Tips For Sunset Photography

The “Magic hour” or so called “Golden hour” is the time of the day when the sun close to the horizon, all the lights become soft and make everything looks gorgeous. This moment also considered the best time of the day to take photographs. This article suggests some tips for how to take perfect sunset photographs.

1. Timing

Most weather websites or mobile apps will tell you the exact time of sunset, but you’ll need to be on location at least 30 to 60 minutes earlier. Sunsets can very quickly disappear into the night. The weather itself is also a very important factor. A clear sky is great, yet some cloud cover can create interesting patterns as well.

2. Depth

When taking landscape pictures, the trick is capturing a wide shot while retaining focus on the whole field of view. You will need to adjust to a smaller aperture setting. Typically F8-F11 is considered to be an ideal setting for a landscape shot.

3. Your Tripod

A tripod is essential for sunset photography as you will be dealing with a longer exposure time, so absolutely don’t forget to bring your tripod with you! Nobody wants a blurry end-result..

4. Focus

Make sure to turn off the auto ISO setting and shoot at a low ISO, ideally 100. To avoid your camera auto focusing on something in particular, set focus at infinity.

5. A Unique Foreground

Find the foreground first. This could be a path, a rock or a pond. Create a special composition. You can also use branches, windows or other objects as frames. The key is to put something of interest in the foreground, for added depth to the scene.

6. White Balance

Auto White Balance settings will neutralize a sunset’s glow, so instead switch to a setting (names will vary according to camera model) such as Cloudy or Shade. It’s also better to shoot with RAW files so you have greater flexibility for editing later.

7. HDR

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography is perfect for sunset photography. To capture the entire dynamic range of the scene, make sure to take two or more shots at different aperture settings. You can see the full step-by-step tutorial for how to create HDR Photography here.