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Photography Course Online - Take Stunning Sunset Shots On Your Vacation - Part 2!

In my previous photography course online article, I described ideas to make your sunset shots stunning, when on vacation. When you experience a once in a lifetime visit to an island of your dreams, for example, you want to make the most of the opportunity to capture truly wonderful moments. A sunset, captured properly, will reveal those moments in abundance. It is, perhaps surprisingly, not that hard to produce professional looking images. You just need to ensure you get the basics right.

Firstly, equipment. Modern Digital SLRs enable you to take pictures to a high standard (the limit is your own personal skill and creativity), but most current digital compact cameras produce acceptable images. A tripod is beneficial, as you will need to provide sturdy support to prevent camera shake as light fades, and you begin to use a slower shutter speed (more of this shortly). A smaller tripod (such as a GorillaPod) can be used if you want to mount your camera on a smaller base (such as some rocks) and is fairly flexible.

A remote shutter release is also a useful piece of equipment. Once your camera is set up, the remote release enables you to ensure absolutely no movement when you release the shutter. When checking a picture on the camera's LCD screen, it can appear to be shake free. But when reviewing later on PC, any movement is much more perceptible, and can ruin what seemed a great image at the time. So it is always best to take as many precautions as possible to prevent a blurred image. If you are submitting images as assignments for a photography course online, clear images will be essential.

As far as shutter speeds and aperture settings go, I find that I constantly review these as conditions change. Generally, I am set up at least 60 minutes before sunset, so to begin with there is usually good light available. At this stage a fast shutter speed (1/125 sec or higher) works well. Aperture settings will vary depending on the depth of field required for a particular shot, but in most cases, if a sharply focused image is desired for the whole picture, f/16 or above is fine. As light fades, I reduce the shutter speed, to 1/3 sec or slower (reviewing image brightness on the LCD screen as I go, adjusting up or down as necessary).

If possible, shoot your images in RAW format. Although the files are larger than JPEG, they do allow for extreme levels of manipulation in post-production (Photoshop or similar). If any images have come out too dark, this is the place to add some brightness. Another interesting aspect here is to adjust the image's dimensions. Whilst most printed pictures are framed in standard Portrait or Landscape sizes, sunsets transfer extremely well to panoramic views, so it is well worth applying a free hand in post-production, and consider making your final framed photograph a panorama.

Hopefully this photography course online article will be beneficial when taking your sunset images. The beauty of digital photography is that you can apply trial and error tactics without it costing (as opposed to the days of film). However, having originally trained via film-based SLRs, I still do my best to make every shot as good as it can possibly be. I would advise anyone to do the same, as it builds discipline, and stops you from getting into the habit of taking "lazy" pictures.

About the Author

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