We’ve all been there, gazing at a magnificent sunrise and wanting to capture the moment, only to have the photograph turn out horrible. What is it that makes it so difficult to translate the magic and beauty of a sunrise into the perfect picture?
Sunrise photography is always so captivating for photographers. According to Gorlin, “Some people don’t believe in magic. But that’s until they see their first breathtaking sunrise light show. Photographers believe in magic and sunrise photography is a way to deliver it, to share it with others. Because when you share something great, it multiplies.”
Here are five more tips for taking better sunrise and sunset photos. A word of caution: When taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets, be careful not to look directly at the sun through the viewfinder on your camera. Doing so can cause permanent damage to your eyes.
1. Scout the location
As tempting as it is to just show up at a convenient location and start shooting, you greatly increase your chances of success by planning your sunrise or sunset photoshoot in advance. The first thing you’ll want to determine is the best location from which to shoot. Pick a location that is out of the way of road and foot traffic, where you’re unlikely to be disturbed. Go to the location in broad daylight before the shoot and ensure your view of the horizon will be unobstructed and free of any hazards. The most important factor after the location is the time of day. Obviously, this will vary depending on whether you’re capturing a sunrise or a sunset. But start by checking the weather. If your shooting time coincides with an approaching or recently ended storm, the results can be staggering. Rain and storm clouds can add a dramatic layer of dimension to the scene.
2. Choose a Low to Mid-Range ISO
When shooting a sunrise or sunset, you’ll generally want to use a low to mid-range ISO setting, like 200, 400 or 800. During sunrise or sunset, there’s less available light than in the middle of the day, so going with one of these ISO settings rather than the lowest possible (which is typically 100 on most cameras) will give you some leeway when choosing your aperture and shutter speed while still providing a high-quality image.
3. Choose a High Aperture
Most people will choose to use a high aperture, such as f/11, f/16 or higher, when taking sunset photos. This allows for greater depth of field (the zone within a picture that appears in focus) so that everything from the foreground to the background will be sharply in focus. However, there’s no rule against lowering the aperture to achieve a certain creative effect. If you want to blur the background and bring all the attention to a subject in the foreground, go ahead and set the aperture low, like f/4 or even lower.
4. Determine a Shutter Speed
With your ISO and aperture set, it's time to choose the shutter speed that will give you a proper exposure. Keep an eye on your light meter while adjusting the shutter speed and when it reads "0," it's telling you the exposure is correct. To make this really simple, put your camera in aperture priority mode (if it has it) and your camera will automatically select the shutter speed that will work best for a proper exposure. Also, consider that if your shutter speed gets too low you may need a tripod to prevent blurring caused by the shake of your hands. The general guideline for determining the lowest usable handheld shutter speed is to look at your lens focal length and use a tripod for any shutter speeds lower than that number. For example, if your lens has a focal length of 50mm, you should be able to shoot at 1/50 of a second without getting handshake blurring, but you’ll want to use a tripod for speeds slower than that.
5. Expand Your Subject Matter
When you’re out taking pictures of a sunrise or sunset, it’s natural to be captivated by a vibrant horizon line and let that be the only thing you include in your photo. But, when you look at the photos later, you might find that while the colors cast by the sun are stunning, the images lack the splendor of the scene that you saw with your own eyes. This is often because the images don’t include elements that provide a sense of scale, depth and originality. Next time, try taking a step back and incorporating things like trees, people, rocks, water or other natural features in the foreground and middle ground. Also, consider that sometimes a beautiful photo of a sunrise or sunset doesn’t even include the sun itself. While you’re shooting, take a moment to look around and notice how the golden light of sunrise spreads across the valley below or how the pink hues of sunset are painted on the surrounding peaks. Force yourself to look beyond the burning orb in the sky and find creative ways to add interest to your images.
