Master the sunset and sunrise photography in
4 steps
Sunrise and
sunset provide more amazing lighting for your photos than any other time of the
day. The sun’s low light during this period gives rich colors to your subject.
Besides lighting,
the success of a photo depends on the things you are going to include in your
photo. Rocks, harbors, boats, islands, bridges, sea waves… are all good
subjects to include for capturing the dramatic and beautiful sunrise or sunset
photos.
In this article,
we will talk about how to choose the right place and time to photograph sunsets
and sunrises, what are the appropriate camera settings to get the appropriate
exposure, and how to compose the image.
Camera settings for sunrise 🌄 and sunset 🌇 photography for beginners:
- Put your camera on a tripod, the YoTilon is the cheapest tripod, the Bactrim, and the Cayer. You will find it on Amazon.
- Shooting in Aperture Priority mode, denoted by A or AV, on your camera’s mode dial.
- Set the aperture to f/16
- Set the ISO to 100
- Let the camera set the shutter speed automatically.
These general
settings should give you a good starting point.
Now let's talk in
general about basic tips for taking better sunrise and sunset photos.
Warning: When
taking sunrise and sunset photos, be careful not to look directly at the sun
through the viewfinder because doing so can cause permanent damage to your
eyes.
1- Choose the right place and time
The biggest key
to picking up something unique and beautiful is preparation. Before
photographing a location, you should visit it during the day to look for
compositions, see where the sun will rise or set, and get to know as much of
the area as possible.
Do not rush !!
Creativity does not work under pressure, the greater the preparation, the
greater the creativity. Knowing where the sun rises and sets, where the light
will strike, and where the shadows are are all very important.
Being prepared is
especially important for taking pictures of the sunrise, as you will arrive and
begin in the dark, and therefore it is essential to know exactly where you are
going and what composition you will be framing.
After determining
and studying the place, let us move on to the appropriate time for filming.
golden hour
As for time, the
best hour to catch sunset or sunrise is the first hour after sunrise and the
last hour before sunset. Referred to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”
because it is so coveted by professional photographers, these times provide the
perfect lighting for capturing stunning photos.
Download a good
application of sunrise or sunset on your phone. Search your smartphone app
store and get a free app that gives you an accurate calendar of sunrise and
sunset times in your country, such as the golden hour app.
2- Choose the appropriate settings for shooting sunset and sunrise
When
photographing a sunset or sunrise, the appropriate mode, in this case, is the
Aperture priority mode, which I use, where I manually adjust the aperture and
ISO while the camera adjusts the shutter speed automatically.
So before diving
into the settings, you should first rotate your camera's mode dial to A on
Nikon or AV on Canon.
Don't be fooled
by using the sunset icon on your mode dial. This is an auto mode and you will
lose the ability to choose a creative aperture, shutter speed, etc. Well, now
it's time to adjust the settings!
Set the aperture to a large number
An aperture is an
opening that allows light to enter the camera. We measure its volume in f/stop.The lower the f/stop value, the wider the aperture, and thus will allow more
light to enter, and vice versa, the higher the f/stop value, the smaller the
aperture, which will allow less light to enter. Not only this, but the aperture
is also responsible for the depth of field. I will explain more;
For example, if
you specify the aperture of the lens at f/1.8, this means that you want a wide
or open aperture, and this also means that the background in the image that you
will get will be blurry, this is what is known as shallow depth of field
If you choose
f/16, the aperture of the lens, in this case, will be narrow, and the image you
will get will be clear from the foreground to the background. This is called
'deep depth of field'.
When photographing sunset or sunrise, it is recommended to choose a higher number for f/stop (any small aperture of the lens, such as f/11, f/16, or higher,). This allows for a greater depth of field so that everything from foreground to background is clear. However, no rule prevents lowering the aperture to achieve a certain creative effect.
Choose a lower ISO
ISO measures the
sensitivity of the sensor to light. The lower the ISO number, the lower the
sensitivity of the sensor to light. A high ISO will result in graininess or
digital noise, reducing image quality.
A low ISO (ISO100, ISO200) will be the best solution to produce the best image quality for sunrise and sunset.
Monitor shutter speed
Shooting in
aperture priority mode as mentioned earlier means that you adjust the aperture
manually, while the shutter speed is set by the camera, however, you still need
to monitor this speed to make sure that it does not become too slow and gives a
low-quality image, especially if you You hold the camera in your hands.
In the case where
the depth of field requires a small aperture, you will be required to change
one or both of the other parts of the exposure triangle
Elements such as
exposure: (aperture, ISO, shutter speed) because a small aperture with a low ISO
means that the light entering the camera is not enough, and to compensate for
this, the camera will automatically slow the shutter speed to allow more light
to enter.
However, slow shutter speeds have downsides
such as camera shake in your hands and image blur, so raising the ISO is an
intermediate solution that will help you maintain the desired depth of field by
leaving the low aperture setting On the one hand, and on the other hand, it
will enable you to increase the shutter speed without losing the desired brightness
in the image
For example, if
the shutter speed is at 1/15s, increasing the ISO from 100 to 200 will double
the shutter speed from 1/15s to 1/30s. Doubling the ISO again, to 400, will
make the shutter speed 1/60s.
Watch the light
meter in the Viewfinder or LCD while you adjust the shutter speed, when it is
at “0”, it tells you that the exposure is correct.
After taking the
picture, I advise you to enlarge it and review it on the LCD screen of the
camera to make sure that there are no dots or noise caused by a high ISO.
Well, now what if you wanted to manually control the shutter speed? In this case, I advise you to use the manual mode, i.e. rotate the dial to M (Manual mode). Let's dig a little deeper into this.
Manual shutter speed control
The shutter speed is responsible for freezing and showing movement in the image. If you want to freeze the movement of a bird in the sky as in the image below, you will need a fast shutter speed (1/200s).
Also keep in mind
that if your shutter speed is too low, you may need a tripod to prevent noise
from shaking your hands.
Important tip: If
you are using a lens with a focal length of 100mm, the shutter speed you should
use should not be slower than 1/100s or 1/200s, and so on.
- For a 40mm lens, the recommended shutter speed is 1/40s or faster,
- For a 16mm lens, the shutter speed should be 1/16s…etc.
White Balance
Adjusting the
white balance gives you control over how cool or warm colors are.
This is one of
the settings I usually leave in the automatic setting. Lightroom and Photoshop
make it quick and easy to adjust the color balance to your liking. So this will
be a setting you don't have to worry about. But if you are intent on setting
everything up manually, choose a warmer color temperature setting such as k6500; k5600.
Use Exposure Compensation
After taking some
pictures, it is a good idea to review them on the camera's LCD screen. If the
exposure does not match your desires, a quick and easy way to correct the
exposure is exposure compensation.
If the subject
appears too dark after the photo is taken, set the exposure compensation to +1
or +2. Alternatively, you can adjust the setting by -1 or -2 if the subject is
brighter than you'd like.
Some cameras have
a dedicated exposure compensation adjustment dial.
Exposure compensation works fine if you are shooting in Aperture Priority mode, but not in Manual mode. If you are shooting in manual mode, exposure changes are made by setting the aperture, shutter speed, or ISO independently.
Use Exposure Bracketing
Exposure
correction is a technique where you take three (or more) photos of the same
scene with slightly different exposure.
This serves two
purposes. Review the snapshots later and decide which ones you want to keep.
Second, you can even go a step further and combine all the photos with their
different exposures into one, using Lightroom or Photoshop.
To take different exposures automatically, you'll need to dive into the camera settings. The procedure is slightly different for each camera, so check the manual for specific steps. Look for something called Bracketing, Exposure Bracketing (EB), or something similar.
Take photos in RAW format
I know you've
heard this before, but sunset or sunrise is a time when shooting in RAW format
is especially important. There is a special aesthetic in the colors emitted by
the sunlight in this period that is simply tossed in the trash if you shoot in JPEG
format.
3. Composition of sunrise and sunset images
As in any type of photography, it's important to compose your sunrise and sunset images for
maximum impact.
These are the most important techniques that I use in photographing sunsets and sunrises.
Put the sun in the background
This advice is
the most obvious. Putting the sun in the background means looking for beautiful
things in the foreground to create a great picture. It can be the brilliant
colors in a vibrant sky that allows us to see our surroundings differently.
The play of light and shadow on objects in the foreground helps create a dramatic scene that is hard to achieve in the middle of the day.
The best way to
do this is to find something of interest right in front of you
Use a 17mm wide-angle lens, for example, and
place the object of interest a few feet in front of you. Stop and set the
aperture to f/11 or smaller, f/16 or otherwise, and focus on the front object
to make sure it's sharp.
Put the sun away
In this case, the
sun will not be in your landscape. It is often best to place the sun on your
side so that it does not appear in the scene, but let the shadows and
highlights create a special aesthetic in the image.
Put the sun behind your back
Be careful when composing your image in this case, since the sun is behind you, which means you may end up with your own shadow in the image. To avoid this, try bending down and setting the tripod as low as possible to help shorten the shade.
Lens 14.0mm, Aperture
ƒ/11.0, Shutter speed 1/8s
Also, if you have a DSLR you should cover the Viewfinder because sunlight can enter the camera from the back and affect your exposure.
rule of thirds
Put something interesting to the fore
Lens 28.0mm, Aperture ƒ/14.0, Shutter speed 1/100s, ISO 400
Use the main lines to draw the viewer's eyes through the frame
Lens 11.0mm,
Aperture ƒ/11.0, Shutter speed 1/2s, ISO 100
Look for patterns and that A swipe to add interest to your photo
Lens 18.0mm, Aperture ƒ/8.0, ISO 200
4. Keep shooting!
Photographing
sunrise and sunset can be a lot of fun. The nice thing is that you don't have
to travel far to do this. Sunsets and sunrises happen every day and can be
captured from just about anywhere.
Just when you
think you've seen the best of a sunrise or sunset, may the colors become richer
or the cloud may move and cast beautiful sunshine. Sunrise and sunset change
constantly, so keep shooting to make sure you don't miss the best part.
Experiment with different combinations and exposures.
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