> 4 minute read

How to Photograph the Perfect Sunset

Who doesn’t love a sunset? As one of the most spectacular sights in nature, they make a great subject to photograph, and it’s not as difficult as you might think…

Sunsets are fascinating sights wherever you are in the world, with the power to turn heads and stop people in their tracks. Although it’s hard to predict when a good sunset will appear, they are ever-changing and constantly evolving, which means it’s worth sticking around to see what the sky will turn into. Because they are so transient, be careful not to miss the perfect moment – you can’t rewind the clock.

When it comes to composition, many of the concepts from regular landscape photography still apply. Look for foreground interest and lead-in lines that take the viewer’s gaze through the picture to a magical ‘thirds’ point. It can be useful to work out the composition of your sunset picture well in advance of the main event, so you don’t miss the perfect light while you’re trying to find the right vantage point.

White Balance

When it comes to how to set up your camera, there are a couple tricks that can help give you better results. First, set your camera’s white balance to a preset like Daylight or Shade, instead of Auto. This is because the Auto setting might try to make the orange glow of the sunset appear like regular daylight, which is not the effect we want.

© Christopher Gilbert | Auto White Balance / Daylight White Balance

The way to change the white balance preset depends on the model of X Series camera you own:

Press MENU OK and then scroll to either the SHOOTING SETTING menu or the IMAGE QUALITY SETTING menu, then choose WHITE BALANCE.

Select the DAYLIGHT preset, indicated by a sun icon. Then half-press the shutter release button and you'll be ready to take your glorious sunset photo.

You can also access white balance settings through the Quick Menu by pressing the Q button.

Exposure

There is a huge variation in brightness tones in a sunset, which makes it a difficult situation to expose for. Point your camera down to include foreground detail and the sky might be overexposed; raise it up and the foreground might be too dark.

A good way to strike the right balance is to set up your camera (on a tripod if you have one) and use its exposure compensation feature to get the right brightness. Don’t be afraid to also shoot images that look a little too bright or a little too dark – a process known as bracketing. These might look great when you get home and look at your images on a computer.

© Christopher Gilbert | Underexposed

© Christopher Gilbert | Correct exposure

© Christopher Gilbert | Overexposed

If you have a tripod, then you’ll be able to use a slow shutter speed, which will let you set a low ISO sensitivity to maintain the very best image quality. You can also place the camera on a solid surface like a table or low wall and use the camera’s two-second self-timer to shoot so you don’t cause blur from camera shake when you press the shutter release. If you don’t have access to a tripod or a solid surface, don’t panic – you can still shoot handheld by raising the ISO and using Optical Image Stabilizatio,  In Body Image Stabilization or both if your camera and lens have them.

Shooting into the Light

When shooting towards the light, there is always a risk of flare spots appearing in your pictures, but this can be reduced by keeping the front surface of your lens scrupulously clean. It’s a good reason to keep a lens-cleaning cloth in your bag so you can give it a careful wipe before you start shooting.

© Christopher Gilbert | With flare spots / Without flare spots

Of course, all of these tips can be used just as well for sunrise photography as they can be for shooting a sunset. You’ll just have to get up early!

Your Next Step

• CHALLENGE Show us what you can do! Shoot a sunset using the tips and tricks we’ve given you here and post the results to social media with the hashtags #learnwithfujifilm. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.