Shooting techs for sunrise and sunsets

[gail bisson]

I want to start shooting more of the beautiful sunrises I see. I am never sure what ISO I should be with the 7D. I am always on a tripod so I go with an aperture of F8 to F10 and don't worry too much about SS. Am I doing this correctly? Any advice from the experts?
Gail

[Jim Neiger]

Gail,
Try metering the scene and then shooting 2 thirds under. If that doesn't look good to your eye adjust and shoot again. Use the lowest ISO that allows for enough ss. Shoot in manual expopsure mode. Try not to look at the sun thru the lens. It can damage your eyes.

[Ian McHenry]

Hi Gail
I find the "shade" setting brings out good colour for Sunrises & Sunsets.
Cheers: Ian Mc
http://www.pbase.com/ianmc/sky_colours&page=all

[Robert Amoruso]

Some suggestions Gail:

1. Use white balance of shade or cloudy. AWB will wash out the colors. Of course if you are using RAW that can be adjusted in post-processing but always nice to see best color rendition on LCD.
2. For Canon 7D landscapes I would not venture above ISO 200 and ISO 100 even better. If your on a tripod should not be a big deal.
3. Small aperture to maximize depth of field unless of course a slow shutter speed causes issue. Go to www.dofmaster.com to find your DOF for the 7D and the len(s) you use.
4. Though I normally use manual mode for wildlife I rarely do for landscapes preferring to us the exposure compensation dial to tweak exposure. If unsure exposure I shoot it at 0 EC and check histogram and adjust. If I am doing an exposure of a beach or water sunrise, +1 to +2 (when water is really bright) when sun is not in frame are good starts.
5. If I am shooting long exposures (30 sec. 1 min. etc.) I will make exposure at higher ISO and larger aperture to get exposure set at a faster shutter speed. If you are shooting at speeds below the cameras lowest, then you will have to manually compute the new shutter as you reduce ISO and aperture back to your shooting conditions.
6. Use live view to compose if using strong ND filters. If you are use a ND filter, live view will be dark so just up EC to lighten view but remember to reset after setting up. I will use strong ND filters on the water to soften waves but hard to compose in a darken view finder.
7. I generally find my best sunrises and sunsets do not include the sun. I will be at location at least 45 minutes in advance of rises or set times. Predawm and post-set can be your best colors. If I am at the water, I like to be there1 hour in advance as the light gets really good well in advance of the sunrise.
8. Make sure to level the camera. I find hotshoe bubble levels inaccurate but your 7D has a built-in leveler you can bring up on the LCD. I use a RRS panning base that has a level bubble and that is very accurate.

This should help to get you going - good luck and don't forget to post your efforts in the landscape forum.

[Charles Glatzer]

Live View will work for exposure and composition, but not for placement of Grad Filters as it does not illustrate DOF.

I typically start by Spot Metering an area three fingers away from the sun. This places the metered value as a mid-tone, areas closer to the sun will be brighter, farther away darker. Live View is great for tweaking exposure especially when used in conjunction with a live histogram. Futhermore, Live View will save your eyesight.


Chas

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Some good suggestions by Robert and Chas. I find the live view to be of great help as there will be no harm to your eyes. It is better to decide on the exposure and then shift to live-view and manual.

Some of the profiles like landscapes etc pump a bit more colour. So you may do decide your comfort level about the colour profile and then click. Ofcourse, I mean that to be a starting point and you can fine tune the RAW file later.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[gail bisson]

Thank you all so much for your great advice. I will post soon on landscapes!
Gail

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Gail,

Great suggestions already mentioned above. I too prefer my sunrises/sunsets without the sun in the frame. When I am including the sun I love to use my 3-stop Singh Ray Reverse Grad which helps to hold back the brightest area of the sky just at or above the horizon. I also use my RGB histogram and watch the red channel for clipping. Look forward to seeing your posts in landscapes.

[Jay Gould]

Gail, I just Googled "Nova Scotia Photography Workshops" and there are heaps related to landscape photography. Do a couple; they will shorten the learning curve significantly!

[Grady Weed]

Good tips Roman. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.