twentyfive€tips€for creating€memorable sunrise€&€sunset...

TwentyTwentyFive Tips forFive Tips forCreating MemorableCreating Memorable

Sunrise & Sunset PhotosSunrise & Sunset PhotosBeaches, Bays &Beaches, Bays & BeyondBeyond

by

Scott D. Butcher | www.scottbutcher.com

http://www.scottbutcher.com

There are no rules for good photographs, thereare only good photographs.

– Ansel Adams



This ebook is free.Read it. Share it. Post it.

(But only this file in its entirety.)

Please remember…

The ebook is copyrighted, as are theindividual photos and text.

Don’t: alter the text, copy the photos, edit the photos, or importthe photos into a photo editor, crop them, and use them for

business or personal use. That would be bad.

Enough said. Here’s the notice:

© 2010 by Scott D. Butcher. All rights reserved.



About the Author / Photographer

Thanks for checking out my little ebook of photo tips. I’m a photographer bypassion, not profession. That stated, I do have a Certificate in ProfessionalPhotography from the New York Institute of Photography. By day I’m Vice Presidentof JDB Engineering, Inc. (www.jdbengineering.com) and my background is marketingand business development in the design and construction industry.

Over the past few years I’ve been fortunate to have several books that I’ve writtenand photographed get published by major niche publishers: Schiffer Publishing, TheHistory Press, and Arcadia Publishing.

I specialize in what I’ve branded “Short Attention Span History”: in this day and ageof blogs, status updates, and Tweets, we’ve all become accustomed to gettinginformation in short bursts. Many of my books have been called either “photolegacy” books or “photo documentary” books. They feature vibrant, fullcolorphotos, with short but informationpacked captions that provide a wealthinformation about the subject.

When I’ve given presentations, or participated in exhibits or shows, one of thecomments I’ve often heard is, “My sunrise shots don’t look like that.” Well, there’sreally no reason that they can’t, and hopefully this little ebook will provide you withenough tips to capture dramatic sunrise and sunset shots, too. Let me know howyou make out! Shoot me an email at [email protected] . I always enjoygetting feedback, so if you enjoyed this ebook, or any of my printed books, or if youhave any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Happy shooting!


http://www.jdbengineering.com

mailto:[email protected]


Books by Scott Butcher



Introduction

There’s something magical about sunrise and sunset, and those periods immediately beforeand after. Maybe it’s Mother Nature’s kaleidoscope of color – the subtle pastel colors ofsunrise, the fiery painted sky of sunset. Or maybe it’s that period of morning solitude beforethe day really gets going … or the romantic end to a day, framed by heavenly artistry.

Whatever the reason, we love sunrises and sunsets.

Some of us love to take pictures of them, too. The Ansel Adams quote, “There are no rules forgood photographs, there are only good photographs” is true. Photography is a visual art, everybit as open to subjective interpretation as other visual arts. Yet while there may not be rulesfor what constitutes a “good” photograph, there are certainly many tips to help you realisticallycapture a scene, or even create an imaginative rendering of a beautiful setting.

That’s why I wrote this ebook. For as much as we all relish the beauty of a vivid sunrise orsunset, we aren’t always able to accurately photograph what our eyes see. And even if we haveall the camera settings correct, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the final image will do justiceto the beauty that unfolded before our eyes.

So without further delay, here’s TwentyFive Tips for Creating Memorable Sunrise & SunsetPhotos.



Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos

Scout out the location inadvance, if possible.Scrambling for the“perfect” vantage point asthe sun rises or sets maycause you to miss the bestlight. Or the boat.

1


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Wear shoes. Even if youplan on sticking yourpiggies in the ocean, you’llbe walking in low lightwith lots of broken shells,rocks, sticks, and jellyfishjust waiting for theexposed flesh of your foot.

2


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Get there well before thesun touches the horizon(sunrise) and stay after thesun disappears (sunset).The most interestingcolors and dramatic skiesoften occur during thesetimes.

3


Above: Santa Catalina Mountains, AZRight: Chesapeake City, MD



Take a tripod. With theapproach or fleeting oflight, you’ll need it! If youdon’t have one with you,don’t fret! Use a largerock or a boardwalk railingor a parking meter oranything else you can findto help steady yourcamera. Many of today’scameras feature antishake technology, whichallows you to have longerexposure times withoutneed of a tripod – but it isbetter to be safe thansorry.

4


Delaware Seashore State Park, DE



Clear day? Not a cloud inthe sky? This oftenequates to a boring photoby itself. The sun risingover the ocean can bequite dull without texturein the sky.

5


Bethany Beach, DE



Silhouette, silhouette,silhouette! The mostdramatic photos occurwhen you have an objectsilhouetted against a vividsky. This might be a jettyor a dock or a boat. Orperhaps even a lighthouse,tower, unique building,statue, or marker. This isone technique to use onthose cloudless days toadd more drama to animage. Trees and grasseswork well, too, as do birdsand fisherman.

6


Above: Delaware Seashore State Park, DERight: Nassau, Bahamas



Clouds are good. And bad.I’ve found that the bestphotos come on days withpartly cloudy skiesbecause they add a lot ofcolor and texture. Butsometimes the mostdramatic images come onmostly cloudy days whenthe sun briefly peaksthrough and touches thebottom of the clouds.

7


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Don’t give up. Sometimesyou may get up early andfind that the sky is totallyclouded over and lacksdrama. But occasionally,after the sun has risen, itpeaks out well above thehorizon and offers up asplash of color. Andsometimes thejuxtaposition of light anddark within the clouds isthe most interestingaspect of a photograph.

8


Bethany Beach, DE



Turn around. Don’t stayso focused on the sunrising or setting over theocean, or whatever yourprimary subject may be,that you forget to turnaround and see the dramaunfolding behind you.These views aresometimes even moreinteresting!

9


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Only zoom close into aredorange sun on or nearthe horizon. A yellow sun,higher in the sky, candamage your camera (orworse, your eye!) if youzoom in too far. Plus, lensflare can ruin an otherwiseexcellent photo.

10


Indian River Inlet, DE



Okay, sometimes lens flarecan become a focal pointof an image.

11


Tortolita Mountains, AZ



Don’t put your cameraaway after the sun hasrisen. The pastel light ofthe first hour after dawn isideal for picture taking.Buildings take on adifferent color than duringthe middle of the day.Light is soft and diffuse.Shadows are notoverpowering.

12


Above: Bethany Beach, DERight: Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas



If there is a beach, theremight be a bay nearby,giving you the opportunityto photograph both therising and setting sun overwater. Or, in this case, amarina.

13


Indian River Bay, DE



No two sunrises andsunsets are the same, andthe colors change rapidlyso you will want to takelots of pictures. You canalways delete them later.

14


Little Assawoman Bay, DE



Even though you arephotographing a sunrise orsunset, the sun itself doesnot have to be in yourimage. Here is an exampleof a relatively lacklustersunrise. I was able tomake the photographmore visually interestingby using the jetty as thesubject, and not includingthe sun. The orangecolored wood on the sideof the jetty shows that thesun is low on the horizonand off to the left of theimage … but not yet highenough in the sky to lightthe top of the jetty.

15


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Remember to payattention to theforeground – splashingwaves, reflections, birds,rocks, etc. In some cases,the very stuff that mighthave cut your piggies, hadyou not followed Tip 2 andwore shoes.

16


Rehoboth Beach, DE



Try to use your camera’ssunset mode. It might addtoo much color, but canalso help bring out color oradd interest to a lifelessscene. Don’t rely on it,however: take photos ofthe scene with andwithout it. In this case, thesun was already below thehorizon – the camera’ssunset mode helpedcapture the warmth of themountains that had beenthere only momentsearlier, before I arrived atthis spot.

17


Catalina State Park, AZ



Don’t be afraid to includelarge expanses of sky andminimal amounts of landor horizon. Play aroundwith differentcompositions of the samescene. Remember, you’llnever get that exact samesunrise or sunset again.

18


Tortolita Mountains, AZ



Twilight (which,incidentally, is both thetime immediately after thesun sets as well as the timeimmediately before thesun rises) is actually aperfect time for “night”photography, especially ifyou are aiming away fromthe brightest part of thesky. There is still detail inbuildings and landscapefeatures, but it is darkenough to appear as anight scene. The primaryimage to the left is a“night” scene of DeweyBeach; the smaller imagewas taken seconds earlier,facing the oppositedirection.

19


Above: Dewey Beach, DERight: Dewey Beach, DE


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 20Underexpose. Don’t befooled by your camera’smetering system, whichoften senses too little light,resulting in a longerexposure that washes outthe color. Slightunderexposure has theopposite effect, creatingrich, vibrant colors. ThoughI frequently shoot in manualmode, so I can control all ofthe settings, I’ll also useautomatic exposure andmeter next to the brightestlight source – so if the sun isvisible, I’ll take the meterreading next to the sun,then recompose my image.


Indian River Inlet, DE


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 21Look for reflections. Thesun reflecting off water isan obvious choice, butsometimes the reflectionsof trees or buildings orstructures can create aunique effect – in this casethe arches of a historicbridge combining withtheir reflections to formcircles. The effect isfurther enhanced becausethe neutralcolored bridgeis bathed in the warmth ofthe earlymorning sunlight.


Susquehanna River, Columbia, PA


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 22Bad weather? Sometimesinclement weather can beyour friend, creatingtextured or forebodingskies. This turned into avery rainy day at thebeach, thanks to HurricaneDennis, which was severalhundred miles to thesouth. But the threateningskies arrived as the sunwas coming up, creating asmall window of goodshooting conditions.These photos were takenjust a few minutes apart.


Above: Bethany Beach, DERight: Bethany Beach, DE


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 23Like any other type ofphotography, whenshooting sunrise or sunsetphotos, composition isking. Look at these fourviews from the battlefieldat Gettysburg. By movingaround ever so slightly,and changing the vantagepoint, I was able to getfour very different options.The most boring photosresult from taking yoursubject, in placing it in thecenter of your picture (justlook at Tip 5). The imageon the top right ended upon the cover of a book.


Gettysburg National Military Park, PA


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 24Despite all your planning,sometimes desperatetimes call for desperatemeasures. I was notplanning to photographthis sunset. I wasn’tanywhere special, actually:just at home. But when Ilooked out the window, Isaw this sky and ran tograb my camera. The sunwas already below thehorizon and there wasnothing exciting tosilhouette in theforeground, so I ran intoan adjacent cornfield andused the cornstalks to adda bit of dark texture.


York, PA


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 25Never feel guilty aboutphotoimaging. In fact, alittle postproduction is avery good thing –something that allprofessionalphotographers do.Landscape photographerAnsel Adams, a master ofdarkroom techniques,stated: “You don’t take agood photograph, youmake it.” Here’s anexample of bringing outcolor simply by tweakingthe Levels – no otherchanges.

Here’s the photo exactly as Itook it, and the correspondingLevels menu. (In PhotoshopElements, ImageAdjustments Levels.)

A “standard” technique is tomove your sliders to thedarkest (left) and lightest(right) points. This didn’tchange much in the image.

Here I took the dark (left)slider and moved it to theright, creating anunderexposed effect. Look athow this simple change madethe sky far more vibrant.


Catalina State Park, AZ


Creating Memorable Sunrise & Sunset Photos 26Okay, so this is the bonus tip.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. If atfirst you do succeed, don’t get cocky: you’regoing to mess up next time, or the time afterthat.

And that is okay. You need to make mistakes tolearn from them. So you might want to practicethese techniques in your backyard or at a localpark, pond or lake, before you head away onvacation: that way, you’ll make the mistakeswhen it doesn’t really matter!



Contact Information

Scott D. Butcher, CPSMWeb site: www.scottbutcher.comPhoto site: www.scottbutcher.smugmug.comEmail: [email protected]: http://www.facebook.com/scottdbutcherLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdbutcherYouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/scottdbutcherBlog: http://www.yorkblog.com/window

BooksDelaware ReflectionsGettysburg PerspectivesYork: America’s Historic CrossroadsTucson Perspectives (Spring 2011)Lancaster County ReflectionsYork’s Historic ArchitectureSpooky York, PennsylvaniaCivil War Walking Tour of York, PAMarketing in the Building IndustryYork (Postcard History Series)Tombstone: Relive the Gunfight at the OK Corral


Stonington Harbor, CT


http://www.scottbutcher.smugmug.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.facebook.com/scottdbutcher

http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdbutcher

http://www.youtube.com/user/scottdbutcher

http://www.yorkblog.com/window


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