. I would never shoot a landscape at 2.8 whereas Icould care lessw what my shutter speed is as long as I expose correctly.. So to answer the originao question use matrix metering, iso 100, aperature priority or full manula but keep your aperature above f14 at least, you want a sharp image throughout.

 

[JerryPH]

PS: Lamborghini - end of story!

lol... no matter what you have, there is someone out there with something more $$ and faster. Like that teenager I was speaking of with the D3 and tons of toys.

 

[KhronoS]

I strongly disagre with Khronos when he says shutter speed is what matters not aperautre.. the opposite is true when shooting landcapes be they a sunset, sunrise, or just generla shot. I would never shoot a landscape at 2.8 whereas Icould care lessw what my shutter speed is as long as I expose correctly.. So to answer the originao question use matrix metering, iso 100, aperature priority or full manula but keep your aperature above f14 at least, you want a sharp image throughout.

Yeah my mistake, wanted to say that some good photographs of sunset, were taken a little underexposed. )

But there isn't a written rule of it. Photography is not a science, its just to express your view of the world. So try experimenting and being on digital you have all the freedom you can get

 

[JerryPH]

I strongly disagre with Khronos when he says shutter speed is what matters not aperautre..

What's to disagree with?

"If you want to photograph something that moves, including waves, trees in the wind etc, use shutter mode to freeze or blur motion. If you take pictures of objects or people with the sunset as the background, use aperture mode to control depth of field."

Technically, his post was pretty accurate and I think you just misread or skipped over it.

 

[Tasmaster]

No, he's right, he's got a point there, although it's not explained very clearly. Everything else being equal, a smaller aperture will give you a sharper photo. Make sure that you have everything else right first (what i mentioned in my post, and also low ISO) and then see how much you can stop down the lens.

 

[selmerdave]

My tip: Use long focal lengths (>200mm) as it makes the sun look large and dramatic and fills the frame with colour (giving the illusion that the entire sky is that colour).

Dave

 

[rjackjames]

Wow....guys I went way over board when I bought my equipemnt ok....I fell in love with photography and just wanted the best equipment....I appreciated all the tips for great sunset photography. I hope to apply them when I go on my vacation in 30 days.

I have a polarizer too.....thanks for the tip.

 

[abraxas]

I plan to visit the Caribbean soon. I want to take pictures of the beautiful sunsets.

What camera mode should I use? AV,TV,M

What type of metering? ie Spot, Evaluative, Partial or center-weighted!!

What AF mode? ie One Shot, AI focus, AI servo!!

I appreciate the help!!

M

Do yourself a favor and spend the time between here-n-there learning about manual mode.

200 iso is a good starting point.

Learn to focus manually.

I prefer my images to have as much depth of field as I can get. f37 if I can get it. These aperture settings result in longer exposure times. Use your tripod. Get a release cable if you can.

Learn about 18% gray and how it's used for metering.

Set your camera to highlight mode on display. If you see highlights blinking, you overexposed. meter again, reshoot. Remember the exposure values will increase as the sun sets and decrease as the sun rises. One exposure will be fine and over or under just a few seconds later.

Practice. The sun sets all over the world everyday. Shoot out a window if you have to.

 

[rjackjames]

Thanks abraxas for the info...I know I have to learn how to shoot manual too.....I will take that into consideration.

 

[hyakuhei]

My sunsets:
Evaluative Metering
ISO 100
AV mode - typically between f5.6 and f11
Set -1 EV (Under expose by one stop)
This tends to produce nice broody sunsets, perhaps not everybodies cup of tea though...

 

[usayit]

Usually on sunset photographs... you should use or Manual or Tv mode, because its essential to control you shutter speed, not your aperture size ( which only can give you a DOF which you don't need in sunsets).

Try metering for the sky, and maybe you will want to underexpose a little to get those beautiful colors of the sky

I think you will need a tripod as well.

Good luck shooting your sunsets

When shooting sunsets, I do the exact opposite... I focus on aperture and rather than shutter. Sunsets are essentially landscape photographs. As such, I think a focus on DOF (foreground especially) is very important. The subject (landscape/sunset) isn't moving quickly so you don't have to worry about motion blur. Using a tripod (of course) will eliminate any handshake blur.

- Put the camera on a tripod (and don't worry about the shutter speed and handshake blur)
- Set an aperture in AV mode (start with f/8)
- Meter off of a grey card (back turned to the sunset).
- Bracket your shots +1, 0, -1 via changes to the aperture.

We are shooting a sunset... so at a reasonable aperture the shutter speed will be acceptable (thus motion blur)