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Sunrise and Sunset Photography

Light at sunrise and sunset is richer in red and orange rays than in the middle of the day.

Photographs of the sky at sunrise and sunset are apt to be disappointing when seen in black-and-white as the main attraction about such a scene is its color. At the same time much of the beauty of the sky can be reproduced by careful technique. Generally the exposure should be kept to the minimum value; anything like a full exposure gives a dense negative and a print that lacks the necessary feeling of luminosity. For the same reason the negative should be processed in a soft-working developer to preserve the delicacy of the tone rendering in the highlights.

Panchromatic films are always best for black-and-white photographs taken early or late in the day because they are sensitive to red light.

A sunrise or sunset is best photographed in color. Exposures should be kept to a minimum, otherwise the scene will be colorless and have a washed-out appearance. A daylight color film without filter should generally be used, as such a scene would lose considerably if its characteristic red quality were removed.

When photographing scenes illuminated by a low sun, and not the sunrise or sunset itself, however, it will often become necessary to use a correction filter to render the scene less red.

At such times of day the light changes quickly from minute to minute and any special effects need to be anticipated and photographed without delay.