Quick Thoughts: The Old Simple Sunset Trick

I found this little gem of Scott Bourne's and thought it was a great reminder as so many of you utilize the down time of this first quarter to just play and experiment. Skip Cohen

by Scott Bourne

There are many ways in post to make your sunset photos sing. But what if you don’t like to mess around in post? Here’s a simple way to jazz up your sunset photos in the camera. Under-expose. If you purposely under-expose, you’ll over-saturate the colors in the sunset.  Most of the time I simply under-expose by one and one half stops and boom! Out comes the color.

You’ll have to experiment with the proper amount of under-exposure. Too much under-exposure and everything will get lost in the shadows. The image will become noisy and ugly. Not enough under-exposure and the color won’t pop. But since just about everyone is using a digital camera it’s no big deal. Silicon is cheap! Shoot two or three shots, each with a different amount of exposure compensation.

PhotoCredit: © Nyzoli | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images