Photos of Sunsets

Sunset shot from Yanucca Island, Fiji

I just love taking photos of sunsets. In fact, it was taking photos of sunsets that inspired me to learn more about photography. My wife and I were enjoying our honeymoon on the western coast of Fiji, and each day was topped off with a spectacular scene as the sun fell behind the horizon. It was my first time overseas and as I grappled with the concept of just how far away from home we were and how beautiful Fiji was, I shot many photos. I especially enjoyed shooting photos of sunsets  in the evening.

Although I had no idea what I was doing, as luck would have it, I actually managed to capture one or two really nice shots over the 10 day period. When we returned home to proudly show our friends and family the better shots from the trip, I was pleased to receive many positive comments on my photos of sunsets. Those compliments were all I needed to get really enthusiastic about photography. Shooting inspiring pictures became my quest.

Photos of Sunsets need character

The key to a great sunset shot it making it interesting. The rule of thirds is a great compositional tool, but using it to simply place the horizon and the sun as it sets is going to net you a relatively bland photo overall. Take a look around at your environment. Think about how you might be able to include some of the surrounding scenery in the photo such as some silhouetted swimmers, or people walking on the beach. Can you include an interesting building in the edge of the frame? The point is to capture the scene and to take the viewer to that place. By shooting just the horizon and the sun, generally speaking, you’re not going to provide enough information for them to build the scene in their imagination.

Sunset Photo Tips

Along with my compositional recommendation above, here are a few sunset photo tips to help your photos of sunsets stand out. Seeing as it was the topic of my last post, I’ll mention white balance first. If your camera is set to auto WB, you might find that the warm reds and yellows that we all love about sunsets are represented much cooler in your photos. I would usually set my white balance manually before taking sunset photos, or if your camera has a “sunset” mode, you could always fall-back to that.

As a second tip I’ll make mention of fill-flash. Silhouettes are great, but if you’re trying to include friend or family in a shot the bright background will leave you with dark shadows on their faces. Try turning on your flash as it will help to lift the shadows in the foreground and allow you to capture their faces and well as the sunset.

You can avoid the sun itself altogether if you wish. Try turning around and look for some long shadows cast by buildings or park benches… or anything. Afternoon shadows can add real interest to photos, and at sunset they will be at their longest.

If you’re not sure of your exposure, bracketing your shot can be another helpful technique. By capturing above, below and at metered exposure, you can be pretty sure to get the best possible outcome. Bracketed shots have another advantage in that they can be compiled into HDR photos if you want to include the full range of contrasts and tones in the shot. But, be aware that you will need to use a tripod, and not all scenes will benefit from HDR photography.

Here’s another article on shooting photos of sunsets that I came across recently…

Want to learn more awesome photography secrets? Check out “Digital Photography Success” by Amy Renfrey – (Please note that this is an affiliate link and I will earn a small commission is you choose to buy this product. You are under no obligation to do so.)

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