Photo-graphing Sunsets and Sunrises

Photo-graphing Sunsets and Sunrises

Introduction

Considering that sunrises and sunsets rank amongst one of nature's grandest spectacles, it is of little surprise that artists - and photographers - have sought to depict them through the ages. Given the automation that comes packed into today's cameras, it would seem that photographing sunsets and sunrises would be a breeze. As luck would have it, making great photos of sunsets and sunrises call for certain skills that one needs to be aware of, and , diligently practiced till they become second nature.

Inspired by the plethora of sunrise / sunset photos up for viewing on the net, it is no surprise that newcomers to photography attempt - in their own humble way - to mimic the masters. Enthusiasm quickly turns to dejection when they consistently fail to create striking images. Little surprise then, that one of the most commonly asked questions by many amateurs is just how it is I go about making my sunrise and sunset photos.

The "WOW" factor
Before I delve into the art - and craft - of making spectacular photos of sunrises and sunsets, let me delve a bit into my personal philosophy of photography. Of course, this is my personal opinion, but a little pondering on the issues I mention below, may just strike a chord and help you capture that spectacular sunset / sunrise you always wanted to photograph.
There are photographs. And there are photographs.

No, let me rephrase that! There are photographs, and there are photo-graphs .Or, put another way, there is photography, and there is photo-graphy. Photographs are umm... what most people into photography take. As for photo-graphs - that is what advanced amatuers and professionals make.

Taking a photograph is easy -- just use the automation capablities of your camera, point it at watch catches your fancy, and fire away...

Making a photo-graph calls for more work; it involves slowing down, identifying just what it was that caught your eye, carefull and deliberate compostion and metering. It involes making the photograph in one's head before taking it via one's digital or analog camera. And that is what real photograhy (aka photo-graphy) is all about! Its what makes one sit up a little straighter in one's chair and go "WOW!"

What's with this "photo-graphy" thingie that you're going on about?

I knew that question was coming.. let me explain.

For starters, it would be of tremendous use to the budding photographer if he / she started thinking of photography as term rooted in two seperate words - one a science, the other, being art. Think about it - the "photo" of photography has all to do about light, or rather the science of light. Specifically, how to measure the quantum of light falling on / reflecting off a subject / scene & expose correctly. As for the "graphy" - that stems from the term graphics - which is all about art. When viewed in this fashion, photography becomes both an art, as well as a craft (science).
As a craftsman, a photographer must not only be intimately familiar with his tools, but also know the why's, how's and when's of employing them. And that is only possible, if he understands the mechanics of exposure.

As an artist, the photographer must know - and be able to employ the building blocks of graphic design. Form, shape, light, colour and space -- these are the buidling blocks of grraphic design, and it is only when they are deliberately put to best use that art speaks aloud from the canvas it was portrayed on.

Consistent and studied application of the science and art of photography by the budding photographer is hence what is called for in order to reach a stage where he / she can consistently produce outstanding images.

Photo-graphing sunrises and sunsets : The Art
As an artist seeking to portray a sunrise or sunset, one is primararily concerned with shapes, form, and colour. The brilliant hues of a blood-red sky, wisps of clouds, the orb of the sun (more on the orb later), make for a perfect backdrop. To complete the picture, however, an object in the foreground is called for.

It is important to note however, that detail (texture) in the foreground object(s) are not needed -- they can actually distract at times. It is hence best to render such foreground objects to silhouettes (relatively easy considering they are backlit). Renderding these objects as silhouttes essentially reduces them to mere shapes, and shapes are one of the most basic elements of design by which an artist can convey his / her vision.

It is imperative at this stage for the photographer to precisely identify the precise shapes that captured their imagination in the first case. It is a gift to be simple, and the less the number of objects competing for attention in the frame, the more powerful the final image will be. Identify the elements that add to the image, exclude all those that take away from it.

Having identified the key elements to include in the frame, the next process is one of composition - specifically, placement of key elements within the frame. The rule of thirds is a good starting point, though one can break rules, if the situation so warrants it.

While we are on the topic of "key elements", it is worthwhile to ask ourselves the question "To orb, or not to orb?", which is to say, should one include the orb of the sun in the frame, or exclude it? Again, the answer to this is simple, and stems from your answer to the questions you should allways be asking yourself : "Is this element vital to the scene? Does it add to the scene? Or, does it take away from it?" If the orb of the sun does not add to the image in your mind, exclude it!

A vital element of sunrise / sunset photography is reproducing the myraid range of colours that one is almost certain to encounter in the sky at that time. Colour is, at the heart of things, one of the primary elements of design. Reproducing colour accurately - or, rather as the photographer would like it reproduced - is a science in itself.

Photo-graphing sunrises and sunsets : The Science

As I've already mentioned, the "photo" part of photo-graphy is all about the science of correctly measuring the light in order to obtain "correct" exposure. Considering the degree of automation built into today's digital cameras, it would seem a breeze to set an automatic exposure setting, and click away. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For starters, automatic exposure can be tricked into exposing for foreground elements in the frame, thereby rendering them as mid-tone, showing considerable detail in them. This detail, as I've already mentioned, is undesirable, our objective being to [usually] render foreground objects as silhouettes. To make things worse, such cases where automation is tricked into exposing for the foreground, will invariably result in the background being overexposed, rendering the orb of the sun (if present in the frame) as a blown-out highlight. It also results in the gorgeous tones of the sky being rendered as tones other than what you'd visualised them to be.

Many would argue that many of the issues I've talked about above, could be "fixed" in photo-editing software. My reply to that is that, for starters, there is no way to recover detail in blown-out highlights. None! Zilch! Nada! As for "fixing" tones that haven't been blown out, yes that can be done, but do keep in mind that every edit to a digital image degrades it in some way or the other. The more the number of hoops your image has to jump through during image editing, and the more the loss of quality from the original. Better by far, to know the science of exposure, and diligently apply during the picture making process, tweaking the image to the bare minimum in PS or the like.

A detailed primer on exposure lying outside the scope of this article, I'll briefly touch upon how to go about exposing in order to render a brilliant sunset / sunrise. In essence, what you need to do is take a reading off the brighest part of the sky, and expose for it. For this, you need to set your camera so that it uses either the spot or partial meter of your camera.

It is very important to keep in mind is that if the orb of the sun will lie in the frame, you need to minimize the amount of time you look at the sun through the viewfinder - doing so can cause irreversible damage to your eye, literally burning a hole in your retina. A fact that may not be apparent immediately, but cause considerable problems over time. If the sun will form part of the final image, take a reading off a part of the sky such that the sun is not included in the scene. Then, recompose and fire away.

Taking a reading off the brightest part of the sky as described above, will assign it as mid-tone. Typically you want the brightest part of the sky to be rendered as bright, not mid-tone. You compensate for this by dialing in an apropriate amount of exposure compensation. I typically use +1 as a starting point, this renders the brightest part of the sky as bright, while retaining considerable detail in it, as well as greatly saturating tones that are darker than mid-tone.
Of course, there is no reason why the brightest part of the sky should be rendered as bright. You could choose to let it be rendered as mid-tone (thus darkening its original tone and everything else), or choose to render it as a tone darker than midtone (by dialing in negative EC), making for some very dramatic pictures. It all depends on the vision in your mind how you concieve the image, the mood you want to convey - all before you trip the shutter. Remember it's about making images, not taking them! As I've said before, images are made in the mind of the photo-grapher before the shutter is tripped!

And that's that about the science of photo-graphing sunrises and sunsets!

Conclusion

A thorough familiarity, and studied application of the art as well as the science of photography results is consistently excellent images that are a result of delibration, not accident. Sunsets and sunrises give us the opportunity to capture nature in all it's glory; we just need to do justice to it!