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How to Take a Picture of a Sunset

Whether setting on the New York City skyline or on the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest, the sun is one of the most popular photographic subjects. A rich orange horizon, sometimes streaked with blue, purple or a fiery red if there are clouds in the sky, is always worth capturing with your camera. However, choosing the correct exposure settings or framing the sunset in a creative fashion can be difficult. Make your next sunset one to remember by following the tips below.

Things You'll Need

Tripod (optional)
Various lenses of different focal lengths (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Time your shot. Arrive at your shooting destination at least a half hour before the sun begins to set. This will allow you plenty of time to set up a tripod (if desired), get a feel for the weather and lighting circumstances, and experiment with framing and composition.
- 2
  Take a light meter reading of the horizon, and then underexpose it by one to two stops. Because the darkness of the foreground will trick the camera into overexposing the sky on the horizon line, you must compensate by either increasing shutter speed or stopping-down your aperture (size of the lens opening). For example, if your camera's meter suggests an aperture of f/4 at 1/500th of a second, stop-down to f/5.6 or f/8 at 1/500. This will result in richer, more saturated colors in the sky and a silhouetting effect for foreground objects.
- 3
  Attach a telephoto lens (focal length greater than 50mm) to your camera to isolate the setting sun. A telephoto will result in a magnified field of view and will turn the distant setting sun into a fiery, red-orange sphere. This type of lens is useful if you wish to make the sun the main subject of the photo.
- 4
  Place a wide angle lens on your camera for a more panoramic shot. A wide angle lens will stretch the scene before you to almost panoramic proportions. The resulting shot will include the horizon, the sky above and much of the foreground setting--perfect if you wish to convey a sense of space and mood in your photograph.
- 5
  Experiment with composition and framing by including foreground elements. Against the strong backlighting provided by the sunset, objects in the foreground of your photo (people, trees, buildings or boat docks) will be artistically silhouetted. Use the branches of a nearby tree to frame the horizon line or a couple looking out at the sun's reflection on the sea to create a sense of scale.
- 6
  Adjust your camera's settings for more accurate colors. Access your "White Balance" menu and switch from the "Auto" setting to "Shade" or "Cloudy" to increase the warmth of the image. If your camera is having difficulty autofocusing on the horizon, switch to manual focus to ensure sharp results.

Photography