Sunset HDR Photos
Taking HDR photos of the sunset is a natural choice for many people starting out taking HDR pictures. There is more dynamic range shooting into the sun than in any other situation. Shooting directly into the sun without using HDR techniques will result in an overexposed background or underexposed foreground. Luckily you have a few options to deal with such a situation.
EV compensation
Modern digital cameras have EV compensation which allows you to brighten or darken a photo. After you have enabled Bracketed Multiple Exposures, set the EV compensation higher then neutral. What this does is lower the dynamic range between the darkest and brightest areas in the photo.
5 (or more) bracketed exposures manually
This method will produce the best results. Using your trusty tripod, manually adjust the EV compensation up in equal increments. This will produce a higher dynamic range but requires a bit more practice manually changing the exposure values.
Turn around
Sometimes when you’re aiming at the sun, what your missing is the beautiful orange glow behind you. The hour before the sun sets has a magical effect on the ambient light in a picture. You wont notice any of this great light if you’re pointing straight into the sun.
What is your favorite sunset HDR photo technique?
August 17th, 2007 at 2:40 am
Good stuff, I do HDR photography in Japan.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
It’s an interesting concept to say the least..