Sunset Photography with Impact

Kuta Beach

Sunset and sunrise scenes can look quite spectacular whit the different shades of red and unique cloud patterns. Timing is of essence, since light conditions can change sometimes by the second.
Challenge
During sunset the diminishing light can make objects and people appear like silhouettes.
To make things worse, Pint & Shot cameras in ‘Auto mode’ can fool you with regards to the picture exposure. Let’s say you frame a person or a group of people against an underexposed background, the flash wants to compensate the exposure. Since most inbuilt flashes work only indoors or within a couple of meters effectively, the picture as you see it on the screen will be recorded darker.
Solution
There are a couple of things you can do to optimise results with your camera. The easiest and quickest solution is to turn off the flash altogether. This way you capture the scene at least the how you see it on your preview LCD-display.
Secondly you might be able to enhance the recording or achieve a special effect with a certain exposure preset and/or tripod.
OK, that is nothing new for most of you. Here is a trick for instant and outstanding results. It is not Photoshop in post production.
Trick
If you have a pair of sunglasses, place it in front of the lens and check out the LCD screen on your camera. Depending on your sunglasses, you can see a spectacular sunset on your camera before it is happening for real. This way you have a much better control the cameras exposure and see  more definition in persons and objects. Start to experiment early during sunrise and sunset period, as some sunglasses can make a serious impact on colours an overall exposure. You may get the best shots while the sun is still up or just starting to set in the horizon. Wait some minutes after the sun has disappeared. Often the afterglow of the sun reveals the most amazing cloud patterns.
Summary
Please keep in mind that any twilight shots can be difficult to get right. Shots in magazines and TV are taken with professional cameras, manual adjustments and often enhanced in post production. So if you don’t have the equipment, time and knowledge, go ahead and use the sunglasses. If you don’t tell, probably nobody will notice it.
Next time you shoot sunrise or sunset pictures, try it out and brag about an incredible sunset you had experienced.
You always can take a picture without glasses to show the difference.