Sunsets

I'm sure, like me, you've seen some stunning photos of sunsets and wished you could replicate the results yourself. A lot of photographing sunsets comes down to Mother Nature and waiting for the perfect moment at the perfect location with the perfect cloud formation.
BUT...there are some things you can do to improve your photographs when you do get a chance to shoot a sunset in a beautiful location. Read on for some tips I've picked up along the way.

1.

I go against popular theory with my first tip, which is to underexpose your images. If you are shooting in RAW and intend to post-process, it's okay to slightly overexpose your images, or at least expose for the foreground (which is usually the darkest part of the image). Below are my original straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) on the left and my processed image on the right. You will see in the SOOC version everything is very pale and washed out, but after some basic adjustments to exposure, colour and contrast, the results are striking.

BEFORE

AFTER

This doesn't work so well when you underexpose. The colours on the back of your camera will be amazing, but if you try to process your image later to bring up the foreground, you may find the colours muddy, the blacks go splotchy, and the result won't be as clean.
One thing to remember if using this tip is to not overexpose so much that any part of your image blows out, because you won't be able to bring it back.

Some processing tips:
Bring the foreground up to the correct exposure in Lightroom, then use a linear filter to darken the sky.
Add "flavour" (an annoying word my co-worker taught me that I now can't forget) with split toning. If you've never used this before, the way I do it is to turn the saturation on both the highlights and shadows up to about halfway, then slide the hue sliders the full spectrum to see what colour scheme suits your image. When you get a colour you like by tweaking both sliders, turn the saturation back down (to about 5-10) so the result is subtle.

2.

If you don't intend to process the image, underexpose the image to bring out the richness of the colours. If your camera has a sunset or sunrise mode, use it. Some cameras also have colour settings such as "warm", "vivid", "cool", etc. Experiment with these, or your white / colour balance (try shade or cloudy and go from there) to see the effects on the colours.

3.

Add interest with texture. This is best done by focusing on something in the foreground of the image, such as tall grasses, leaves, sand, water, rocks, even buildings.

4.

Add a subject to personalise your image - a silhouette of a loved one or your pet staring off into the sunset makes your image not only a piece of art but also a memory.

5.

Make a panoramic image. There are three ways to do this:

1. If your camera has a panoramic mode, read the instructions and use it. Generally a guide will appear on the screen to show you where to line up the shots so they will match, and some cameras will put the image together for you.
2. Set your zoom to about 50mm (to avoid lens distortion) and take a series of photographs, panning across the horizon. For sunsets the best approach is usually to take three shots, one with the sun on the right, one with the sun in the middle and one with the sun on the left. Turn on the grid so you can line up the horizon evenly across all the shots and save yourself some time in processing. You can piece the images together with Photoshop or other editing software.
   
3. Cheat - take a wide angle shot and crop it into a wide, short image like I've done below.
   

ORIGINAL

PANORAMA

6.

Don't wait for a clear sky. Clouds create interest and drama. For truly spectacular shots, shoot across water to capture the brilliant reflection of the sun.

7.

Last and most importantly, don't leave when you think the show is over. Stay until it's dark. As long as there is enough light to capture something with your camera, there is more to see.

As well as being a beautiful subject in itself, sunsets also produce amazing light for portraits. The golden glow is gentle and provides delicious soft light that makes everyone look stunning. If you'd like to book a sunset portrait session, click here.