I have mavic pro and all my sunset pictures are washed out. Even when I manually darken it still looks like a blob and then the ground is black. Any tips on settings or techniques to get nice sunset and sunrise pics?
Sunrise and sunset help
- Thread starter Steelrfan85
- Start date
Class...class..now take your seats
check your wallet, your going to probably need some filters 
I forget, does the MP have bracketed shot capability (AEB)? Pretty sure it was out before HDR in DJI though...time to upgrade...naw..just teasing.
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The problem is that the scene has too much dynamic range for the sensor. Easiest solution is to bracket your shots and use an HDR program to tone-map them.
These were four exposures 2-stops apart. Was debating going for a fifth but I knew I wanted the sun a bit overexposed.
roundme.com
roundme.com
These aren't drone shots, but the same technique:
You will also want to do some work with curves or tonal contrast and play with vibrance a bit. If you want a program that does most of the work for you I know some people swear by Luminar, although I prefer the control that I get with Affinity Photo. (Less automation, more control and editing options. Also a lot less expensive!)
skylum.com
affinity.serif.com
Skylum used to make a cheaper program aimed at drone pilots who wanted decent pictures with almost no editing time, called AirMagic, but that seems to be no longer available.
Note: I've never used Luminar, so can't comment on it directly, but I know people who are happy with it.
These were four exposures 2-stops apart. Was debating going for a fifth but I knew I wanted the sun a bit overexposed.
Sunrise over golden larches from Uxbridge, ON, Canada
In autumn it is obvious how farmed these woods are, with patches of different trees like farmer's fields.
roundme.com
Cornfield Sunrise from Markham, ON, Canada
Sunrise over harvested fields in late autumn.
roundme.com
These aren't drone shots, but the same technique:
You will also want to do some work with curves or tonal contrast and play with vibrance a bit. If you want a program that does most of the work for you I know some people swear by Luminar, although I prefer the control that I get with Affinity Photo. (Less automation, more control and editing options. Also a lot less expensive!)
Luminar Neo - Easy Photo Editor | Software for Mac & PC
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skylum.com
Best Photo Editing Software | Affinity Photo
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affinity.serif.com
Skylum used to make a cheaper program aimed at drone pilots who wanted decent pictures with almost no editing time, called AirMagic, but that seems to be no longer available.
Note: I've never used Luminar, so can't comment on it directly, but I know people who are happy with it.
brett8883
Well-Known Member
As was mentioned using bracketed exposures and then blending them in editing is the proper way to do this.
My problem with the DJI drones is they only allow .7 stop bracket offsets in AEB mode. In reality anything less than 1 full stop intervals is pointless. 2 stop intervals is preferred with this amount of dynamic range. You can manually take 3 exposures that are EV 0, EV 2, and EV -2 for best results.
The Mavic Pro also has an auto HDR mode. It’s nowhere near as good as doing it in post but it’s better than nothing and requires no extra work on your part
Yes, I manually bracket. I'm usually shooting panoramas so the extra time to manually adjust exposure is nothing compared to the time required to shoot the panorama.
I've got a set series of exposures I do: 1/15, 1/60, and so on to save me having to think too hard.
Years ago (in Phantom days) I suggested to DJI that allowing people to set the bracket interval would be very handy. My suggestion was "passed to the developers" but obviously nothing came of it. :-/
sarimento1
Well-Known Member
Sir Steelrfan85, great scenery!
Your Mavic Pro is capable of some great shots, even with sun in the picture.
Aside from the good suggestions above for bracketing, here are a few other tips.
-Try to shoot when there are some clouds to help block some of the sun. They will also add color and texture to the scene.
-Keep the sky portion less than 1/4 of the scene so you can get more detail from the foreground.
-Max out your allowable altitude and point the camera more downward.
-Be sure to pan around and look for interesting light/colors/shadows/clouds behind you.
-As mentioned above, take your pics in raw format so you have more capability for post-processing.
-Use the DJI wide pano shot mode as well as single shot.
-If you can, try some shots with the aperture at the smallest to see if you can get some starburst effects.
Your Mavic Pro is capable of some great shots, even with sun in the picture.
Aside from the good suggestions above for bracketing, here are a few other tips.
-Try to shoot when there are some clouds to help block some of the sun. They will also add color and texture to the scene.
-Keep the sky portion less than 1/4 of the scene so you can get more detail from the foreground.
-Max out your allowable altitude and point the camera more downward.
-Be sure to pan around and look for interesting light/colors/shadows/clouds behind you.
-As mentioned above, take your pics in raw format so you have more capability for post-processing.
-Use the DJI wide pano shot mode as well as single shot.
-If you can, try some shots with the aperture at the smallest to see if you can get some starburst effects.
If you use bracketing you can merge them using many photo editing software to get the best image. I use Adobe Lightroom classic, but there are many others out there
Let the ground be black if you have a great sky… here’s one in hyperlapse…
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