How to photograph the sunset

1. Shooting plan

On average, sunset only takes up thirty minutes a day. So capturing that beautiful moment at the right time becomes tricky, which means you have to be well prepared and have sound planning skills. You have to be extremely particular about controlling your time, layout, and positioning during framing until you complete your shooting. It is important to note that your concept of composition and framing will add a unique perspective to your final photographic effect. Sometimes, you may have just finished your roadside stroll and witnessed an unforgettable sunset. If you're prepared and understand the intricacies of photography, it's not surprising that situations like this are unexpected.

2. Preparation for shooting (equipment and accessories)

Photography of sunset requires sufficient natural light for exposure, so camera shake is not a problem. However, the lens you choose has a huge impact on your final photographic results. A long focal length lens allows you to get a magnified and legendary view of the sun, while on the other hand, a wide angle of view gives you unlimited room to sculpt. If you are shooting a sunset-themed scene, in order to compensate for underexposure, you may control this extreme change in natural light by using artificial light reflected from a diffuse surface, but in any case, try to avoid this flash.

3. Mastering the exposure at sunset is the key to shooting beautiful sunsets!

Capturing the glory of a sunset and its magical light can be tricky. Observing the sunset in a subtle golden tone, underexposure is enough to cause the failure of this photography. What the sunset needs is a slight exposure to maintain the layout of its low-light environment (otherwise, it looks like an afternoon scene). This is because the camera's metering is different from what the human eye perceives. Therefore, when you shoot a sunset, you will always use this technique: directly measure the space above the sun (the picture without the sun), reduce the shutter speed through the 1 f-stop aperture, and give the photographer a half-hour impression delay. Follow these tips and get the right amount of exposure to capture the perfect sunset photography.

4. Consider the camera settings (and modes)

Tripod: Set your camera to bracket mode and consider taking three (less than one) photos with equal exposures. level, normal, excessive level).

Aperture priority mode: Selecting the camera's aperture priority mode allows you to better adjust the size of the sunset in the image. To fully understand this principle, you need to go into optometry. However, a larger aperture can give you a larger image of the subject you are shooting. If you want to get a star-like imaging effect, you may need to set a smaller aperture value, such as f/16 or smaller.

Use RAW format storage when shooting: shooting sunset is very tricky to control the time, and you must try to get sufficient exposure. Storing in RAW format when photographing allows you to make larger exposure adjustments and even restore shadows in certain details when processing images. At the same time, you can also better control various parameters, such as white balance, contrast, saturation, etc.

5. Photographic composition - add your own understanding of the sunset

Use your unique perspective as the core of photographic art, throughout the entire photographic composition work. Photographic composition is to increase the reader's interest in the picture and ultimately attract the reader's attention. When you're photographing a sunset, try to recall and use one or more of these creative techniques:

Rule of Thirds: The rule of thirds is part of the law of composition, and its appearance suggests The artistic subject (or other major element in the photographic composition) is placed in the third part of the frame. This placement can begin in either direction of the frame. The setting sun is placed in the lower part of the picture or in the photo frame, so that it looks clearer and more natural. In addition, some close-up shots (such as birds, trees, rocks, etc.) may require you to arrange the sunset in the front third or the back third, so that both can appear in the picture at the same time. And it works great. However, when you are shooting, it is not all about the sunset. It may be something like the reflection of the sun on the sea, etc. In this case, the theme covers a wider range, and then it is integrated into the placement. The layout of space in the photographic composition will be larger.

Golden section method: Place the theme picture in the middle or third part of the picture. The golden section method is more attractive and the picture is closer to the middle position. Placing the subject in the middle can make images that don't look good come across as disingenuously mediocre. On the other hand, using the golden rule and the rule of thirds can often enhance the appeal of a photo.

Try to use some other elements in the close-up part: a single sunset doesn’t look perfect. Adding some elements such as trees, hills, beach waves, etc. to the close-up part will make the perspective you capture more attractive.

Use clouds as the background of the picture: Using clouds as the background will make the entire composition look more dramatic. At the same time, clouds can ruin the entire shot you were hoping for at the moment you're shooting.

Finding and capturing the more attractive images usually means those sunsets that are contained...perhaps with slightly silvery or golden clouds.

Natural Framing: Adding naturally framed images can fuse your creativity and imagination into the images you capture, and then tell your readers its own story through your images. If you're photographing a sky that tells a story of simplicity and serenity, shooting the sunset from behind a tree or from a certain angle on a rock might more naturally convey its drama and center the idea of ??the shot. Although sometimes an extremely simple approach such as photographing "the sun on the horizon" can eclipse all of the above.

Perfect Photography Locations: Beaches and sunset points (mountain collars and hills under the setting sun) are considered prime destinations for sunset photography. The combination of the sun on the calm sea and the golden sand (after the tide goes out) is arguably the best combination. However, the only thing that can compare to this is the sunset shot from the perspective of wheat fields and floral decorative crops in the foreground.

Silhouettes: Silhouettes are a very creative way to emphasize the "setting" effect when photographing a sunset. It allows you to accentuate your sunset shots with hidden details of foreground elements/objects (elements hiding in shadow without any detail).

6. Finishing processing (in order to restore the original image effect of the sunset as much as possible)

In post-processing, retouching may only make your image look more professional. If you're a purist, you can just skip this step. However, like everything else, a perfect picture requires a lot of work, including perfect post-production. If your image is raw data (RAW), then this step is essential. Appropriate adjustment of golden warmth, white balance and color tone can restore the picture to the state of the original scene. Try to adjust this delicate balance as much as possible to minimize false impressions and maintain the natural look and feel of the sunset.

Looking back at the sunset landscape photography diagrams that appeared in the above tips, it is incredible how real they are. Please collect them and add them to your beautiful sunset album.