How to Photograph Sunrises and Sunsets

It’s always fun to take photographs of sunrises and sunsets, although it can be tricky at times. What follows are some tips to help you get the shot you want.

1. Take time and plan ahead. While you can spontaneously take sunset or sunrise pictures, planning is usually a good idea. There may be a particular location, park, ocean, or mountain range that you want to visit. The best part about sunrises and sunsets is that they are always changing, and shots minutes apart can be vastly different. Take time to watch the changing light and clouds.

2. Stay out late, or wake up early. The sun does not necessarily have to be in a sunrise or sunset photo. You can either stay out after the sun has set, or get up early before the sun rises. Because the sun is so bright, the contrast with the morning or evening sky can be drastic, and it will be easier when the sun is not in the frame.

3. Experiment with bracketing. Bracketing allows you to take 3 of the same photos with different exposures. You will want to expose for one shot, and then the additional shots: one stop over exposed, and one stop underexposed. As an example, you can start at F8, and then the next two shots will be at F5.6 and F11.

4. Find silhouettes. You can create a silhouette if the background is properly exposed and the foreground objects are dark. You can do this by finding an area of the sky to set your exposure, and then compose your photo.

5. Always bring a tripod with you. There may be a time where you want a long exposure, or the light is low, and you will need your tripod.

6. Experiment with different settings. To get warm tones in your photo, try shooting sunrises and sunsets using the "cloud" or "shade" setting, as apposed to auto white balance.

Have fun with sunrises and sunsets. You can also use the wonderful lighting to photograph the landscape around you. Remember that you may want to use F16 or F22 to get more in focus.