Sunset photography review

In photography, the light changes at dusk are the most abundant and diverse, and it is one of the most ideal scenery photography materials. But the gorgeous scenery is fleeting, and shooting the sunset and sunset clouds often requires high technology. In this article, we will focus on the light and time in the sunset to understand how to shoot a good sunset. Preparation for shooting:

Because the actual distance of the sun is far away, even if a 200mm lens is used, only a fingernail-sized image can be left in the picture. I suggest you use DC with telephoto lens. When the sun goes down, the brightness of the light will drop obviously. A tripod is essential for slow shutter and telephoto shooting. At dusk, there will be a sunset glow on the ground to cover the light scattered by the sun, showing a sun without light scattering. This is the time to shoot the sunset. When the sun begins to weaken and the surrounding sky or clouds begin to appear red or yellow sunset, the change of sunrise or sunset is impermanent and rapid, so it is best to make a picture in your mind in advance before the actual shooting to avoid confusion.

Exposure rate:

It is difficult to grasp the exposure when shooting the sunset, because the light changes too fast, and it can generally be exposed according to the brightness of the center of the picture. The main object of photometry is the sky. Once overexposed, the atmosphere at sunset is difficult to reflect. Photographers can control the exposure to the first gear less than half gear. Because the brightness of the sun is always much higher than the brightness of the sky, if the exposure of the sky is too sufficient, the sun will definitely be overexposed, so it is necessary to measure the exposure of the sky when shooting. Directly facing the sun, the exposure reading is always inaccurate. This will result in only the sun in the photo, while the rest is underexposed. Many times, underexposure is better than overexposure. Exposure measurement with background can make the subject seriously underexposed and form a strong silhouette. You can choose the camera's metering mode as "spot metering" and then meter the sky. If your camera has an exposure lock AE lock, press the AE lock button to lock the exposure value (some DC press the shutter button to lock it). Then readjust the composition and shoot with the exposure just now, so that you can shoot a perfect silhouette effect. If the photometry is not in the sky when shooting the sunset, other objects in the photo will appear more obvious, resulting in the sun not protruding enough. If you aim the photometry at the sky, you can set off the main body of the sun.

Select white balance:

Digital camera has rich white balance effect, which can replace simple color filter. Generally speaking, the white balance of DC includes: sunshine, cloudy days, lamps and incandescent lamps. When daylight white balance is selected, the picture is yellowest, and when incandescent white balance is selected, the picture is bluest. When shooting a sunset, it is recommended to choose automatic white balance or daylight white balance, and the yellow tone can better express the atmosphere of sunset.

Cloud factor:

Cloud is a natural reflective object in shooting, which can spread the rays of the sun, thus constantly changing the shooting effect. Clouds can also be the subject of shooting. However, it should be noted that when the clouds cover the sunset, there will be light from the back edge of the clouds, adding a very beautiful and moving effect to the photos. Light will emerge from the back edge of the cloud. At sunset, the sun looks big and round. If there are red clouds around, the scenery is quite charming. In order to expose correctly, several exposure schemes should be designed to combine shooting. If you want to use the foreground to represent the sunset scenery in the sky, the foreground is often regarded as a silhouette effect, and the acquisition of the silhouette effect photo makes full use of the light difference between the subject and the background. Generally speaking, the backlight at sunset is easy to show the effect of silhouette, because the light is the softest at this time, so choose the position and angle in advance. When the sun sets on the horizon and turns from red to orange, or from orange to red, it doesn't look dazzling, which is the best time to shoot. Sometimes the sun hides behind the clouds, and there will be a bright edge around the clouds, which is also very suitable for shooting. However, due to the impermanence of clouds, photographers are required to pay attention to observation and seize the opportunity to press the shutter. When shooting with clouds as the main body, generally speaking, we should aim the metering point at the clouds to measure the light, but at the same time, we should be careful not to expose ourselves to the sun. Cloud is a natural reflective object in shooting, which can reflect or refract sunlight, thus constantly changing the moving image. Cloud is an essential factor in many excellent sunset works, so cloud can also be used as the main theme of shooting.

Water factor:

Shooting the reflection of the water surface will add a lot of color to the sunset photos, and a calm sea surface or lake can reflect the scenery in the sky. It presents a mirror-like image, which is always disturbed by the breeze blowing over the water. Leave more dazzling light on the water, and draw a light path from the horizon to the foreground of the picture. When the sun goes down, this light path will extend to your eyes. The first thing to pay attention to when shooting at the water's edge is the composition factor. Many excellent sunset photographs are done by the water's edge, because at sunset, the sparkling water reflects the beautiful rosy clouds, and the sails of the ships on the water add a little vividness to the picture. Shooting the reflection of the water surface will add a lot of color to the sunset photos, and a calm sea surface or lake can reflect the scenery in the sky. When metering, the average metering mode is generally selected, so that the light distribution of the whole picture can be uniform without overexposure or underexposure.

Special effects:

The use of aperture at sunset is very noteworthy. Shooting with a small aperture can make the sun shine like a star. The smaller the aperture, the more obvious this effect is.

Summary: Photography is actually playing with light. If the scene of shooting the sunset is properly grasped, the light and shadow can be vividly portrayed. The light is dim at dusk, so the exposure must be sufficient. Theory returns to theory, and the best way to improve the level of photography is to pick up the camera and take some pictures on the spot.