Sunsets/Sunrises

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ThankHeavenForShed 7

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Anyone got any advice for getting good shots of sunrises/sunsets? I've just been looking at Clyde's photostream on flickr and there are some absolutely stunning sunrises & sunsets. What's the trick for getting these? Filters? Digital jiggery-pokery? Just been out myself and ended up with a load of old tosh.
 


These shots can often have a high dynamic range, so it may be worth trying what's called exposure bracketing / HDR photography. Basically you take 3 shots in quick succession; 1 overexposed, 1 underexposed and one normally exposed.

Sounds a bit complicated but actually it's pretty easy to try, especially if you have an SLR as most have a setting where you can set the exposure bracketing automatically and then take the shots handheld with 1 click of the shutter. If you dont have an SLR you'll probably need a tripod.

Then you load all 3 into photoshop / photomatix / another app that can merge images, and merge them together. The results can be quite impressive. Here's a couple of examples I found

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iv'e only really HDR'd a couple of my sunrise/set shots, to be honest i tend to just use a combination of long exposures and filters, usually just stack 2 nd filters or use an ND grad filter, grad filters are great as you can use them to great effect, making the sky dark and the foreground lighter, which can also be done in lightroom.

it pays to spend a lot of time down the beach practicing and taking note of tide times too as that can make all teh difference, if the tide is out a little its great as then yo can use the rocks on the beach in the pics to get the smokey water effect around them when doing long exposures...it also helps that i live in seaham and only about half a mile from the beach's.
 
Why would you stack ND filters by the way? Just to get longer exposure times? I've always fancied trying a graduated filter but never got round to finding / buying one.

Funnily enough only 2 days ago I just found the graduated filter tool in lightroom (v3, perhaps it wasnt in v2 as I just upgraded) but need to have a more of a play with it to see if any good.
 
I thought that filters might be the way forward. Is there much post-production work involved in your pictures Clyde?
 
yeah a bit like, usually straighten the pic up, a bit cropping if needed, sometimes play about with lightroom's grad filter to get the sky a bit better, correct while balance and play about contrast etc, so aye a bit like.
 
most HDR's are, especially when they get way over done and end up looking like some kinda cartoon image...thats why i dont really use the technique, but i have explored and can see some advantages if done correct, here is one or 2 from me, what do ya's reckon?

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I have tried it a bit, with mixed success. When you 1st see HDR images they have the 'wow' factor, but that can soon go to be honest.

However I was quite pleased with this attempt of my gaff a cpl of months ago......

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Actually whilst I was away recently I tried some landscapes with the intention of trying some 'subtle' HDR conversion, so I will post the results when processed and see what you think.

Clyde I really like your 1st image; very atmospheric and not 'overkill' for HDR
 
clyde said:
most HDR's are, especially when they get way over done and end up looking like some kinda cartoon image...thats why i dont really use the technique, but i have explored and can see some advantages if done correct, here is one or 2 from me, what do ya's reckon?
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Being outspoken, they are dreadful. The first one possibly as "special effects" maybe because of the subject matter.
 
ThankHeavenForShed 7 said:
Anyone got any advice for getting good shots of sunrises/sunsets? I've just been looking at Clyde's photostream on flickr and there are some absolutely stunning sunrises & sunsets. What's the trick for getting these? Filters? Digital jiggery-pokery? Just been out myself and ended up with a load of old tosh.
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When I used to take pictures of the sun setting, I used to put my back to the sun, expose for the scene in front of me, lock the exposure in, then take the sunset picture. Or you can use the over expose button.

If you take pictures of the sun, the sun being so bright tends to make the lens shut down and you get under exposed pictures.

This was for a film slr, I can't see why it wouldn't be the same for a digital slr. If it is, someone can tell us both.
 
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I was out tonight trying out my new siggy 10 - 20mm at The Groyne. Light wasnt as good as it should have been, got stuck in traffic and missed the sun going down. This is a HDR shot but not overdone like some, cropped a bit off sharpened a bit and a bit colour in the sky.
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neiluk1985 said:
These are my efforts. The first was taken on the town moor in newcastle, the second was on a beach near cape town. Nothing's really been done to them in post-production, apart from obviously making the panorama.

i'd appreciate some C+C like :)

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sunset by gonzo1985, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gonzo1985/3155937909/
Sunset by gonzo1985, on Flickr
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I really like the 2nd one . . .good use of perspective and nice colours.

The 1st one seems to have some quite heavy vignetting, was this added in post processing? I would say it would work better without it so much. Maybe a bit of a crop would help too.
 
hully2000 said:
I really like the 2nd one . . .good use of perspective and nice colours.

The 1st one seems to have some quite heavy vignetting, was this added in post processing? I would say it would work better without it so much. Maybe a bit of a crop would help too.
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cheers mate. yeah the vignetting was added afterwards in lightroom, it's something i sometimes do to add a bit of a frame to my photos. looking back though, i suppose this one's already canny dark as it is.
 
My advice is to move house :)

I never got any decent sunsets in the past, but now I live near the coast so I can see that the sky is red and be at the beach in a few minutes. Obviously it doesn't need to be the coast, but somewhere with a clear horizon to the east for the dawns and clear to the west for the sunsets.

To get the red, you need to set your white balance manually otherwise the camera will steer it back towards the centre of the spectrum and make it bluer than what you see with your eyes.
 
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