sunset at the lake

by Ej
(Philippines)

I went to the lake just to capture a good picture of the sun setting.

I'm into photography now and I'm only an amateur. I would like to practice more and comments are well appreciated thanks.



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The old sunset shot!

How many times have we looked up into the early evening sky and been astonished at how fantastic the sunset looks?

And how many times have we grabbed our cameras, snapped away, and then been pleased with the result?

I was decorating a room at home the other week. I was pleased with the final job. Even knowing that I had missed a couple of bits that were difficult to reach (right near the cupboards - such an awkward spot!). Still, I was pleased nonetheless.

Pleased, but not totally happy with my work. Sunsets can end up in the same category - pleasing, but not necessarily stunning.

So how do we turn pleasing into stunning?

One thing to do with a sunset is to include some foreground interest

Silhouettes work best. It could be a tree branch, a person standing admiring the sunset, or, if you are really lucky, some local wildlife sniffing the night air.

The second thing to consider is the rule of thirds.

In Ej's photo there is something right at the bottom, but it's just not quite in shot enough to make it part of the scene, and not quite out of shot to avoid it altogether.

As a final recommendation for sunsets - have a tweak at the contrast and saturation settings in 'post-processing'. Basically, tweak the colours using software.

The two settings to increase are the contrast setting - do this first; then try increasing the saturation a little. Any image editing software will have the ability to do this - even free ones.

A word of caution though - increase the settings subtly. Your aim is to enhance the sunset - not change the colours completely.

I hope this helps Ej (and of course other sunset snappers!), and thanks for submitting.

Ed.
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