Sunset photography is a great way to show your landscape photography skills to the world. But don’t get fooled by thinking that it is straightforward. It’s not that easy as it sounds. You might think that nature will do the majority of the work for you. But the reduced amount of light and angle of the sun can make the sunset photography a bit challenging. Here are some of the tips that may help you in improving your sunset photography.
Arrive Early
A foolish mistake many new photographers make is by reaching too late on the scene. In landscape photography, time matters the most for everything. You need time for scouting, time for setting up, experimenting with accessories, lenses, and settings. And you also need some time to solve any equipment issues if you face any. Another thing is that the magical moment might happen before you expect. The sun might set behind a cloud for a moment, creating beams of light in ways that you haven’t expected.
Therefore, you should arrive at the location at least an hour before you expect to get the right shot. If you do so, then you will not miss the fantastic opportunity, like many other amateur photographers.
Find the Perfect Camera Settings for Sunset Photos
A tripod gives you a break. This way, you will get to know how to get a stable platform from which to shoot the image. Settings that you were not able to use while shooting handheld can be used now.
This is a significant advantage. If you have not learned, take some time to learn aperture priority or shutter priority. And then start shooting in manual mode. It is not as confusing as you might think. It helps you in getting more control over your exposure settings. Make sure that you have set your white balance mode to capture beautiful sunset photographs.
Look for Clouds
Clouds can improve the quality of many types of landscape photographs. Especially the sunset photography. Shadows add detail and interest in your picture. The shape, redirect, and color the light and can make boring sunset shots look remarkable. Search for the clouds in some unexpected directions too. There are other spots also where the clouds just look perfect and make your picture better. But be careful at the same time because so many clouds can block the light while giving the opposite effect to your photo, making it look boring and dull. You need to balance accordingly.
Add Interest to the Horizon
We are habitual by nature, and we stick to certain tendencies. While taking sunset photography, we have a horizon to deal with, which is the area where land meets the sky. Most of us want to compose the photo so that the background remains in the middle, on a vertical line, because centering the horizon in the image creates symmetry, which is pleasing to the viewer’s eyes. But sometimes, balance can seem boring to landscape photographers. While composing the sunset photography, try to experiment with the foreground and the background. If the sunset is shattering through impressive cloud formations, focus more on that. Using the horizon is also a great way to add interest and drama to your sunset photographs.
Conclusion
Sunsets are one of those natural beauties that are exciting on their own. It almost does all the work for us when we try to capture a sunset. You should keep these tips in mind while planning your next sunset photography to get the best out of it.