What’s Your Preference?

Tamster · #1 (**permalink**) 01-08-2010, 03:22 PM

Good Morning,
I tried to shoot the sunset yesterday because it was so large and beautiful. But when i got
behind the camera I was lost as to what settings to put the camera on.
This is what I got. The sun looks bright and seems to give off a glare more so in some of the other pictures.
Are there any main settings to use when shooting a sunset, other then of course what seems to look best? I'm new to DPS and my new camera and still learning all the settings. Thansk for taking a look and for the feed back. Now lets see if i can add all the info correctly.
Thanks~ Tammy

Tamster · #2 (**permalink**) 01-08-2010, 03:47 PM

So I've noticed none of the details on the pics were inserted with this post... .. Just another learning curve

Sterling · #3 (**permalink**) 01-08-2010, 05:35 PM

Just one image per thread please, as per the posted Critique forum rules.

Tamster · #4 (**permalink**) 01-08-2010, 05:54 PM

Oh my ......Sorry ...

stevoarnold · #5 (**permalink**) 01-09-2010, 10:05 AM

what camera are you using? its hard to know what settings to advise without knowing if you have a dslr or point and shoot.

the glare is because you are shooting straight into the sun, which causes the light to bounce around inside the lens and gives you the circles of light that appear.

you could improve your composition by implementing the rule of thirds and moving the sun off-center.

barabe · #6 (**permalink**) 01-09-2010, 12:03 PM

The EXIF files would be nice to help you out on this but i think you had your aperture set to wide open like F1.8 or so, if you use a smaller aperture valuelike F11 or even smaller, you will be getting a nice star shaped sun. Sun flare is almos impossible to get rid of when shooting direct into the sun.

Tamster · #7 (**permalink**) 01-11-2010, 03:04 PM

Thank you for taking a look and for the feed back. I will be sure that the EXIF is added in any other photos I post as I know it is important to work with from there.
I have come to the realization that shooting in the direct sun is what is giving me the glare
but will try to use the smaller aperture as recommended.
I have only had my DSLR for a few weeks and still learning all the modes.

Thanks again!

navcom · #8 (**permalink**) 01-12-2010, 02:15 AM

Couple tips for sunset/sunrise photos.

- Turn off your auto exposure and use either manual or aperture priority (Av).
- Use a smaller aperture...usually f/11 or f13 works well.
- Use the slowest ISO you can...usually ISO 100 or so.
- Use a tripod
- Use the "shade" setting for white balance but shoot in RAW if you can. Then you can adjust your white balance very easily later if you need to. The shade setting gives you a warmer look, which helps bring out the reds/pinks in the sky.

Finally, sunsets are very challenging due to a huge dynamic range. That is, there is a huge range between the darkest and lightest parts of the image because of the brightness of the sun. This creates an environment your camera cannot handle on it's own. It can't "see" that big of a range...thus you will get either an overexposed sky with a properly exposed foreground or a black foreground with a properly exposed sky.

Two popular ways to overcome this limitation is by using a graduated neutral density filter or using HDR techniques. ND grads are rectangular filters that are half clear and half shaded with a "feathered" transition between the two. You position the shaded area over the sky to "push" it back, leaving the foreground unaffected...kind of like putting sunglasses on half your image.

The HDR technique requires you to shoot 3 or more images, each at a different exposure (usually 1 normal, one exposed for the sky, and one exposed for the foreground) and then combining them together using Photoshop or other HDR software to get a higher dynamic range in the final photo.

Hope that helps!