Need help with sunrise/sunset photos

[ts_hunter]

The last couple days the sun has been behind humidity/haze and been this awesome bright orange ball in the sky that you can stare at and not burn the eyeballs out of your head. I would really like to take pics of this, but when I do, I get a very faint, discolored picture of the sun. I have a Canon T1i, and I have started to venture into all the manual settings, but I just don't know what is best for the sunrise/sunset time. Any pointers?

[eyeguy 54]

Here is a cheat sheet to try for manual. I don't use the Filter so if I need to help the foreground lighten up I use my elements. I like to shoot sunsets and sunrises on the P setting or the A setting. ISO 100 then I try different exposure plus or minus depending on how bright it is. Works pretty good. dbl will have some good tips. good luck and post some pics.

[Dbl]

Wow, you've opened up a huge realm of possibilities! I guess it depends on what you are trying to do but I will make a few observations. So many folks run out and take a shot just before the sun disappears. Which can be kind of cool but the best light and most color in the sky will happen about 10 to 20 minutes after the sun goes down. Thats when you get the dramatic colors, especially with some clouds present.

I find I use aperture priority most of the time because the light is changing so quickly it is tough to keep up with all the changes in manual. I just check each shot and if it is not what I want exposure wise I just use some exposure compensation. If I want a frame with the sun actually in it that is when I will use manual. I meter with the sun out of the frame and set the camera based on that. Re-compose and include the sun and your sky will have some color retained. The sun itself will be blown out. If you expose for the sun itself keep in mind the rest of the photo will be dark, very dark! The use of a graduated ND filter was covered in the past month here. Take a look for some pointers on using that HERE

What really sets apart a great sunset photo is the composition and what you include in the foreground. Adding an interesting element to complement the beautiful colors is what gives you the wow factor! It is what sets your shot apart from a snapshot. If you use a tripod you can combine two shots or more to give you detail in the foreground if that is what you want. You can use a flash to light the foreground or run a flashlight or spotlight for a large item such as a barn. The possibilities are endless!

The silhouette is really the easiest and most common way to get your shot. And with the proper composition can be stunning!

Just an example or two to give you some thoughts. They all have the sun and all in aperture priority and carefully edited to bring out more detail.

Don't always need to shoot direct at the sun!

[ts_hunter]

Thanks for the tips guys. The next time I get a chance I will get some new shots with these tricks in mind and see what I get. I will post if I get some good shots.