Featured Technique

Take This Shot: Sunrise

Dealing with sunrise or sunset takes practice, but there are a few tricks of the trade that make the photo-taking process a lot easier. First off, try and use manual settings as much as possible as this will mean you have greater control. For example, an automatic white-balance setting will try and compensate for the warm glow of sunset and tweak the settings to create a dull version of your shot. Preset white-balance options are fine to use, so long as you realise their effects. The cloudy option is a good choice as this acts as a warmup filter on your image and produces vivid reds. In terms of getting you exposure correct, choose the spot-metering option and take a reading from the sky, not the foreground. This will expose for the highlights of the image and let the shadows fend for themselves. Achieving a smooth effect on the water requires a long shutter speed of around three seconds or more. Set your camera up on a tripod, as the slightest wobble of the camera will blur your shot. If you have the option, set your focus to manual and select a point two thirds of the way into the frame to lock onto. This is known as the hyper-focal distance and will ensure that your shot is in focus from front to back.

Please refer to the image below for the following number references.

1. Leading lines

A good image will have a number of markers that lead the eye through the image. Here, the rocks draw you into the image, while the dark strip of landscape guides the viewer towards the more dramatic skyscape.

2. Composition

Note that the main point of interest follows the Rule of Thirds principle. If you imagine a grid of two horizontal and two vertical lines placed over the image, then the main points of interest should sit at one of the four intersecting grid points.

3. Dramatic sunsets

For a fiery red sunset, meter for the sky rather than the foreground. Do this by selecting spot metering from your camera’s menu system and pointing your camera to the reddest part of the sky. This will give you the appropriate aperture and shutter speed settings for reproducing those colours.

4. Motion blur

Water is a fantastic subject for experimenting with movement. This shot was taken using a long exposure in order to capture the motion of the flowing water. Set you shutter speed to around three seconds, and use a tripod. The waves will merge, creating a soft flowing effect.

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