Photographing Sunsets © Wendy Folse Oct 10, 2001
As the last dog days of summer are upon us, it is time to stand back and enjoy some of the most beautiful sunsets of the year. Autumn brings with it that golden glow of firelight upon the evening horizons to capture our creative minds and warm our hearts. Anyone witnessing an unforgettable sunset forever wishes to capture the moment of splendor on film. Many try, but few succeed. Either we are too late, or too early. The wrong film or the wrong camera. But whatever the ailment, we have all had our moments where we longed to capture the beauty on film. Capturing a gorgeous sunset on film is not as difficult as you may think. It is all about preparation and timing, both of which have to be perfect. Being prepared means to pre‐think the shot and be ready, before the gorgeous sunset arrives. It is important to include elements in your sunset or sunrise photos in order to create a sense of scale and depth. Plain sunsets, without additional elements, are boring. Cloud formations, water, buildings, or people add drama that draws the viewer into the photo. When choosing elements to include, remember that everything in the foreground will be in silhouette. If you use a flash, you will ruin the effect of the glowing light. Think of the elements as silhouettes when composing your shot. Another important point to consider is location, location, location. Scout around your neighborhood in order to find a perfect location that gives you a full skyline view of the horizon. This site might be a city skyline with the buildings in silhouette. The trick is to scout the location for several days and note the position of the sun on the horizon at different times of day. Now, assuming you have picked your spot and have the camera loaded with film its time to consider the almighty exposure. There are as many tricks of the trade as there are photographers but there are several tired and true formulas that will give you great photos under most circumstances. One of my favorite methods is to use a gray card, or anything that reflects the same amount of light such as a sheet of newspaper. Hold the newspaper or gray card facing the setting sun. NOTE: Your back should be towards the sun to do this. You want to meter the side of the card facing the sun not the backside, which will be in shadow. Take a reading with your camera's meter then set the exposure accordingly. This will give you a great starting point. Bracket your shots 2 up and 2 down. As the last dog days of summer are upon us, it is time to stand back and enjoy some of the most beautiful sunsets of the year. Autumn brings with it that golden glow of firelight upon the evening horizons to capture our creative minds and warm our hearts. The copyright of the article Photographing Sunsets - Page 2 in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Photographing Sunsets - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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Anyone witnessing an unforgettable sunset forever wishes to capture the moment of splendor on film. Many try, but few succeed. Either we are too late, or too early. The wrong film or the wrong camera. But whatever the ailment, we have all had our moments where we longed to capture the beauty on film. Capturing a gorgeous sunset on film is not as difficult as you may think. It is all about preparation and timing, both of which have to be perfect. Being prepared means to pre‐think the shot and be ready, before the gorgeous sunset arrives. It is important to include elements in your sunset or sunrise photos in order to create a sense of scale and depth. Plain sunsets, without additional elements, are boring. Cloud formations, water, buildings, or people add drama that draws the viewer into the photo. When choosing elements to include, remember that everything in the foreground will be in silhouette. If you use a flash, you will ruin the effect of the glowing light. Think of the elements as silhouettes when composing your shot. Another important point to consider is location, location, location. Scout around your neighborhood in order to find a perfect location that gives you a full skyline view of the horizon. This site might be a city skyline with the buildings in silhouette. The trick is to scout the location for several days and note the position of the sun on the horizon at different times of day. Now, assuming you have picked your spot and have the camera loaded with film its time to consider the almighty exposure. There are as many tricks of the trade as there are photographers but there are several tired and true formulas that will give you great photos under most circumstances. One of my favorite methods is to use a gray card, or anything that reflects the same amount of light such as a sheet of newspaper. Hold the newspaper or gray card facing the setting sun. NOTE: Your back should be towards the sun to do this. You want to meter the side of the card facing the sun not the backside, which will be in shadow. Take a reading with your camera's meter then set the exposure accordingly. This will give you a great starting point. Bracket your shots 2 up and 2 down.
The copyright of the article Photographing Sunsets - Page 2 in Photography is owned by Wendy Folse. Permission to republish Photographing Sunsets - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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