Digital Photography For Beginners - Step by Step Guide to Stunning Digital SLR Sunset Photography!

Having a Digital SLR camera to use is the ultimate thrill for a budding photographer. Taking great sunset shots should be easy with such a tool, surely? You would think so, yet I know people who have invested in decent SLR's - but still could not create stunning sunset shots that even their previous compact camera could take. This digital photography for beginners article therefore suggests steps you can take to optimise your digital SLR for sunset photographs.

Many compact cameras have a setting for sunsets, yet DSLR's don't, so you have to take control of the situation. Turn off your fully auto, or basic shooting modes, and use your creative zone modes of P (program mode), Tv (shutter priority), Av (aperture priority) or M (manual) so that you have full control over the camera's parameters.

Auto White Balance can neutralise a sunset's glow, so switch to Manual White Balance and choose a setting of Cloudy or Shade.

Most DSLR's give you a number of "user defined" Picture Styles, so set one of these up for taking sunsets. Leave sharpness as standard, and add a little saturation.

You need to reduce the contrast to avoid your final image appearing over silhouetted. Adjust the Contrast slider in your user defined Picture Style one or two notches to the left. A reddish colour cast can also be achieved by doing the same with your Colour Tone settings.

Set your ISO at the lowest setting of ISO100. There's usually plenty of brightness in the sky, so this is fine. Sunsets can suffer from grainy images with higher ISO settings.

Exposure is important in any sunset shot. It's best to switch to Partial metering mode and take a manual meter reading. This can be a difficult aspect of digital photography for beginners to understand, so I'll explain how to do this. Once in Partial metering mode, point the camera at a bright area of the sky, directly above the setting sun. Press the Star button on the back of the camera to take a light reading and to set the exposure. Then compose your shot and press the shutter release to drive the autofocus and capture the image.

Consider your composition. Silhouetted objects and figures in the foreground will add interest. Reflective surfaces, such as lake water, the sea or wet roads will bring added colour to the shot.

Beware - once the sun starts to near the horizon, it sinks surprisingly quickly. This also happens to be the optimum moment when you will catch the strongest shots, yet it can come and go in an instant. Be prepared - make sure all your settings are in place well before this time.

When the sun has disappeared, it doesn't mean you should. For another thirty minutes or so, there can often be some amazing colour across the sky, so keep looking for more opportunities for great photos.

I hope this step by step digital photography for beginners sunset guide has been helpful, and that you can catch some beautiful sunset photographs in the future. They truly are wonderful shots to look back on.

Digital Photography For Beginners - Step by Step Guide to Stunning Digital SLR Sunset Photography!

Night Photography Techniques

Digital Photography For Beginners - Step by Step Guide to Stunning Digital SLR Sunset Photography!

Digital Photography For Beginners - Step by Step Guide to Stunning Digital SLR Sunset Photography!
Digital Photography For Beginners - Step by Step Guide to Stunning Digital SLR Sunset Photography!

Night Photography Techniques

Perfect Prom Photos - 4 Tips For Taking Stunning Pictures on Prom Night With Compact Digital Camera

Most people would dress up elegantly in their glamorous prom night. As a photographer, you could expect many participants would dress up all in vain that could add more colors in your photo-taking process. If you're chosen (or hired) to take pictures of some people in the prom night - you have to know that the prom night can be an important time of their life; hence, it's a great challenge for you to capture their unforgettable moment of their life.

If you seriously want to capture good pictures with a compact digital camera during the prom night, there are few tips that you need to focus on:

Tip #1: Strike a pose

Although all prom night participants dressed up in vain, they still need to strike a perfect pose for the perfect shot. For close-up shots, it's similar to taking portrait pictures. You can ask the human subject to stare slight left or right at the camera lens. As for their body posture, avoid putting their hands in front of them. It is better that they keep their back straight and curl their arms like fashion models in the magazines. In this case, the perfect pose for both sexes is angling their body slightly to the side and anchoring their one foot forward.

Tip #2: Use the Image Stabilizer mode to avoid blurry images

In some non-improvised situations, your photo-taking process has to be fast and accurate as well as maintaining the high-quality image. By using the Image Stabilizer shooting mode, you'll be able to avoid having shaky pictures when you're taking pictures in various angles. It's also necessary to use your tripod or a monopod if you're taking pictures at the same spot for a long period of time.

Tip #3: Use the advance presets in suitable conditions

You have to aware of the specifications of your digital camera including the advance presents that can be used in different environment. For example, there's an "evening" preset that are suitable for evening photo shoot outdoors or you can increase the ISO settings that is suitable to capture fast moving shots. If you can manually alter the white balance preset, you can control the color temperature based on your preferences - as an alternative of using the auto white balance.

Tip #4: Avoid taking dark images

If everyone pose perfectly during the photo-taking process - it would be pointless if the colors of the image are not distributed orderly. For example, many would be disappointed when they see their faces overshadowed by other things - causing shades on their faces.

Most digital cameras have this problem resolved - for instance, Canon PowerShot SD780IS which offers Intelligent Contrast Correction system; that brightens the dark images without changing the originally bright sides of the image and enhances the picture with vivid colors.

Perfect Prom Photos - 4 Tips For Taking Stunning Pictures on Prom Night With Compact Digital Camera

Night Photography Techniques

Perfect Prom Photos - 4 Tips For Taking Stunning Pictures on Prom Night With Compact Digital Camera

Perfect Prom Photos - 4 Tips For Taking Stunning Pictures on Prom Night With Compact Digital Camera
Perfect Prom Photos - 4 Tips For Taking Stunning Pictures on Prom Night With Compact Digital Camera

Night Photography Techniques