Beginner capturing the sunset - or not...

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Bmwjc

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Hi all im kind of at a loss now with the settings for trying to capture the sunset with my camera. the picture below i know isnt the greatest of subjects but it was all i had to work with at the time and the sunset capture was more import than the location. I want to be able to take a good picture when at interesting locations as time is of the essence with sunsets.

ive not editted the picture at all just straight from the camera. i do have elements 11 so editing is something i do, however i do prefer to get it right in the camera.


IMG_1427 by james cleaver photography, on Flickr
 
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What you need to remember about sunsets is that once you've got a perfectly exposed sky, the ground will be black.

To get round this requires either an ND grad filter or merged exposures. Or use it as a backdrop for portraits and light your subjects with flash.

As Gary said, that shot is overexposed, you should expose for the sky, let the sun blow and the ground go black. Once you've found a great silhouette or however else you're choosing to shoot it. But the sunset on it's own will largely be meh.
 
Without grads there is no way to get this shot right "in camera" assuming you want some detail in the foreground like in this shot. Personally I don't use grads and either blend two or more exposures in photoshop or if the dynamic range isn't too great I can get away with lifting a few shadows and dropping a few highlights, but as has already been said this shot is overexposed for the sun so you'll still end up with a big blown area for the sun no matter what pp you do. I think a lot of people get hung up on "getting it right in camera" when in truth without the aid of extra equipment alot of the time it impossible.
 
As above, it's impossible to get a good sunrise or sunset shot straight from the camera without filters.
For this sort of shot I'll set the camera to exposure bracketing mode and take 5 shots from -2 to +2.
When I get them into the computer I'll merge them in Photoshop to get one good image, or I'll use HDR software to automatically blend the images to get a well exposed sky, and merge it with one of the original shots for the foreground.
If the foreground's got some interesting shapes in it you can just show the silhouettes.
It can also help to wait until the sun's dropped a bit lower and is less intense.

Here's a couple from last week, both taken around the same time of day, but two completely different results.



 
Thanks for this, you learn something new everyday on TP.
 
Thanks for your replies.

Nd grads have been on my shopping list for some time now so I suppose it's about time I took the plunge. I agree about getting too hung up on getting it right in camera I suppose I find it hard to not feel I've cheated rather than just focus in the end product.
With the bracketing I assume that would be better used when the camera is on a tripod? My tripod is often not with me so I'm probably best going down the filters route for now.
 
Bmwjc said:
Thanks for your replies.

With the bracketing I assume that would be better used when the camera is on a tripod?
Click to expand...

Both shots above were handheld and used the software to align them. If you want to merge them manually in photoshop it's easier if you shoot on a tripod.
 
Bmwjc said:
Thanks for your replies.
I agree about getting too hung up on getting it right in camera I suppose I find it hard to not feel I've cheated rather than just focus in the end product.
Click to expand...

Simple fact of the matter is, photo processing/manipulation has been going on pretty much since photography began. Photoshop/Lightroom etc is just the modern day version of the darkroom, just easier and more accessible for most people.

When people say they feel like they've cheated it always makes me think how far do you want to go with the whole "cheating" thing. The whole concept of a modern day digital camera could be perceived as "cheating" really. It can focus for you, light meter for you, process for you (jpeg), decided what settings to use for you, you can take as many pictures as your card will hold and check the images to see if you "got it right in camera" and so on

None of this is directed at you by the way, it's just my thought process :)
 
Bmwjc said:
Thanks for your replies.

Nd grads have been on my shopping list for some time now so I suppose it's about time I took the plunge. I agree about getting too hung up on getting it right in camera I suppose I find it hard to not feel I've cheated rather than just focus in the end product.
With the bracketing I assume that would be better used when the camera is on a tripod? My tripod is often not with me so I'm probably best going down the filters route for now.
Click to expand...
What you need to get into your conscience is that your camera is incapable of capturing the dynamic range required.
It's physically incapable. So as a photographer you have 2 choices:
Capture the scene as your eyes see it, which requires quite a bit of manipulation either of what the camera captures or how you then process it.
Do the best job the camera can, with limited dynamic range.

To be honest ND grads are a long way from a magic bullet, like fill flash, they're suitable only in specific circumstances. Merged exposures are the best course of action in most circumstances.
 
Milster thanks and I understand where your coming from and agree, I think for me personally I've lost my way a bit and as a beginner that's probably dangerous as with only limited knowledge I'm trying to run before I can walks however I've lost site of the fact I don't need to run and walking will still get me there...

Phil thanks for the advice I always enjoy reading your comments not just on a thread I have started but others you comment on too.

Mark.. Which software do you use to merge the two photos you had taken?
 
I mostly use Photomatix Pro 5 for merging multiple exposures. I think you can get it on a 30 day free trial, so it's worth downloading it and having a play. I've tried a few different HDR programs, but I found this one does a great job aligning hand held shots, and there are a couple of nice presets which give a natural looking output.
It's also quite easy to merge two shots in Photoshop by opening them as two layers in the same file, and using a layer mask - I won't go into a detailed explanation as I'm sure there are more in depth tutorials around.
 
MarkLG said:
I mostly use Photomatix Pro 5 for merging multiple exposures. I think you can get it on a 30 day free trial, so it's worth downloading it and having a play. I've tried a few different HDR programs, but I found this one does a great job aligning hand held shots, and there are a couple of nice presets which give a natural looking output.
It's also quite easy to merge two shots in Photoshop by opening them as two layers in the same file, and using a layer mask - I won't go into a detailed explanation as I'm sure there are more in depth tutorials around.
Click to expand...

Thanks mark will take a look
 
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