Photographing Sunsets

Let’s start off with an old quote from a photographer of long, long ago:

 “Ah, Krakatoa, now those were sunsets! If only we had color film back then.”

Many people out there have probably tried photographing sunsets and ended up with less than desirable prints, but the truth is that it’s actually easy to take great photographs of sunsets. Nowadays, with the wide selection of color films available, the bottom line is that sunsets sell. The hard part is finding a great sunset and being ready at the right time. In this article I will be summarizing an article I found online on the New York Institute of Photography website regarding the photographing of sunsets. I will also add to it my own experiences taking photographs of sunsets and will include some of my own photographs.

 The sun sets every day, but to get a perfect sunset picture you need the right conditions of dust and clouds. The dusky-red of the setting sun is the result of dust in the air. Dust is usually wind-blown, but smoke and air-pollution also causes dust. The biggest contributor of all is volcanic eruptions causing dust and smoke in the upper atmosphere to circle the globe, so next time there is a volcanic eruption somewhere in the world, have an eye on the sunset. Clouds help too, whether it is thick clouds that obscure portions of the sky or wispy clouds that take on colors of their own. The most dramatic sunset pictures almost always include clouds. When thinking of sunsets we usually think of those as seen from beaches and islands. There’s quite a subtle reason for those sunsets being more dramatic, and that is because beaches give us an unobstructed view of the setting sun on the horizon. That means there are no mountains, buildings or city lights in the way; just a flat horizon and the setting sun, plus a smooth expanse of water to reflect the colors.

How do you go about photographing the sunset? The biggest question is what exposure to use, and the answer is that there’s actually a range of exposures you can use. If you use your camera’s built-in meter, you will usually be way off because the sky is still relatively bright, and the meter will underexpose the image. If you have a separate light meter, your best approach is to try to meter the ambient level of light. To do this  

Another important aspect of photographing sunsets is timing. Sunsets aren’t static, which means they constantly change over time. When you prepare to take those sunset pictures, plan to spend a minimum of half an hour, so you can photograph the scene every five minutes or so. Clouds move, colours deepen and change, and the image you record a little later as the sunset unfolds may be more dramatic and have richer colors than you saw fifteen minutes before. A quick fix for an instant colourful sunset is the use of graduated filters. Below, photos A and B were taken within a few minutes of each other with the only exception that with photo B I used a graduated filter. The bottom line is to take lots of pictures, and choose the best of them later when you see the results.

Something that also shouldn’t be overlooked is composition. It always helps to provide some context for the sunset. For example, silhouetted trees or other objects in the foreground, rather than a flat and open horizon, gives a sense of scale and location to the scene. The truth is that dramatic sunsets don’t just appear on beaches and islands, but can be seen in other places too. Where possible, see if you can place an interesting object in the foreground of a sunset.

The right focal length for a great sunset is self explanatory when you consider that the longer the lens, the larger the sun will appear in the picture. In fact, from earth the sun is in reality only one-half a degree in diameter. This means that when you shoot with a 50mm lens, for instance, the sun will be less than 1/80th the width of the frame. To make the red globe of the sun more prominent, a 200mm lens would be the minimum, but 400mm or longer would even be better. From experience, however, this isn’t always applicable especially when the sky is dotted with clouds. The colors and shapes of the clouds can sometimes be more interesting than the sun itself and therefore I would recommend the use of a wide angle lens.

An important point, no matter what lens you use, be sure to support the camera on a tripod, monopod or anything with a flat surface since the exposure will be relatively long and you want to prevent camera shake.

Exposure times of one or two seconds are common when shooting sunsets. The film you use can also have an impact on the end result. Almost any film will do, but I strongly advise the use of slide film for its accurate color rendition abilities. Slide film can also record subtle differences in bracketed exposure better than color-negative film.

WARNING: Never look directly at the sun especially not through any kind of lens as the lens actually magnifies the intensity of the sun and can cause irreversible damage to your eyes. Even when the sun turns red, it is advisable not to look at it for longer than a few seconds.

Always remember to not just concentrate on the sunset itself. Do yourself a favour and turn around. As the sun sets it produces a beautiful golden light that can light up any scene with rich colors. Also don’t stop shooting once the sun has dropped below the horizon. The light levels may be low but the quality of the light is pure beauty.

To conclude, just remember that despite their regularity, each and every sunset is unique and anything but a common occurrence. If you follow these simple guidelines, you’re sure to get great sunset pictures. For the full article of photographing sunsets, you can refer to the following page on the New York Institute of Photography website: http://www.nyip.com/tips/current/sunsets.php- Niel Louw