Hints and tips for tonight
Sunset/Sunrise Photography by Karl Neilson .
First let’s look at what happens technically. As the sun sets the colour temperature of the light becomes warmer. This is scientifically rated with a value in K - short for Kelvin. At midday the K rating of a blue sky can be as high as 10,000K, producing a hard blue light which is the main reason why the sky looks ultra blue when photographed at this time of day. The average noon daylight is around 5500K and this is what colour film has been designed to cope with. So when you take a picture at these times the colours are recorded naturally. As the day progresses the light gradually changes colour, heading towards an orange hue as the day moves towards evening. At these times the rating is around 3000K and a normal daylight film picks up the orange hue, which could be seen as a colour cast. When photographing a person or a still-life the colour may spoil the photograph, but with sunsets it adds to the effect, giving you dramatic colours and lots of great potential.

Before you go out and shoot the sun, a word of warning WATCH YOUR EYES. I don’t have to remind you that staring at the sun will damage your eyes, and pointing a lens that’s potentially a magnifier will increase this risk. To be on the safe side always frame up with the sun just out of shot and then quickly reposition to take the photo and don’t look directly at the sun. If you’re using a long lens try to avoid looking through the viewfinder at all when the sun is in the frame. This may not be an easy task, but playing safe is better than damaging your eyesight.

Getting a good picture involves a small amount of preparation. The worst sunset pictures are those where the horizon splits the picture across the middle and there’s nothing else to attract your eye. To avoid this ensure you have at least a tree, church spire, or person silhouetted in the shot too or maybe some foreground detail.
Keep in mind that the sun is just half a degree across so when you shoot with a wide lens it will only be taking up a reasonably small part of the photo. If you want it to be a feature of your shot you’ll need to zoom in on it using anything from a 200mm lens upwards. This will increase your need for a tripod!
Silhouettes as focal points - As with all photos, sunsets need a point of interest and one of the best ways to add one to a picture is to try to incorporate some sort of Silhouette into the shot. This could be something large like a mountain range, something that is part of the environment like a palm tree or a pier or could even be a person.
The great things about Silhouettes is that they add mood and context to a sunset or sunrise shot.
Rule of thirds - Remember the rule of thirds in your photographing of sunrises and sunsets. While you can always break the rule it’s often a good idea to place elements like the horizon, sun, silhouettes etc off centre.





Exposure Techniques
Shoot at a variety of exposures - if you let your camera decide what shutter speed to shoot at you’re likely to get a shot that doesn’t really capture the beauty of the light. Quite often the shot will be under exposed because the sky is still reasonably light. Instead of relying upon the camera’s auto mode a sunset is an ideal time to switch your camera into aperture or shutter priority mode and to take a variety of shots at different exposures.
The great thing about sunsets and sunrises is that there is no one ‘right’ exposure and that you can get stunning results using a variety of them. Also keep in mind that different exposures (aperture and
shutter speeds) will produce a variety of different results so it’s worth taking more than just a few shots - the key is to experiment.
I tend to switch into shutter priority mode and start with a relatively quick shutter speed and then slowly work down to slower ones.


Bracketing - Another technique to try to get the right exposure is ‘bracketing’ where you look at what the camera suggests you take the picture at and then take a few shots at both under and over that mark. ie if your camera says to shoot at 1/60th of a second at f/8 you would shoot off a shot at 1/60 at f/5.6 and then at f/11. In doing so you end up with a series of shots at different exposures which will all give you slightly different results and colors. Most DSLR’s and some point and shoot digital cameras have a built in bracketing feature so you don’t need to do this manually - learn how to use it!
Auto Exposure Lock - Another exposure trick, if you don’t have a bracketing mode or don’t feel confident in using it is if your camera has ‘auto exposure lock’ which allows you to point your camera at a darker place and lock in exposure for that spot (ie you could point it at the ground in front of you and lock in that exposure) and then reframe the picture looking at the sunset. This will mean you get a more over exposed shot.
Take camera out of Auto White balance mode - when you set your camera to ‘Auto’ in it’s white balance mode you run the risk of losing some of the warm golden tones of a sunrise or sunset. Instead try shooting in ‘cloudy’ or ’shade’ which are usually used in cooler lights and tell your camera to warm things up a little. Alternatively - if you’re shooting a sunrise and DO want a cooler moody shot you can experiment with other white balance settings. Or shoot your photgraphs in RAW mode if you have it. You can then change the AWB setting s in Photoshop
Tripod - If you’re shooting at longer shutters speeds and with longer focal lengths then a tripod or some other way of ensuring your camera is completely still is essential.
Manual Focus - sometimes when shooting in extreme lighting conditions some cameras can have trouble focusing. If this is the case for your camera consider switching to manual focus to ensure you get nice crisp shots.
Look around you - The wonderful thing about sunsets is that they not only create wonderful colors in the sky in front of you but they also can cast a beautiful golden light that is wonderful for other types of photography. As the sunset progresses keep an eye on other opportunities for shots around you (not just in front of you). You might find a great opportunity for a portrait, landscape shot, macro shot etc behind you in the golden light.
Keep Shooting - A sunset or sunrise constantly changes over time and can produce great colors well after the sun goes down or appears so keep shooting at different exposures and focal lengths as I’ve mentioned above until you’re sure it’s all over.

©karlneilsonphotography
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