SUNSET PHOTOS
- Thread starter Peeta Howard
- Start date
Here's one person's opinions and suggestions on a rainy morning when flying is off the table. I hope you'll hear from others, too.
There are no "best" settings for sunrises and sunsets, because people's preferences and interests vary so much. The right settings are the ones that produce photos that you like.
Try putting the drone in auto mode and tapping the screen in various places to alter the exposure until you find something that looks good to you. Tap on a darker region to lighten the exposure and tap on a brighter region to darken the exposure.
Or use manual mode with a low ISO setting and try various shutter (and aperture, if your drone has variable aperture) settings. I'm amazed at how stable drones can be and what slow shutter speeds can be used, but I try to keep shutter speed to 1/60 or faster.
You might also use the Auto Exposure Bracketing feature to fine tune the exposure on a particular shot.
Many people concentrate on the sun, but it's often just a highly overexposed dot. I lean toward making the interesting parts of the sky, reflections on water, or ground surfaces the main feature. Many of my favorite sunrise/sunset photos were shot with the sun below the horizon.
The scenes in sunrises and sunsets change rapidly. Get ready and start looking early and keep looking later. Often a somewhat blah scene becomes spectacular when a cloud passes or a reflection appears.
Look behind you, too. The light opposite the sun sometimes creates interesting images.
You might consider tinkering with HDR, high dynamic range, photos. Basically, you shoot a range of exposures without moving the drone and then use software to combine them, bringing out the best of the areas of the scene with various light levels.
I may be telling you things that you already know, but be aware that you can see the camera settings for your photos by examining the EXIF data that's stored with each photo file. A program like Irfanview (free download) provides a quick and simple way to do that.
Have fun and share your results here.
Shoot in AEB (auto exposure bracketing) mode to get a better chance of getting the right exposure.
Shoot raw to get the best dynamic range for each shot.
Consider using HDR (with a light touch) if you are bracketing and the scene is suitable (and you are OK with more post-processing).
Expose to the right without clipping anything important. There will be clipping (or blocked shadows) — decide what you want to get from the shot and expose accordingly.
I would recommend looking at Michael Freeman's books Light and Perfect Exposure. Both have very useful information on shooting sunsets.
Shoot raw to get the best dynamic range for each shot.
Consider using HDR (with a light touch) if you are bracketing and the scene is suitable (and you are OK with more post-processing).
Expose to the right without clipping anything important. There will be clipping (or blocked shadows) — decide what you want to get from the shot and expose accordingly.
I would recommend looking at Michael Freeman's books Light and Perfect Exposure. Both have very useful information on shooting sunsets.
BobaFut
Well-Known Member
Bracket bracket bracket!
Beyond that, my 2 cents is that the settings matter less than A) timing; B) weather; and C) scene selection.
Regarding A) too many people shoot to far from sunset, meaning they are shooting too long before or too long after. IMO, sunset photos rarely look good if the sun is actually up, but weather and scene selection will have an influence there. Typically, about 20 minutes post-sunset is the best time if you're planning on getting things like city lights, as you can still pick up details in the shadows without blowing the highlights of any lights in your scene. At sunrise, most photos don't turn out well more than a couple of minutes after the sun is fully up...although again the weather and scene selection will be a factor here. But on a clear day, a sunrise will quickly transition from golden hour (good timing) to full daylight (boring) pretty quickly. If you can get some high clouds, they'll actually be lit up well before the sun goes up (or after the sun goes down).
Regarding B) Clear days are boring. Cloudy days are boring.
Regarding C) If you A and B are good, then C is less of an issue. If C is not so great, then A and B will be essential. If C is great, then A and B aren't so important. Lots of people take a photo of sunrise on a clear day over like an empty field and that, IMO, just isn't interesting at all.
Beyond that, my 2 cents is that the settings matter less than A) timing; B) weather; and C) scene selection.
Regarding A) too many people shoot to far from sunset, meaning they are shooting too long before or too long after. IMO, sunset photos rarely look good if the sun is actually up, but weather and scene selection will have an influence there. Typically, about 20 minutes post-sunset is the best time if you're planning on getting things like city lights, as you can still pick up details in the shadows without blowing the highlights of any lights in your scene. At sunrise, most photos don't turn out well more than a couple of minutes after the sun is fully up...although again the weather and scene selection will be a factor here. But on a clear day, a sunrise will quickly transition from golden hour (good timing) to full daylight (boring) pretty quickly. If you can get some high clouds, they'll actually be lit up well before the sun goes up (or after the sun goes down).
Regarding B) Clear days are boring. Cloudy days are boring.
Regarding C) If you A and B are good, then C is less of an issue. If C is not so great, then A and B will be essential. If C is great, then A and B aren't so important. Lots of people take a photo of sunrise on a clear day over like an empty field and that, IMO, just isn't interesting at all.
Bobafut, Thank you also for your suggestions. I'm printing all these replies out and will study / try to absorb the information. Then of course the interesting bit . . . putting them into effect.
Depends on your latitude and season. When I was in Greenland we got lovely sunset light for ages and sunrise was equally long (although I was rarely up that early).
I use The Photographers Ephemeris to figure this stuff out.
Photo Ephemeris
Photo Ephemeris helps you plan outdoor photography in natural light. See how the light will fall on the land, day or night, for any location on earth.
My living room windows and the adjacent deck look west out over one of the great lakes, so we see a full sunset virtually every day. IMHO the best sunset shots do not include the disc of the sun. You need some clouds to make a great sunset shot. Don't attempt to focus on the sun. as the disc of the sun is almost always overexposed and often just a ill-defined blob of light. Don't stop shooting after the sun has set. Often the best sunset shots are just after the sun has set, but the clouds are being illuminated from below by the sun just below the horizon line. The post-sunset sky is great for images - for quite a while during the summer and for only a few minutes in the depth of winter. Enjoy.
Welcome. That’s a fantastic drone you have, great choice 
° Use an ND8 at sunrise and sunset.
° Under expose rather than over, especially near a beach.
° Single shot images have LOTS of detail to recover - I’d start there first. (AEB needs decent software to get the best results and can take practice).
° Framing. Framing. Framing. One well-framed shot is better than 15 ramdom snaps. Yes, can crop them - best to have a decent image to start with.
° Try full frame AND 16:9. Again, you can crop full frame - but with 16:9, it uses the whole screen and makes framing/viewing a bit easier.
Have fun
° Use an ND8 at sunrise and sunset.
° Under expose rather than over, especially near a beach.
° Single shot images have LOTS of detail to recover - I’d start there first. (AEB needs decent software to get the best results and can take practice).
° Framing. Framing. Framing. One well-framed shot is better than 15 ramdom snaps. Yes, can crop them - best to have a decent image to start with.
° Try full frame AND 16:9. Again, you can crop full frame - but with 16:9, it uses the whole screen and makes framing/viewing a bit easier.
Have fun
Only if you're tone-mapping or blending them. They still give you the choice of which image to work with, so there's no downside to shooting AEB.
Whilst that’s true, for a new user - I personally don’t think that recommending AEB is a good starting place.
Downsides are in abundance. Dealing with three (or five) times the images per shot, all of these on the storage, the time taken to blend, the software needed, a decent computer etc.
Single shot is much simpler to get going with. The dynamic range of the Air 2S is very impressive without trying to isolate 3/5 images to recover under/ever exposed areas. Shoot a little under-exposed and they will come out great
Then, move to AEB of you feel you need to.
To be clear, you are saying to always shoot AEB no matter what? So you have a choice?
There are reasons to use AEB without any intention to use HDR blending of images.
If you are shooting where you know that camera metering might be tricky or a moving subject where you won't be able to catch the subject/composition again and want to ensure that you get a properly exposed shot, AEB can be a very good idea.To be clear, you are saying to always shoot AEB no matter what? So you have a choice?
Shoot a little under-exposed and they will come out great
Actually, you have the best chance of getting a good exposure if you expose to the right. Underexposing was good advice for film, but digital sensors work differently.
Exposing to the Right Explained
Exposing to the right, or ETTR, is an approach to photography that is as helpful as it is controversial. On one hand, exposing to the right is yet another technique to remember while shooting, and it can potentially ruin your exposure if utilized incorrectly.
photographylife.com
To be clear, you are saying to always shoot AEB no matter what? So you have a choice?
That's exactly what I'm saying. Five-shot AEB shooting raw+jpeg gives the best chance of getting an ideal exposure.
It also gives the flexibility of trying different editing techniques with the same composition.
I see your points, in fact, being experienced myself, I’ll give them a goActually, you have the best chance of getting a good exposure if you expose to the right. Underexposing was good advice for film, but digital sensors work differently.
Exposing to the Right Explained
Exposing to the right, or ETTR, is an approach to photography that is as helpful as it is controversial. On one hand, exposing to the right is yet another technique to remember while shooting, and it can potentially ruin your exposure if utilized incorrectly.
That's exactly what I'm saying. Five-shot AEB shooting raw+jpeg gives the best chance of getting an ideal exposure.
It also gives the flexibility of trying different editing techniques with the same composition.
However, I still disagree they are tips for beginners.Your link evens says it’s “controversial” and can “ruin your exposure” if you’re not skilled enough/understand.
Quote “It is important to know that this article is not for beginners. If you do not fully understand the fundamentals of exposure, then this article will be more confusing than helpful.”
Anyway, the OP seems happy enough, and that’s great
Last edited:
BobaFut
Well-Known Member
Why would you use an ND8 for drone photos with low light? Obviously if you're trying to get motion blur (water or headlights) then sure, you can try and push the exposure up to a couple of seconds (I've gotten sharp 1-2 second exposures with an Air2S is very calm conditions, but didn't need an ND for it). But for a static scene I try to avoid long exposures to the degree possible because drones just aren't that stable and you risk camera shake.Welcome. That’s a fantastic drone you have, great choice
° Use an ND8 at sunrise and sunset.
° Under expose rather than over, especially near a beach.
° Single shot images have LOTS of detail to recover - I’d start there first. (AEB needs decent software to get the best results and can take practice).
° Framing. Framing. Framing. One well-framed shot is better than 15 ramdom snaps. Yes, can crop them - best to have a decent image to start with.
° Try full frame AND 16:9. Again, you can crop full frame - but with 16:9, it uses the whole screen and makes framing/viewing a bit easier.
Have fun
Exactly.
The only reason to use an ND filter for drone stills, is to force the camera to use a slower shutter speed than it otherwise would.
Apart from that, it's not helping and only makes it harder to get a good image.
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