Tips on Photographing a Sunset

Sunsets can make the most stunning photographs and the most beautiful keepsakes of great trips or lovely, peaceful evenings. Capturing that beauty can be very difficult, however. While we can’t all be professional photographers, we can try and fake it. Here are some simple things to think about when you’re preparing for a sunset photograph. Hopefully with these in your photography repertoire, you’ll be able to show off that beautiful sunset you experienced for years to come. 

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Timing

It’s important to know when the sun is going to set. The local news and The Weather Channel report local sunset times each day. Try to get to the site where you plan to take pictures an hour before the sun will set. This allows enough time to choose a good spot from which to shoot, set up the camera and inspect the surroundings.

Focus

Extreme lighting conditions can cause your camera to not be able to focus. This leaves you with a blurry picture. Switching from autofocus to manual focus should fix this. If you do switch to manual, lock the focus on infinity distance.

Consider clouds

Choose your photography night wisely. An evening with cloudy skies or smoke will make the best sunsets. When you’re checking the news for sunset times, take a look at what the weather will be like. That way, you’ll know what nights will give the best hazy additions to your sunset photos.

Composition

Good sunset photos have something in them besides just the sun. A good point of interest could be anything from a tree to a mountain range. The backlight from the sunset will create an interesting silhouette to your sunset.

Exposure

Playing with the picture’s exposure can allow you to capture the subtleties of light best. If your camera is a point-and-shoot, select a scene selection mode that highlights the foreground and ignores the background. This will overexpose your focal points, while the sunset stays underexposed.

Take lots of pictures!

Sunsets change incredibly quickly and every moment is subtly different. Keep taking photos throughout the sunset. Test out different exposures and foreground objects.

When she’s on a camping trip with her favorite camping tent, Terry Carter likes to photograph sunsets. The woods are great for these pictures! She blogs about a variety of topics, like whittling with a gerber knife.