Who doesn’t love those dreamy colours in a perfect sunset?
But sometimes the camera doesn’t seem do as good a job as our eyes, am I right? I find this especially if I’m shooting with my digital camera in Auto Mode. Then, on top of it not being as good as our eyes, I’ll pull out my iPhone, snap a shot, and the darn thing looks better on my silly phone! What’s with that?
Sure, the cameras on phones are pretty advanced these days, but there are a few simple things we can do to make sure that the photos from our digital cameras come out better.
Here’s some tips to help take better sunset photos with your digital camera so you can walk away with some stunners. Soon, you’ll be taking such gorgeous shots that you’ll just leave your phone in your car!
1. CHANGE YOUR WHITE BALANCE
Change the white balance to “Shade” to get more golden tones. So simple right? I love it!
2. COMPOSE YOUR SCENE
Try using the rule of thirds to compose your scene. If there are some nice colours in the sky, compose your shot with 2/3 sky and 1/3 foreground. If the sky is lacking a bit, then compose the scene with 1/3 sky and 2/3 foreground.
The reason we want to include the foreground is to pull the viewer in. For example, if you’ve got some logs lying around, try to compose your shot in such a way that the logs lead your eyes into the beautiful colours in the sky. Leading the eyes from the foreground into the background encourages viewers to linger longer.
3. STAY A BIT LONGER
Stay for at least half an hour after the sun goes below the horizon. If the clouds are just right, sometimes the sky looks like it’s on fire!
Usually I find the sky will light up with incredible reds, purples and pinks about 15 – 20 minutes after the sun has set. Just make sure to keep your eye on the sky because sometimes it only lasts for 10 seconds. Amazing right?!
4. BRING A NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER
If you’re near the water, try using a Variable Neutral Density Filter and take a long exposure. The resulting photo will have a unique and creative effect, plus it’s super easy to do. If you want to give this a try, just make sure to bring a Variable ND Filter and Tripod.
First, do some scouting to find your composition. Once you’re happy with your spot, set up your tripod and secure your camera in place.
Next, change your shooting mode to Manual (trust me, you can do it!) If the clouds are moving fairly quickly, try starting with a Shutter Speed of 10 seconds. Keep your ISO low to avoid any graininess in your photo. I like to keep mine between ISO 100 and 200 if I can. Next, we’ll want to choose a smaller Aperture like f/16 to reduce the amount of light coming in. If you’re curious as to how Aperture works, check out this post here.
Then, twist on your Variable Neutral Density Filter. I use the Promaster Variable ND Filter in case you’re curious. The reason you’ll need a Variable ND Filter is because with a Shutter Speed of 10 seconds, you’ll be letting in quite a bit of light. A Variable ND Filter acts like sunglasses for your lens. Using this filter reduces the amount of light coming in and avoids overexposing your photo.
The beauty of a Variable ND Filter is that you can choose your settings ahead of time and simply twist the ring on the filter to lighten or darken the scene. The trick here is to press the shutter button half way and have a peek at the exposure bar. If the camera is telling you that your scene is over exposed, all you have to do is twist the ring until the exposure bar sits either smack dab in the middle or one Stop underexposed. I’ll explain why you might want to underexpose your photo in the next tip.
If you want to capture a shot like this, you’ll want to use a wide-angle lens. With the clouds stretching out in the long exposure, the wide-angle will amplify this effect. Use a focal length of something like 10mm and voila, the clouds act like leading lines, drawing your eyes into the beautiful subject!
In this photo, I’ve used the Canon 10-18mm Lens and it’s a great lens to get your feet wet with wide-angle shots. The only thing I don’t really like about this lens is, if you look closer, you’ll see there’s a small dark spot in the top right corner of the photo. This is called vignetting and it’s caused by some light loss in the corners. I usually see it just a bit when I’m zoomed all the way out at 10mm. To fix this, I just zoom in a little bit and it solves the problem altogether but I just wanted to share, in case you’re thinking of adding one of these puppies to your photography bag.
5. UNDEREXPOSE YOUR SCENE
Underexpose your scene by at least one Stop if you plan on editing the photos. The reason for this is because it’s easier to bring back detail out of the darks than it is out of the highlights when editing. By underexposing your photo, you’re sure to capture all the colourful tones and highlights in the sky. Then, you can simply lighten the foreground to the proper exposure in your editing program afterwards!
Helpful Hint: In order to get the most out of your photos when editing, set your camera to shoot in “Raw.” This allows the camera to capture more data and you’ll be able to bring back the detail in the darker elements of the scene without it looking grainy.
6. GET THE SUNBURST!
If there aren’t many clouds around to light up the sky, it’s okay, you can still get a great shot! Give the sunburst effect a try.
To get a sunburst shot, you’ll want to shoot in Aperture Priority Mode (shown as AV or A on most cameras). Once the mode is selected, change your Aperture to f/16. The smaller the Aperture (like f/16 instead of f/4) the better the sunburst. Think of this like squinting your eyes and looking at a light source in the dark. It’s easier to see a starburst effect in the light if your eyes are squinted right? Tada, this is why a smaller Aperture works better!
Then, choose a low ISO in order to avoid any graininess. In the shot above, I used ISO 100 for example. Since we’re in Aperture Priority mode, the camera will choose the optimal Shutter Speed, so you don’t even have to worry about that.
Next, compose your scene with something just partially blocking the sun. This will create a super sharp sunburst effect. All you have to do now is focus on the item partially blocking the sun and take the shot! Don’t worry, if you feel a little happy dance coming on when you see the sunburst pop up on the back of your LCD screen. I did too… just let it out!
There we have it. Six tips to taking better sunset shots. I hope this article inspires you to go get some stunners very soon.
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Have a wonderful rest of your day!
In case you’re curious about any of the camera gear I’m using to capture these shots, I’ve included some links down below!
Paresh Gajjar
Thanks for your help to shoot sunset photography! I am happy with your tips on how to get creative photos of sky while Sun setting.
Claire
Glad to hear you liked them! Thank you for the kind words Paresh.
One big problem I have is working with artificial lighting. The colors are wrong.
And most photo editors won’t get those pics to where I want them to be.
Do you have any information that will help correct this problem.
I find your instructions easy to understand without being oversimplified.
Thanks!
To be honest, I struggle with this too Valerie! I like to use Nik Collection in Photoshop when I’m having issues getting the correct color. The Pro Contrast option has a ‘Correct Color Cast’ slider which I find works surprisingly well.
Another thing I like to do is use my iPhone to take a reference shot when there’s artificial lighting present. Somehow the color rendering is much better on the phone. Then I just reference the photo on my phone while I’m editing the RAW file in Lightroom to try and get it as close as possible.
If they are your artificial lights that you’re using, I find CTO (color temperture orange) and CTB (color temperture blue) gels work well to correct the color tones within a space. Much less work this way in post production too! Thank you for your kind words Valerie, they truly mean a lot!
These tips has been helping me to create better photos.
Thanks a lot.
So great to hear! It’s my pleasure. Glad you enjoyed the tips!