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The Complete Guide To Sunrise & Search

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Sunset Photography
By Jim Schubert | May 18, 2020 Categories

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Ready to master sunrise and sunset photography? This guide contains the tips

you need for camera settings, dslr equipment and the best time to take pictures Photo Shoots

outside. Get ready to nail your next sunset or sunrise photography shoot! Photography Gear

Photography Skills

Photos

Post Processing

Dunes awaken on Fripp Island, South Carolina: 16mm | f/11 | ISO 400 | 1/160s

Quick Links
Why Sunrise And Sunset Is The Best Time To Take Pictures Outside

The Best Camera Settings For Sunset And Sunrise

What Camera Gear Do You Need For Sunrise And Sunset Photography?

How To Compose Your Sunrise & Sunset Photos

How To Plan Ahead For Your Next Sunset Or Sunrise Photography Shoot

Why Sunrise And Sunset Is The Best Time

To Take Pictures Outside
In short, sunrise and sunset provide more dramatic lighting for your images than any
other time of day. The low angle of the sun in the sky refracts light in such a way that

covers your subject in glorious rich color. Furthermore, the diminished intensity of the
sun’s rays in the morning and the evening provide you the ability to capture more

dynamic range of light in your image.

Sunrise & Sunset Lighting

More dramatic lighting
Gloriously rich colors of yellow, orange, red and magenta

Easier to capture more dynamic range in your image

Vs.

Bright Midday Sun

Casts harsh shadows

Less dynamic range

Easy to overexpose the sky

By contrast, the harsh light of a sunny midday casts hard shadows onto the
landscape. And it can be very easy to overexpose the sky in this situation. Plus,

there’s just generally less dynamic range available to you when post processing. So
this isn’t usually the best time of day to take pictures outside.

Golden Hour Is The Best Time To Take Pictures Outside

Depending on the time of year and your location, the best time to take photos
outside is roughly 1-2 hours before and after sunrise and sunset. Doing this will

ensure you take full advantage of Golden Hour. This is the time the earth is bathed
in a soft golden light that makes photos dramatic and stunning.

Castle Hill Lighthouse in Newport, RI during Golden Hour: 24mm | f/7.1 | ISO 200 | 30s

The Best Camera Settings For Sunset And

Sunrise
Light changes so quickly in the morning and evening. So the sunrise and sunset
camera settings you use will depend on whether or not you are using neutral density

filters or not. But in general, you’ll need to learn how to use these camera settings for
sunrise and sunset to nail your shots.

#1 Aperture
For most landscape photos at sunrise and sunset, you’ll want to use a mid to small
aperture. Somewhere between f/8 – f/16 is a good range. Although, your subject and

the effect you’re aiming for will dictate this camera setting.

Using this range of aperture will help you keep more of what’s in your frame in focus.
So if you’re including the sun in your photo, a higher number aperture may allow you

to capture sunbursts.

Although, if shutter speed is more important, you could always put your camera in
Aperture Priority mode. Doing this will let your camera decide how big or small to

make your aperture as you shoot.

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#2 Shutter Speed
This is the camera setting that will vary greatly on whether you use neutral density
filters. But in general, during sunrise photography, the brighter the sun becomes as it

rises, the faster the shutter speed you will need to use. And during sunset

photography, the dimmer the sun becomes, the slower the shutter speed you will need
to use.

If you’re using a tripod, you can slow your shutter speed down as low as you’d like.

But if you’re shooting handheld, I wouldn’t go much below 1/80 seconds. Otherwise,
you’ll blur your image due to camera shake.

Palmetto at sunrise on Fripp Island, South Carolina: 16mm | f/11 | ISO 100 | 1s

#3 ISO
Keep your ISO as low as your camera will allow in order to minimize noise. Shoot for
ISO 100, if you can. It’s tempting to use a higher ISO to compensate for lower light

conditions. But this is exactly why you should use a tripod and shutter release cable in
order to slow down your shutter speed to let more light hit your camera sensor.

#4 White Balance
This is one setting I usually leave on Auto setting. Lightroom and Photoshop make it
incredibly quick and easy to adjust color balance to your desire. So this will be one

less setting you need to worry about. But if you’re dead set on making everything
manual, then opt for a warmer color temperature setting like 5600k – 6500k.

O Pro Tip:
Bracket Your Sunrise And Sunset Images To Capture
More Dynamic Range
If you plan not to use neutral density filters for your next sunrise or sunset
photoshoot, then bracket your images. Bracketing is a quick and easy way

to use multiple images to capture the shadow, midtone and highlight details

you want in your sunrise and sunset photos. The process requires taking a
quick series of identical images but changing one variable (usually shutter

speed) between each shot.

Bracketing is most commonly done with a series of 3 or 5 images. You can do

this manually or set your camera to automatically bracket. Then you can

merge these images together as an HDR image in Lightroom. The end result
will be much more usable data in one image file than you would have been

able to get with one shot.

What Camera Gear Do You Need For

Sunrise And Sunset Photography?
Sunset and sunrise photography present unique challenges because of rapidly
changing light. For this reason, you’ll need the right camera accessories to capture

those stunning landscape photos you’re after. Let’s take a look at the must-have gear
you’ll need.

#1 Tripod
Using a tripod is essential to taking photos at sunrise and sunset because you
will typically use slower shutter speeds to let more light into your camera’s sensor.

So there’s more of a chance that camera shake will blur your image.

If you’re hiking to your location, you’ll want to pack a lighter, carbon fiber tripod or a

mini flexible tripod like the Gorillapod 3k.

I typically carry this Zomei tripod because it’s light and easy to setup.

ZoMei Z668 Tripod Monopod with Quick Release

Plate Lightweight Professional Compact for Canon
Nikon Sony DSLR Camera

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#2 Wide Angle Lens

If you plan to photograph spacious landscape images, a good wide angle lens is a

must. It will give you a wide field of view, enabling you to capture more of the scene in
your frame. You can always crop your image in Lightroom later. But you can’t go back

and add more of the scene, unless you plan to stitch photos together.

#3 Shutter Release Control

Another easy way to reduce camera shake is to use a shutter release control. This

can be as simple as a standard cable release or a remote Bluetooth device like the
Alpine Labs Spark.

#4 Neutral Density Filter Kit

Neutral density filters act like sunglasses for your DSLR. So these filters are
especially important if you’re including the sun itself in your composition. ND filters

allow you to use slower shutter speeds to allow the right amount of light to capture
your foreground without blowing out the highlights in the sky.

You can use solid neutral density filters to reduce the amount of light hitting your

camera sensor for the entire frame. Or you can be more selective by using a
graduated neutral density filter to only reduce light in the sky, for instance. Both of

these are also what you need if you want to shoot long exposure photos.

My favorite nd filter kit is the Lee Filters Landscape Kit.

LEE Filters LEE100 77mm Landscape Pro Kit -

LEE100 Filter Holder, Lee 100mm Soft Edge Set
Graduated ND Filters LEE 100mm Big Stopper
and Little Stopper and 77mm Wide Angle Adapter
Ring

Includes:
LEE Filters LEE100 Holder and 77mm Wide Angle Ring

LEE Filters 100mm Soft Edge Graduated Neutral Density set -

(0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 Soft edge grad filters)
LEE Filters 100mm Little Stopper ND 1.8 6-stop Filter and 100mm
Big Stopper ND 3.0 10-stop Filter
2filter cleaning kit

Check Price

How To Compose Your Sunrise & Sunset

Photos
As with any type of photography, it’s important to compose your sunrise and sunset
photos for maximum impact. So be sure to use these landscape photography

composition techniques to make the most of your landscape images.

1. Use the rule of thirds.

2. Place something interesting in your foreground.

3. Use leading lines to draw the viewer’s eyes through the frame.

4. Level your horizon.

5. Find patterns and textures to add interest to your image.

6. Change your point of view every few shots.

Level horizon at sunset in Grand Cayman: 80mm | f/11 | ISO 100 | 1/20s

How To Plan Ahead For Your Next Sunset

Or Sunrise Photography Shoot
Getting good sunrise and sunset photos takes planning. Some things to take into
consideration are:

Sunrise and sunset times

Weather
Appropriate clothing

Location and vantage point

Local laws and regulations (ie: park rules and opening/closing times)

Photographer’s Ephemeris: The one tool you need for

your next sunrise or sunset photography shoot
Want an easy app to help you plan where and when to be for the best sunset and

sunrise photo shoots? One of the best around is called The Photographer’s
Ephemeris. This app will help you know exactly where the sun will rise and set on

the horizon how it will fall on the landscape.

For instance, if you’re planning to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise,
wouldn’t it be nice to know where the sun will actually rise?

Sunset And Sunrise Photography Tips

#1 Visit your location ahead of time

By doing this, you’ll get the lay of the land. You’ll be able to choose your best

vantage points ahead of time. In other words, you won’t be rushing around trying to
figure things out the day of your photo shoot.

#2 Arrive on location earlier than you think you should

Inevitably, something will go wrong the day of your photo shoot. It might be something
as small as fiddling around with the right camera settings. When taking sunrise and

sunset photos, time is of the essence. So the earlier you can arrive on location the
better.

#3 Wait for clouds to create more drama in the sky

Clouds may seem like something you’d want to avoid during a sunrise or sunset
photography session. But they catch so much of the color created by the rising and

setting sun. So this will create drama and gives your scene much more of a mood. If
you don’t see clouds catching those colors you were hoping for, just wait a little while

longer. Oftentimes clouds become more filled with dramatic color after the sun has
already gone below the horizon.

Colorful sunset clouds in the Gulf of Mexico | 200mm | f/5.6 | ISO 100 | 2s

#4 Photograph multiple subjects

Don’t kick yourself later when you realize you took 300 photos of the same thing,

trying to get it “just right.” Plan in advance to move around and capture different points
of interest. Similarly, on the day of your photo shoot, be sure to look behind you every

so often. Because sometimes, the best shots are simply waiting right there out of
view.

#5 Be prepared to photograph (or film) the unexpected

Of all the sunset and sunrise photography tips I could give you, this one may be the
most important. Once, after a sunrise photography shoot, I spied a long line of about

50 pelicans flying by just overhead catching the first morning light. And where was
my camera? Right, neatly packed away in my bag with the rest of my gear. Tripod

securely fastened to the side. Long sigh…Could I have fumbled to get everything
out and setup properly in time? Probably not. My heart sank. But as pelicans often

do, they came back around for another shot. This time, I at least had my iPhone
ready to record.

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Sunrise Photography Tip #5: Always be prepared to shoot the unexpected.

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#6 Use hyperfocal distance to get everything in focus

Finally, learn how to use hyperfocal distance to get everything in your frame tack
sharp, from foreground to background. You can use a handy chart from Visual

Wilderness to help with this.

 Driftwood at sunrise: 16mm | f/11 | ISO 100 | 1/25s

What Sunset And Sunrise Photography

Tips Do You Have?
So now that you’ve learned more about sunset and sunrise photography, what tips
can you share with others here?

Let me know in the comments below.

And above all, happy shooting!

Last update on 2020-12-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Posted in Photography Skills

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