Sunet Problem!

[aarongroves103]

Hi - Ive recently got my grubby little hands on a Canon 350D which to the most part is fantastic. Im used to a Casio Exilim which has loads of presettings on it and the one i liked to use was the sunset mode - i think it changed the white balance prety good nd it yeilded some good results.

I recently took the 350D to my local park in South East london to take some snaps of the sun setting only to come home to find they were either too dark or too bright - i couldnt figure out how to captue the image as i saw it.

here is the first one ( took dark)

http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?i...img1502ug2.jpg

and the new, too bright

http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?i...img1532ki9.jpg


I bascily want to know what would be the best settings for capturing a sunset like this.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Kita]

It would be helpful to know the ISO, shutter speed and f-stop used in each of the two images......kinda hard to suggest different settings without knowing the starting point.:-)

[aarongroves103]

okay - il just drag them up. give me couple of mins

[aarongroves103]

i think for the dark one i was using an aperture of f/11 and the iso was 100 with a shutter speed of 1/200 iso 100

the bright one was 1/80, f/7,iso 200

[bhammitt]

Hello aarongroves103! I think your settings are ok, here is a tip I learned from some of the guys on here. When taking sunset or rise photos meter on a area that is midway between the darkest and lightest area in your composition. Most cameras don't have the ability or dynamic range to get all the different light. Here is a example of one I took last summer. f-8 1/250 white balance cloudy iso 200

Bob

[aarongroves103]

Thats a really great shot!

[Kita]

I use bhammitt's technique, myself....usually pretty successfully.

The settings you used have some middle ground where you probably should have been. For the bright shot, you opened the lens, slowed down the shutter AND upped the ISO. (all of which would contribute to a brighter image). Perhaps do some playing in the middle ground....

Also, I suggest checking the histogram while taking the pics. That way, you'll get a good idea of the results before you get home and dump them on the computer.

Good luck!

[bhammitt]

Thank you aarongroves103! I look forward to seeing some cool sunset shots from you!

Bob

[granthagen]

aarongroves103, If you really want to get some cool results, you should look into HDR (High Dynamic Range) blending. You take two (or more) shots at different exposures and blend the results in a photo editor. This lets you use the best parts of the different exposures to give a more balanced, detailed depiction of the scene.

Of course, it's more trouble -- you have to tote along a tripod -- to take the shot, but you can get results that are impossible with just a single exposure.

There are numerous online tutorials on the various blending methods that can be used, and you don't need Photoshop to do it -- though PSCS2 has a merge to HDR function that automates the process to a large degree. Any editor that supports layer masking can do this.

Luminous Landscapes has good info' on this subject if it sounds intriguing.

Grant

[aarongroves103]

That does seem like a good idea, however for me it defeats what photography is about - i see it as cheating in a way.

I shall give it a go an report back

thanks for the advice chaps

aaron