Sunset or sunrise

[jaomul]

I don't do to much landscape photos. A friend who knows I like taking the odd photo asked me the other day whether a sunrise or sunset makes a better photo.

I know it all depends on the scenery, where you are etc, but all other things being equal, is there an answer to whether a sunrise or a sunset makes a better photo?

 

[Trever1t]

Makes no difference to me, but mornings can be colder and sunsets are nice and warm

 

[hamlet]

I'd like to go in the mornings because it is much more quiet and peaceful.

 

[Designer]

No scientific basis for this, but when I could view sunrises and sunsets from the same place on a regular basis, I had the impression that rises were better. Of course, it mostly depends on the sky conditions, but overall, I saw more variation in the colors with rises. FWIW

 

[waday]

I'm a sunrise kind of person.

 

[ronlane]

I'm going to go with it depends. A sunrise shot of the beach in California isn't really going to be as nice as a sunset shot would be so it depends. I actually love shoot both and have done them on the same day on numerous weekends in the summer here in Oklahoma.

 

[TCampbell]

This can depend on where you are, but...

During the day, the sun heats the hearth, which creates thermals and these will push moist air upward and forms clouds. Overnight the air cools and those clouds condense and disappear.

This means that ignoring other factors of weather (frontal systems bringing in clouds or pushing clouds away) the general heating/cooling cycle of the day means that the mornings will tend to have clearer air and fewer early morning clouds as opposed to sunsets.

If you're trying to take a photo of a sunset, then you probably actually want some clouds and a little more moisture in the air can give you more of a reddish sunset and sunrises may be less red.

So there technically is a little bit of a difference, but this assumes that you are in a period where the weather systems aren't changing (a stable period of the same weather for many days in a row.)

 

[JacaRanda]

I'm with Mr. Ronron.

It really depends. I'm in Socal and the sunset pictures over the ocean with piers etc. have been fantastic lately. However, there is lots of snow on the mountains now and if you get the right spot looking East, those can be wonderful also.

Sunset view
A break from the rain...
Morning Colorful morning