Sunsets?

[spikedice]

Hello Peeps,

Im new here...and have what is most likely considered an insanely basic question. But I was wondering if anyone had any tips on taking photos of sunsets. I have a Nikon D40 (who has an attitude) and doesnt ever seem to be able to capture sunsets. I know its probably with the settings, but I dont mess around with them too much and was wondering if someone would be able to explain it to me?

Cheers!

~ CJ

 

[kdabbagh]

Use Manual mode. Depending on the foreground, determine an aperture. (If there is water or land you want to capture in the foreground I would shoot at F/16-22.
Try to meter for the light surrounding the sun. That is, aim your focus points in the viewfinder to the light surrounding the sun, and adjust your shutter speed until your camera indicates a correct exposure. Shoot using a tripod if that helps you achieve sharper shots.

Others may have other advice, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head! You may want to post some images of your attempts and indicate what settings you've been using, others may be able to help you better if this info is provided. Good luck!

 

[pbelarge]

Spike
Welcome to the forum.
Did you notice what country the person who responded to you is from?
I think it is very cool that he is from Cairo...


Did you perform a search on the site? There is usually pretty good results.

Here is a quick Google link that should keep you busy for a while.

Google

Good luck, and come back with some shots you take after reading a little. :mrgreen:

 

[kdabbagh]

Cairo is a city.

 

[pbelarge]

Cairo is a city.

I am assuming the Cairo you speak of is in Egypt.

 

[mwcfarms]

Lol I really enjoyed your simple sunset tips. Just wanted to say thanks. Now that its stopped raining Im going to try my hand at a couple.

 

[kdabbagh]

Cairo is a city.

I am assuming the Cairo you speak of is in Egypt.

Yes, that would be the country

 

[spikedice]

Egypt? Cool. Im from Alaska, but in the UK at the moment. Thanks for your tips I have searched google, but thought maybe a photo forum would give a better response. I'll post some pictures of them (if I ever get any worth posting!) sometime soon. Thanks again

 

[chriswellner]

You could try something like this with a cloud too.
But like kdabbagh said, f16-22 would be the a good starting point.
Although, I shot this one at f5.6 at 1/8000 shutter. I like keeping the camera on it's toes.

 

[spikedice]

Wow - that is a really awesome photo, I havent really messed around with the settings too much, but am starting to think about it...Im guessing thats the only way to get the pictures to turn out how I want lol. Thanks for sharing...thats pretty awesome!!

 

[Dwig]

... I have a Nikon D40 (who has an attitude) and doesnt ever seem to be able to capture sunsets. ...

Any camera can benefit from a little "steering", though it doesn't require full manual exposure.

Sunsets very a lot, sunset to sunset. Also, the type of picutre you are trying to make varies. There are a lot of ways to render a sunset.

Whether using manual or an automatic mode, if the sun is going to be in the picture I generally find metering from the scene slightly reframed to omit the sun works best. I usually meter by reframing either latterly to retain the same sky/foreground balance, or less often, downward to meter from only the foreground.

If metering in manual, I reframe, meter, return to my desired composition, and shoot. If shooting in an automatic mode, I use a trap-exposure function (generally termed Auto Exposure Lock or AE-L on Nikons), reframing as described then trapping the exposure, and returning to my desired framing for the exposure. I prefer to have my camera set to trap exposure with the shutter release's half-press function.

 

[HikinMike]

Wow - that is a really awesome photo, I havent really messed around with the settings too much, but am starting to think about it...Im guessing thats the only way to get the pictures to turn out how I want lol. Thanks for sharing...thats pretty awesome!!

Yep, that's the only way to go....and that's how you learn. :mrgreen:

One of my favorite snapshots from a few months ago...

 

[pbrr1der]

wow, very nice!

 

[Felix 222]

learn to mess with the settings. it will help you with more than just sunset photos. you have a DSLR camera...utilize its capabilities!

 

[rwarren92]

Spike
Welcome to the forum.
Did you notice what country the person who responded to you is from?
I think it is very cool that he is from Cairo...


Did you perform a search on the site? There is usually pretty good results.

Here is a quick Google link that should keep you busy for a while.

Google

Good luck, and come back with some shots you take after reading a little. :mrgreen:

:lmao: Epic.. yet wonderful advice