How many shots of a Sunset do you shoot??

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Lou

New Member
I'm from Missoula, MT. We go back every year to see family and friends. Last year there were some forest fires in the Bitteroot and winds pushed the smoke into the Missoula valley. For 3-4 nights there were amazing sunsets. I shot wide and tele lenses trying to capture the dynamics of these sunsets. Here are a few....of about 100.
 

Tony S

New Member
When the skies look like that I shoot until I run out of light. Then I might only pick three or four out of the bunch.
 

BobH

Administrator
Staff member
I'm with the rest of the group. I shoot as many as I can.

One more tip. Don't leave too early! Many times I've seen the sky start to fade, only to suddenly turn really bright and amazing colors. Just because the sun is past the horizon doesn't mean the show's over. If you can, wait until it's deep purple and you're certain there's nothing more to see.
 

BobH

Administrator
Staff member
Janice, I do experiment with the exposures. Sunsets can be tricky for your camera's meter, so bracketing is a good idea.

I don't worry about white balance at all though. I shoot in RAW.

A raw file (NEF in Nikon, CRW in Canon) is just that, raw data. It records what the sensor recorded. The camera creates a JPG preview image but the raw file itself is untouched. The white balance setting is noted, but no changes are made to the file.

You can often see this in Adobe Lightroom where the JPG image shows for an instant while it renders the raw file. Then you see colors change, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically, as it renders the raw file. LR uses the "as shot" white balance for the render, but you can easily change it. So I pick an approximate white balance in the field, or if I'm feeling lazy, just use the auto WB. That allows me to get a decent preview on the LCD screen.
 

Bill Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
My town of Edmonds, WA. is famous for its sunsets. We even have a street named "Sunset Ave." I started a thread on Edmonds sunsets in the Landscapes and Scenery forum.
http://www.pnwphotos.com/forum/showthread.php?7935-Sunsets-of-Edmonds-WA

I divide sunsets into three phases: pre-set, sunset, and after-set. Sometimes all three phases will be beautiful, sometmes not. Sunsets can be a rare commodity for much of the year in my corner of the Pacific North Wet.

My rule of thumb is to start shooting at -1 exposure and adjust from there according to how the photos are turning out and what I want to emphasize. Under exposing will render the sun a nice, round orb and bring out the reds. Unfortunately, the foreground will be silhouettes. Increasing the exposure will bring out the foreground at the expense of turning the sun into an amporphous blob while bringing out the oranges and yellows.

I tried to compromise between foreground and background exposures through the use of a gradiated neutral density filter (NDF) on my EF-S lenses with mixed results. I have yet to find a 77mm gradiated NDF, the size I need for the EF 24-105L zoom I now use for most of my sunset shots with the 5D Mk III. The 5D Mk III does have an HDR feature which I am trying out on sunset shots. The drawback with HDR is that everything in the photo must be motionless to avoid the appearances of "ghosts." I like to include people, birds, boats, and trains in my sunset shots, which many times precludes the use of HDR.
 
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