Photographing A Sunrise....

[pesh]

Hi All

I've never taken sunrise photos, do you have any tips?

Thx

Sharon

[PossumCorner]

First set your alarm clock.

(After checking on the interweb thingey what time sunrise is).

Use a monopod or tripod for the smidge of extra sharpness that will give you.

Take some on automatic, then base your manual shots on the auto "suggestions".

Try the sports and landscape auto options for comparisons.

The little Sony A55 has a nifty 'sunsets' setting that does not change auto settings, but enhances colour in camera.

So you can say hand on heart "not photoshop manipulation" but the camera has made extra adjustments.

This is the Sony take on a sunrise the other morning.

It was a smashing sunrise, OH stopped to take it on the way to work, and emailed it from his whatever phone (I lose track) so I'd just taken this and did a return email, blew his away, (pistols at dawn).

For mine the exif was iso 640, shutter 125th, f4.5.

Higher iso allows faster shutter and if I did that manual I'd use slower shutter but smaller aperture for wider depth of field. And need to use a tripod, or monopod at least.

[pesh]

Thx PC. I love the shot and the comment. :laugh:

We went out this morning as the cloud cover has been too deep, but even today wasn't the best. But up at 4:30 and off to Catherine Hill Bay Beach here on the NSW Central Coast.

This was around 5:30-6am.

From this pictures the clouds only get thinker and thinker. Always the way..... :laugh:

edit for spelling.

Edited April 1, 2013 by pesh

[RallyValley]

Put your camera on manual exposure and take a meter reading from the sky. Then shoot away so the sky is correctly exposed and you will get nice silhouettes on the foreground objects.

This is a sunrise shot at 70mm, f/ 6.3, ISO 400 and at 1/1600 of a second. It was handheld at 6.30am.

[pesh]

Thx RallyValley very much appreciated.

Any help at this stage is greatly appreciated, lol.

[kja]

What camera are you using? I shoot most of my sunrises on my baby Canon compact coz it's easier to carry while walking the doggies :)

I usually prefer to shoot silhouettes or simply without flash. I point at the sky until the image looks how I want it to look - not too light, not too dark, keeping colour in the sky - then recompose if I want the dogs or a subject in the frame.

Sometimes I know the sky is a lost cause, or it's simply boring mostly, so I aim for the action knowing I'll get some good splash of colour

Don't forget to turn around with your back to the sunrise

oops, found one at sunrise :)

This was sunset, but it's the same concept. I used flash here and just made sure I was far enough away from the dogs not to blow them out

Edited April 11, 2013 by kja

[mixeduppup]

Yep, getting up is the hardest part. Sunrises normally take care of themselves. I would suggest having a good light filter on your camera though, otherwise graininess could become a problem in lower light.

[persephone]

If I can, I try & find a tree ,etc to block out the brightest light from the sun, and to add interest .... I don't do many.

[kja]

Forgot to mention - I prefer presunrise light and that moment right when the sun is crossing the horizon. Right after, unless there are some nice clouds around, the sky can be really ugly or just meh. And ten minutes after sunrise usually the great light is done for the morning.

For this area, I use Willy Weather to see the first light and sunrise times. First light for here is usually about 12-15 minutes BEFORE the first light time on WW, so you might have to allow some room for error :D

[pesh]

Thx everyone for taking the time to give great advice. Fantastic photos. Everyone you can see the little differences you prefer.

kja, the shots with the dogs sitting, have you just used the flash on the camera, or added extra light?

Pers, the one with the tree, wow just gorgeous.

[kja]

Sorry, the last two are wtih the camera's flash turned on :)

[huga]

First light is the most magic. Sunset is nice, but sunrise is super special :) I prefer clouds.

[pesh]

I've been up three times to take sunrise shots. Every bl**dy time we've had huge cloud masses and they're boring :laugh: . I will get there.

[kja]

Cloud masses make amazing photos - again, the light is best just before sunrise so it's early early. Once the sun hits the horizon when it's super cloudy, often the sky is blah