Which direction to shoot for sunrise / sunset

DrPips

DrPips

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Dom
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Ok, this is going to seem pretty basic to most of you I'm sure but it's something I just can't get my head around.

Whenever I plan a shoot, I use a combination of OS maps to scout good locations, Flickr to get ideas and TPE to find direction of sunset and sunrise, thinking to always shoot into the sun.

This method hasn't produced a single shot yet, mainly down to being unlucky with weather, but I want to check that this system is a good one.

For example on my trip up to Wales in a few days, I will have 1 sunset and 1 sunrise opportunity. I want to get a shot of Tryfan from Cym Idwal (facing East) and of the Snowdon Horseshoe from Llyn Llydaw (facing West), so I figured go for the East facing shot at sunrise and the West facing at sunset, so I'm always shooting into the sun.

Is this the best way round or not?

Any help or advice would be appreciated as I'm getting really frustrated!

Dom
 
For about the hour leading up to sunset when the light is nice, I prefer to shoot with the sun behind me or off to either side. To capture the actual sunset I then turn towards the sun.
 
Hi Dom,

There's no right/wrong to this one, it purely depends on what you want to achieve - are you looking to capture a dramatic shot with the sun in the frame or maybe you are using side/backlighting to add colour to a mountain you want to capture?

Simon
 
As others have said, there is no real right or wrong. Shooting into the sun at sunrise/set will give you those lovely dramatic skies but will likely leave your foreground in shadow or silhouetted (unless you do something clever with filters/HDR). Shooting with some sun behind you when it's nice and low can light up a scene with vibrancy and contrast that doesn't exist at other times of day but then you won't have that dramatic sky. Horses for courses.
 
Thanks for the advice. So when I'm choosing where to go, I can totally ignore where the sun is going to be, and just concentrate on getting there in plenty of time for the good light.

In theory they'll both give good pics for different reasons.

Dom
 
DrPips said:
Thanks for the advice. So when I'm choosing where to go, I can totally ignore where the sun is going to be, and just concentrate on getting there in plenty of time for the good light.

In theory they'll both give good pics for different reasons.

Dom
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Hmmm, sort of, yes and no, but mainly no! :) Just as an example, a view facing south at sunset would probably lack both dramatic sky and lovely warm light from the sun. Personally I would identify a scene you fancy capturing and then figure out how you'd like to see it lit. Will it make a great silhouette with a sun rising or setting behind it? Or maybe it would make a great, richly lit scene with the sun setting behind you. Go and shoot it at a time that suits accordingly. No rights and wrongs particularly but just play around and see what works for you.

A while ago I'd identified a factory that I thought would look great silhouetted against the setting sun to the west so a few weeks ago I went there just in time for sunset to shoot it. I found a good vantage point to the east and just waited for the sun to drop. I was really pleased with the result. It's on my flickr's first page. I just don't think that shot would have worked another way.
 
One of the problems I've found in the past is that because I like taking photos of mountain scenes, if I wanted the sunset to feature, the mountains will mean that the sun is a lot higher in the sky, so the light isn't as good. In those situations, I guess having the sun backlighting the scene would be better.

Nothing's ever simple!
 
DrPips said:
One of the problems I've found in the past is that because I like taking photos of mountain scenes, if I wanted the sunset to feature, the mountains will mean that the sun is a lot higher in the sky, so the light isn't as good. In those situations, I guess having the sun backlighting the scene would be better.

Nothing's ever simple!
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You could probably get some nice mountain shots with the tops silhouetted and the sky nice and orange if you wait long enough. The sun won't be in shot as it will have disappeared below the horizon as you say but it could still make a nice scene.
 
I just wish I lived closer to mountains so I could go out more often!
 
When you've decided where, try the Photographer's Ephemeris http://photoephemeris.com/ It's a free download and will tell you the position of the sun and moon anywhere in the world and at any time of day/night. It shows sunrise and set as well as moonrise etc. I used it on a recent Norway trip and you can even calculate when the moon is going to rise above surrounding mountains. It takes a bit of figuring out but I found it great. Good luck
 
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