Before Sunset

Sunset (and sunrise) photography; any other subject of nature photography is guaranteed to inspire us to seize the camera. This does not apply only to serious nature photographers. Almost everyone with a camera is likely to have a go when a sunset is great.

The great news is, good sunset photos surprisingly easy to make. In my gallery, I have not done much sunset view pictures. You see, they are difficult to sell, because almost everyone has a few great sunsets, they are photographed. Rather than buy mine, they are more likely to grab their camera and show me the photos they have taken the day before!

Therefore, I am often asked to evaluate the sunset pictures by amateur photographers (occupational hazard for a nature photographer!) And I learned to quickly identify where most people go wrong. It is not difficult to expose a photo of sunset, in many cases, you can leave your camera on auto and it will work for you. People have difficulty is to ensure an interesting composition. It is not enough simply to photograph the sky well. The real challenge lies in the transformation of a dramatic sky in a photograph convincingly.

Here are my top five tips for taking great sunset (and sunrise) photos.

Sunset Photography Tip # 1. Learn to anticipate a good sunset before it happens. Have you ever seen a perfect sky, only to realize that you did not have your camera handy? Within five minutes it takes to get your camera and set up for the photo, the moment has passed. Shining like a sunset may be, the effect can last from a few minutes, so you should be able to choose your location, configure your device and wait for the show to start.

Sunset Photography Tip # 2. Be patient to get the best colors. The few minutes that the sun crosses the horizon can be spectacular, but this is not the whole story of a sunset. As the sun lights the clouds from below, often the richest colors can appear up to half an hour later. At that time, he will be quite dark, so be ready with your tripod. You can be shot shows a half-second or more to bring out the best of your sunset photo.

Sunset Photography Tip # 3. Find a good foreground subject. This may be the most important tip of all. Hour after hour the people show me their photos sunset, and all I can think is "big sky ... a pity you did not have a better picture of him." We've all seen and photographed a spectacular sky, so that alone is not enough to create your artwork. Try to identify an object that is well above the horizon (trees, mills, buildings, power lines) and has a shape that will create a silhouette well. He did not complete your image. In fact, it can take up to a small area - which will only make the sky seem even more impressive. The important thing is to give your image a focal point, so that your reader has something more interesting to watch a big sky.

Think of my advice # 1. For a nice photo, you must be prepared in advance to scout your location for a leading property well before the razzle-dazzle is in progress.

Sunset Photography Tip # 4. Fill your photo with color. You've probably heard of the "rule of thirds" in landscape photography. In simple terms, this rule suggests your horizon should be one third of the way the top or bottom of your photo to create a balanced composition. The problem is when you shoot at sunset, while the foreground is silhouetted. This means that if you follow the rule of thirds, a big part of your composition will be totally black. This is a situation where you can ignore the rule of thirds. By allowing your sky to dominate the composition, you fill your image with the color and attract even more attention to wealth.