Shooting Sunsets?

chrism_scotland

chrism_scotland

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Chris
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Folks,

Looking for a little advice - I've been trying to shoot sunsets but I'm wondered how other people do them as I'm often left fairly unimpressed with the results they often end up looking fake after I've had to adjust them in Photoshop.

Whats the best way to shoot sunsets? Should I use Grad Filters?
 
Why have you 'had to' adjust them in Photoshop?

A sunset in real life is usually much more impressive than the picture you get when you point a camera at it. As far as composition goes, you need other elements than the sun to make it interesting.

At sunrise and sunset, it's a good idea to look around you to see what the light is falling on. Often the more interesting compositions do not have the sun in frame at all.


Steve.
 
As for the editing stage, I usually don't go any further than the tools available in Lightroom's Develop module (which is identical to Adobe Camera Raw, which should be included with Photoshop). Don't use the saturation slider, use Vibrance instead. It boosts saturation much more naturally.

Don't use Cloudy or Shade white balance settings. Use Daylight. That preserves the warm-cool color in the sky, which makes it look more realistic.
 
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markmullen said:
Try adjusting your white balance, you can often really bring out the warmth of a sunset with a different white balance.
Click to expand...
I normally shoot in Auto WB and fix in LR if I need, but sunrise/set is one of those times where I now I make sure I stick it in the daylight setting. Otherwise the camera is trying to cancel out the very thing that people find attractive about sunset!
 
Not sure I'm knowledgeable enough to give advice on the subject, but I have found that taking a sunset shot in a clear sky is the most difficult to get a good result from - for me anyway. Some of the best I've managed to get have been by chance and with clouds so the sinking sunlight bounces off the them defusing and reflecting the light in all directions.

As many are by chance I never have a tripod, filters etc with me and my approach is very simple.

I rarely take my cameras off Auto WB, select manual mode, take a meter reading from part of the sky without the sun in it, re-compose with the sun in the shot, take a test shot, review in camera, and adjust the exposure, normally shutter speed if I can, and repeat the process until I get something I'm happy with. Uploaded the images to Bridge, where I do most, if not all, my processing in the raw converter (or is Bridge the name of the raw converter - I never know?) and try and do as little as possible to them

I took this one just after covering a pre-season friendly recently http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/snatched-sunset-shot.553840/ - it's not the best of shots, and I'm sure there are number of technical faults with it, including the telegraphy poles to the left and the cables and pylon to the right - but that was the scene that was in front of me - although I'm not sure I posted in the correct forum!!
 
Look at the best sunset shots you have seen, or those you think are excellent then determine what it is about the shot you like.
I went through all this with sunsets / sunrises a while ago and the net result was that although a particular sunset was (to coin the wife's phrase) "Pretty" it doesn’t necessarily make a good Photograph.
Its normally what surrounds the sunset that makes it, or what the golden / red light is illuminating.
Now i look for a location first, then work out the position of the sun at Sunrise / Sunset.

Metering is fun if you have the sun in shot, as the bright light will normally fool ther metering. Grads are nearly always used.
Of course i also learnt the old lesson of not packing up too soon, i'm sure you know the old story of driving off half an hour after sunset to be greeted by a glorious colourful sky, not forgetting the "Look behind you rule".
These might be old adages, but they are oh so true. as my Father would have said "You have to learn the hard way".

Maybe some of this might help, dont want to be telling you how to suck eggs mate!
All the best
Steve
 
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A few of mine
Nikon D7100, f8 , 1/8000th sec then 1/1000th sec as the sun went down, ISO400 - Nikon 300mm f2.8 with TC20Elll = 900mm on DX sensor

Sunset_26_July_1.jpg


Sunset_26_July_2.jpg


D700 - 75mm - 1/2000th - f8 - ISO200 - Nikon 70mm 200mm f2.8 VR

Sunset_English_Channel.jpg
 
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Lovely shots Bill, so there you go Chris, Bill shows us you sometimes only pretty much need the sun to get a great shot.

Bill I love number 1 lovely subtle colours and that wisp of vertical cloud in front of the sun.
 
You could try a "sunrise" - I always find "simple" works and if you can get something other in the composition it helps

sunrise_winch.jpg
 
I prefer in a sunset to get a full range of tones. A pure oange sky doesn't really fill my boots. To do this, you'll need a short focal length and at least two stops of filter over the sky. I don't like a totally clear sky, but not a completely clouded one, 25%-75% cloud cover usually works. I tend to like to shoot them out to sea, so I am guaranteed a low sun onto the horizon. Clouds cannot be low, you want them high so the sun dips below them ideally.

St Lunaire - Brittany - long exp - Lee Little stopper, Lee 0.75HE and Lee 0.9SE grad. Blue and orange tones. Sun nice and low

_DSC2683 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr

Fairlie, Ayrshire. Lee 0.9HE grad, full range of tones and a great reflections of the tones too

_DSC0554 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr

Helensburgh - interesting pink sky that night - not a full range of tones. Lee 0.9SE and Lee 0.6SE

_DSC1246 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr

The issue of low cloud manifests itself here. The sun burns the clouds, but doesn't come out as a defined round shape, you get the tones but not the actually sunset the above images have. Low clouds = bad/ Hight clouds = good.


_DSC0324 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr


To be honest, its what happens before sunset (shooting to the side or away from the sun) or after sunset (shooting into the light source) that interests me more as the colours often get more interesting. Its perfect cityscape conditions just after sunset

10 mins after sunset - notice the gorgeous range of tones here. Lee 0.9SE and Lee 0.75HE

_DSC2923 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr

Rough time of day shooting away from the light source. Lee 0.9SE and Lee 0.6SE

_DSC1857 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr

No Grads here, but a lot of tweaking in RAW. Just after sunset in the city is really great. Sunset itself would have wrecked havoc IMHO. Had I been at sunset, these clouds would have blocked the suns passing. You want them higher than the level the sun is at when ever you shoot it.

_DSC0338 by SFTPhotography, on Flickr
 
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shakilearl said:
For a photograph a landscape at sunset use aperture priority mood if u want to get a full control over the depth of field.
Click to expand...

Or manual mode, shutter speed is not something I'd want the camera dictating in sunset, as it may struggle with the bright spot of the sun and under expose everthing else, or over expose everthing else and wash the scene out.

On a top flight camera body, you get a histogram preview mode in Live view, and thats helpful. I'd expect to lose a few pixels in exposing a sunset
 
I have been taking shots of sunsets whilst I'm on my holidays. I haven't done any processing at all so they may look totally wonky, just plain awful as I can't really judge on a small iPad screen. I have been enjoying the shots but there isn't a lot to make them spectacular as it just fall down over the hill in the distance. When I've done some pp the lights from the club house etc will be removed. I can't wait to set home and process these properly to see how they have really come out.

View attachment 19301View attachment 19302

[edit] sorry if they have come out small! not used to working on my iPad
 
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