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In today's article I would like to discuss a very recurring theme among photography fans such as sunrise and sunset . They are two “very photogenic” moments of the day which we have all tried to capture at some point.
If you like to take photos of sunrises and sunsets and you do not get the results you are looking for, in today's article I will try to summarize the most important points that you have to take care of when trying to produce this type of photography. Remember, what turns a normal photo into a wonderful work of art are simple little details that sometimes we don't pay attention to.
Let's get to it then. But first, allow me to introduce you to this complete article to photograph the most amazing landscapes and, if what interests you the most is the subject of lighting, be sure to delve into this mega guide dedicated to lighting in photography.
PLAN YOUR SUNRISE AND SUNSET PHOTO SESSION
Although sometimes chance and chance can produce magnificent photos of sunrises and sunsets, the truth is that if you want to be sure of obtaining good results you need to plan the session in advance. The most interesting moment in a sunrise or sunset lasts just a few minutes, it is a valuable and short moment that should not be wasted. My advice is to find a good shooting spot a day or two in advance. Do not limit yourself to simply looking for a good angle to shoot from, that too, but make it possible to include interesting foreground elements such as trees, silhouettes, etc.
It is also convenient to observe what time the sun usually rises or sets , since you will be interested in going to the place a while before.
photo pillsis an application where you will find everything you need to plan your photos of sunsets and sunrises.
And what do you tell me the time? Meteorology is another very important aspect to take into account: it is not the same to photograph a clear sunrise as a cloudy one. Each one has its charm but it is convenient that you know what the weather awaits you the next day, so you are already prepared to take the photo exactly as you have imagined it.
Planning also consists of preparing the material and leaving everything ready: backpack, objectives, fully recharged battery, formatted memory cards, etc.
MATERIAL TO PHOTOGRAPH SUNRISES AND SUNSETS
At a sunrise or sunset you have to be prepared, but really. You need at least:
- An SLR camera and several objectives, two at least.
- Tripod , essential: the relative absence of light means that the camera sometimes requires long exposure times. To prevent the photo from coming out blurry, it is advisable to stabilize the camera beforehand.
- Remote shutter release: For the same reason if you can shoot without touching the camera body it would be better. I use a remote shutter release but you can also use your camera's delayed release function of 2 or 10 seconds.
COMPOSITION FOR PHOTOGRAPHY OF SUNRISES AND SUNSETS
Remember to apply the rule of thirds (link). As it is a type of landscape photography, this composition rule is (almost) mandatory.
Regarding the framing, please, try not to fall into the mistake that many make and that is to photograph completely boring sunrises or sunsets. All that spectacular landscape that nature has prepared for us needs some remarkable element that breaks the monotony and gives the sunrise or sunset more life, more interest. As I said before, this element can be a tree, a palm tree, some rocks or the silhouette of a couple in love embracing.
As for lenses , I personally like to shoot sunrise and sunset with small focal length lenses, something between 14 and 25mm, so I can capture the landscape in its entirety.
However, and in order to have a bit of freedom, I recommend having more lenses at hand with more than one focal length: this way you can capture panoramic landscapes as well as high-zoom frames where the sun takes on more prominence.
EXPOSITION
With the theme of the exhibition you have to be a little careful. Precisely the charm of a sunrise or sunset consists of that light that emanates from the sun and towards which we point directly. We already know that our camera in automatic mode tends to make mistakes when we focus on direct light, which has an effect on generally underexposed (dark) photos.
If you are going to photograph a sunrise or sunset, use the manual or semi-manual mode of your SLR camera, you will be able to play with the aperture and the shooting speed and obtain different results each time, with different degrees of light. (If manual mode still scares you, check out my photography starter book .)
You also have to be careful about the white balance. Although most of the time leaving the camera in the automatic White Balance, very correct photographs are obtained, it happens that sunrises and sunsets have a warmth of color (shooting to yellow/orange) without which the photo would lose its charm. An automatic White Balance would detect that "warm" tone as excessive and try to change it to a more neutral color, something we really don't want. Solution: change the White Balance setting and choose one that preserves the warm tone of the moment, cloudy or shade for example. ( More on white balance here .)
ADD YOUR SIGNATURE...
Please do not produce another cold, impersonal and anonymous photo of a sunrise or sunset. Take a different photo, turn that sunrise or sunset into a personal moment by leaving a subtle hint of yourself in the photo: it could be a doll you are fond of, your son's toy car, the silhouette of your dog Boby posing in a close-up, or simply take the photo from your attic window, thus portraying what you see every day when you get up in the morning.
