What do I need to do different

[Christi9409]

I am giving this a try over here, becasue I really didn't know where else to put it. I have been wanting to take pics of the sunset and have no clue what I am doing yet. Do I need to use a different lenz, filter or something on my settings or all of the above thanks Christi
PS I don't you can hurt my feelings so please give some critique
This was taken last night at about 5:30 gquarter to 6, we normally don't have sunset like this in Wyoming I used my Canon XSi 1/60s f7.1 ISO 200 focal length 240.0mm i didn't do anything to the pics as far as fixing color or anything. I just want or need to know what the heck am I doing wrong. I mean shouldn't the mountains have a little color and the sky not so much color or something. Thanks For any Help Christi

[navcom]

Hi Christi!

A couple quick tips for you...

First, for most landscape photos, turn off everything auto! For exposure, use aperture priority or manual mode (set the aperture for depth of field...f/8-f/13...and then set shutter for proper exposure length. Use lowest ISO possible). You've done good here. For focus, use manual or hyperfocal distance (search the forum for definition).

It appears you were dealing with some pretty good haze. At 240mm you were zoomed in really far which only makes the haze seem worse. While there is no "landscape focal length", it might have been good to try a composition with a wider focal length. Haze can be good in the right composition...especially if it contrasts with clear areas. It just depends on how you use it.

Composition-wise, your image is pretty good. For many folks when they first start out (including myself!), you have a tendency to center the horizon and the sunrise and snap away. You didn't do that. You offset the sun 1/3 to the left and have a mountain 1/3 to the right. Also, the horizon is in the lower 1/3 and the cloud line is in the upper 1/3. Very good use of basic rule of thirds.

For best color, there are a couple things you can do. First, use the "shade" white balance setting (or custom set). I know it's tempting to use the "daylight" setting but "shade" actually gives you the warmest color tones. Also, if you shoot in RAW format, you can change the white balance with the click of a button back at home.

With sunsets, dynamic range works against the photographer. This is the range between the darkest and lightest parts of an image. In a sunset image, dynamic range is huge...dark foreground, extremely bright background (the sun!). Unlike your eyes, your camera cannot see this large of a range, so you get to choose either a correctly-exposed foreground and blown out sky or a correctly-exposed sky with a dark foreground.

To compensate for this, you have a couple options. First is to use a graduated neutral density filter (do a search for it...posts galore). This is a square filter with half of it darkened and the other half clear. You position the dark end over the bright sky which "pushes back" it's exposure to bring it more in line with the foreground. Another option is using HDR techniques. This involves taking at least three shots of the exact same image...one exposed for the foreground, one for the sky, and one in the middle. Then use a computer to combine all together for a photo with larger dynamic range.

Your image isn't of a direct sun but of a sun behind clouds so the range isn't huge but still very wide. I think if you would have used a ND grad, you would have a more balanced exposure which would have produced deeper colors.

Hope that helps!

[SuperDan]

Hard to give any critique after Navcom said it all sooo well!

I have heard that Wyoming is wonderful, and I love the composition.. but yes, the lighting needs work...


Keep shooting!