In this section, we will introduce lighting techniques for sunrise and sunset photography.
1.Metering tips.
The position of the metering is important when shooting the sun, and the image will be different depending on the position. In general, there are 3 common metering methods.
Metering is performed according to the brightness of the sun.
To capture the bright sun, you can use spot metering mode to target the edge of the sun, then lock** and reframe the shot.
Focal length: 155mm Aperture: f8 Shutter speed: 1 1250s Sensitivity: ISO400
Above: The clouds are delicately layered, which is the result of metering the gray area near the sun.
Focal length: 55mm Aperture: f11 Shutter speed: 1 500s Sensitivity: ISO200
Above: The metering position is selected around the sun, so that the ground and the cruise ship form a silhouette effect due to the lack of **.
Metering is performed on the surface of the water.
When the sunlight hits the water directly, the reflection of the water surface is often brighter than the light of the sun itself, at this time, you can use the spot metering mode to meter the highlight position of the water surface, and then lock ** and reframe the photo to shoot, so that the ** result will be more accurate.
Focal length: 16mm Aperture: F816 Shutter speed: 4s Sensitivity: ISO50
Above: The water surface occupies a large area in the picture, and the needle measures it to obtain a delicate picture.
Metering is performed according to the entire frame.
When there is no sun in the frame, the overall brightness is relatively low, at this time, you can use evaluative metering (Canon) or matrix metering (Nikon) mode for metering, and appropriately increase or decrease ** compensation to obtain accurate ** results, which is also a common metering method when shooting landscapes.
Focal length: 16mm Aperture: f14 Shutter speed: 25s sensitivity: ISO100
Above: The sky and water surface are evenly lit, and you can get the best picture by using the evaluative metering mode.
2.Photograph the sun with a long reflection on the surface of the sea.
If you shoot a sunrise or sunset across the surface of the water, you will see a dazzling band of light reflected in the sun as it jumps out of the water or sinks close to the water. When the water waves shake, this band of light will show twinkling starlight, and the scenery is very charming. This band of light is usually golden or red in color, and the lower it is viewed, the closer the sun is to the water, and the longer the band will be.
When photographing this kind of beauty, we should not only use light bands and sun to compose the picture, but also add compositional elements such as fishermen, boats and birds to the picture, so that the connotation of the picture is deeper, the artistic conception is higher, and it is more beautiful and poetic.
Focal length: 28mm Aperture: f22 Shutter speed: 08S sensitivity: ISO100
Above: The sun on the surface of the sea reflects a long band of light, enhancing the sense of space and making the feeling of the setting sun more intense.
3.The performance is full of light.
At sunset, the sight of the sun shining in the sky is also very beautiful, and it is one of the scenes that photographers often depict. To accentuate the glow of the sun, try to choose a small aperture to better represent the light through the clouds. After stopping the aperture, the depth of field becomes larger, and with the right time, it can better express the rich layers of clouds in the sky and the feeling of full of light.
Focal length: 37mm Aperture: f56 Shutter speed: 1 60s Sensitivity: ISO400
Above: Stopping the aperture when shooting glow makes the sensation of radiation more pronounced.
4.Silhouette. When shooting sunrise and sunset scenes in backlit conditions, the light in the scene is relatively large, and the latitude of the sensor cannot accurately reproduce the brightest and darkest parts of the scene at the same time. In this case, photographers mostly choose to restore the sky in the background, and process the scene in the foreground into a silhouette effect, which can not only increase the beauty of the picture, but also set off the atmosphere of the picture. If the silhouette is easy to turn gray when shooting, you can do negative ** compensation to make the silhouette appear pure black, and at the same time make the picture more colorful.
Focal length: 20mm Aperture: f10 Shutter speed: 1 160s Sensitivity: ISO100
Above: Negative ** compensation can be done when shooting, so that the feeling of silhouette is more obvious.
5.Stop down the aperture to show the sun's rays.
In order to show the dazzling effect of the sun, set off the atmosphere of the picture, and increase the appeal of the picture, a star lens can be installed in front of the lens to make the sun present a starry effect. If you don't have a star lens, you can shoot with a closed aperture to achieve a similar effect. It is usually necessary to choose a small aperture in the range of f16 and f32, which can give the point light source a beautiful starlight effect. The smaller the aperture, the more pronounced the starlight effect will be.
Focal length: 16mm Aperture: f22 Shutter speed: 1 320s Sensitivity: ISO1600
Above: When you shoot at the aperture down, you can see the sun in the shape of a star, giving you a dazzling feeling in the frame.
6.The backlight represents the clouds of Phnom Penh.
To photograph clouds inlaid with golden bright edges, you need to shoot when the clouds cover the sun, and then the sun's rays will shoot out from behind the clouds, forming a radial ray, adding to the appeal. Because it is based on clouds, the aperture can be narrowed, the depth of field of the picture is larger, the sense of light is more prominent, and negative ** compensation can be made to make the color of the picture richer and saturated. 
Focal length: 300mm Aperture: f56 Shutter speed: 1 200s Sensitivity: ISO800
Above: The clouds in Phnom Penh make the picture look infectious, a rare sight.
7.Gold tones at sunset.
At sunset, when the color temperature of the light is low, the picture appears warm, and then using cloudy white balance, which is used to balance the cool tones, can make the picture appear warmer, i.e., to shoot the tonal effect of a golden sunset. If you want to get warmer tones, you can use shadow white balance to get more intense colors. Of course, when shooting, whether the light is strong at the time and whether the air is transparent are also important factors that affect the final color.
Focal length: 185mm Aperture: f71 Shutter speed: 1 250s Sensitivity: ISO100
Above: Shooting with the white balance set to cloudy mode, the sun in the frame emits a circle of golden light, and the whole picture has a deep warmth.
8.Cool tones before sunrise.
To express the cool tones before sunrise, you can try using daylight white balance, or manually adjust the color temperature to 5 000 K or lower to get a sharp cool effect, but it should be noted that it is usually sufficient to manually adjust the color temperature to around 4 000 K, otherwise it may cause the image to be oversaturated with blues and lose a lot of detail.
Focal length: 17mm Aperture: f20 Shutter speed: 2s Sensitivity: ISO200
Above: The air is clean just before sunrise, and the sky is clear.
9.Blue-purple hues at sunset.
When shooting at sunset, the color temperature is low, so the image is warm, and the white balance of fluorescent lights can be used to create a blue-purple hue. The lower the color temperature, the more pronounced the purple hue will be, while the higher the color temperature, the original blue will appear.
Focal length: 24mm Aperture: f56 Shutter speed: 1 320s Sensitivity: ISO400
Above: At sunset, the blue-purple sky feels dreamy, and the overall picture is cool.
Focal length: 16mm Aperture: f18 Shutter speed: 1 8s Sensitivity: ISO160
Above: Set to fluorescent white balance mode to express the sunset in a beautiful blue-purple tone.
This article is selected from the book "Digital SLR Shooting Misunderstandings and Real Shooting Skills: Light and ** Chapter", all text and ** rights are reserved, copying and copying pictures are prohibited, and infringement must be investigated!