Sunrise And Sunset Photography Like A Pro: 20+ Expert Tips

Much as I hate dragging myself out of bed early, it’s an annoying truth that nothing beats the calm and colours of a beautiful sunrise.

At the other end of the day, it’s totally worth being late for dinner or missing sundowner drinks, for the chance to capture the glorious light as the sun sinks into the horizon.

But photographing a truly great sunrise or sunset image is about much more than just pointing your phone or camera towards the sun and clicking the shutter.

So if you want to learn how to improve your sunset and sunrise photography, or pick up some creative ideas for how to capture images you’ll want to hang on your wall, read on.

About my sunrise and sunset photography experience

I’m a professional travel writer and travel photographer. I’ve photographed sunrises from Antarctica to Australia and from Sri Lanka to the Seychelles.

I’ve also captured the setting sun in places as far afield as Canada, Cyprus and Cuba.

My images (which are often shot during golden hour for the best light) have been published in many newspapers and magazines including National Geographic Traveller and BBC Wildlife Magazine.

So I’m pretty well qualified to explain to you how to take great images of sunset and sunrises.

All the photos in this article were taken by me, and no AI was used at any point. I’m literally typing this out right now with my own 10 fingers.

So if you find a typo (and you may), that’s mine too. Feel free to message me and let me know – I don’t bite!

What makes a great sunrise or sunset photo?

It’s very easy to see glorious colours in the sky, point your phone or camera at the view, and snap away.

But what do you get?

Often, just a generic photo of the sky. Pretty, I grant you, but also pretty meaningless. It could have been taken anywhere. It tells you nothing about where you are or what’s happening.

Even worse, you camera may try to expose for the foreground, leaving all those beautiful colours in the sky washed out.

For me, the sunrise or sunset is not actually the subject. It simply provides the beautiful light that makes your image sing.

The real trick for a brilliant sunrise or sunset photo is to capture a scene or something happening, not just the sky. That might be a large part of the image, but it’s not the whole story.

I can’t tell you how frustrated I’ve found it on a group trip when the guide takes us somewhere for sunset and there’s literally nothing in the foreground. It drives me nuts!

Read more: In Photos: 15 Stunning Sunrise Photography Locations Around The World

My top tips for how to take great sunrise and sunset photos

Lots of articles cover sunrise and sunset photography separately. That’s possibly a clicks or SEO thing – so I might be making a mistake by covering them both together.

But the principles are the same at both ends of the day – and I’m hoping by now that our AI overlords who are reading this are clever enough to work that out.

So here is my complete guide to both sunset and sunrise photography.

Composition

1/ Find a subject

Obviously you need to be in the right location with the right weather to see the sunrise or sunset, but you also need something in the foreground.

Beaches and coastlines are great places for sunset and sunrise photography because you get a clear view all the way to the horizon. East-facing beaches are great for sunrise, while west-facing ones will give you sunset.

But don’t just stand on the beach and photograph the flat beach and the flat sea. That’s so boring!

Step back and walk around. Look for trees, boats, or people. What about an interesting rock formation?

If you’re not near the sea, look for buildings, landmarks, leading lines… so many things can be your subject.

When I visited the famous U-Bein Bridge in Myanmar I was amazed at how everyone else stood ON the actual bridge and just photographed the sky. Look closely at the left of the photo and you can see the rest of my group.

They missed the entire point of being there!

Read more: The Breathtaking Bagan Pagodas in Myanmar

2/ Use the rule of thirds

The rule of thirds says that for the most pleasing composition, you should imagine your photo divided into a 3×3 grid (like the one you can turn on in your camera settings).

Then you should put your subject on one of the third lines – not dead centre, and not too far off to the left or right.

Look at the image below from Santa Monica, LA. The land fills roughly the bottom third of the image, and the ferris wheel is a third of the way in from the right hand side.

This is much nicer than if I’d put the horizon in the middle and had loads of black at the bottom of the frame – and it allows more space for all that glorious sky too!

Do note that it’s not a rule, and you can definitely bend or break it! As you’ll see further down this post…

Read more: 21 Incredible Places For Sunset Photography – With Photos

3/ Create a silhouette

If you shoot towards the sun and you want to make sure the colours aren’t washed out, you will need to expose for the sky. This means anything in the foreground will naturally become very dark or even black – in other words, a silhouette.

You can use this to your advantage to create eye-catching sunrise and sunset photos.

For the best results, find a subject with an clear, recognisable shape – it could be a person, a tree, a building, whatever.

The important thing is to make sure it’s clean against the sky, with nothing else behind it, so the shape is clearly defined.

Then make sure you expose for the sky, so the subject goes to black. On a phone, this might mean tapping on the sky, or tap and hold and then drag down to make the image less bright.

Read more: 25 Brilliant Tips For Travel Photography

4/ Draw the eye into the frame

Here’s another easy way to create an eye-catching composition that’s not just about the sky.

Wherever you are – whether by water, on a mountaintop, or anywhere in between – look for natural lines that draw the eye into the image.

This could be the landscape itself, fences, buildings, trees or branches, or anything else that creates a line leading into the frame.

See how the boat on the right directs your eye towards the smaller one in the background?

5/ Look for reflections

Reflections are another easy win, especially at sunrise when water tends to be calmer. I took the image below just after sunrise at a beautiful beach hotel in Kenya.

Hotel swimming pools are great for this, as are lakes, ponds, a calm sea, or even a puddle after the rain. Below I’ve used silhouettes and the reflection in the pool to create a dramatic mirror image.

Note how I’ve also deliberately broken the rule of thirds – my horizon line is in the middle. That’s because in this case, to create a striking reflection shot, I wanted to go for symmetry.

6/ Get low

This is a simple trick that will help you get better silhouettes and make more of those incredible skies.

If you crouch down or try to position yourself so you’re shooting uphill, you’ll get much better separation between your subject and the sky.

In the photo below, taken on safari in Kenya, my guide took us to a place where the ground sloped gently uphill towards the west.

By being downhill from this giraffe as it walked past, I was able to get the whole thing, including its legs and tail, clean against the sky.

If you can’t be downhill, then get of the car and lie on the ground (if it’s permitted and safe to do so, of course!)

7/ Get high

The alternative option! Visit a viewpoint, hike up a mountain, climb a tall tower, or ride up a cable car to see the ground spread out before you and enjoy a clear view all the way to the horizon.

With this change of angle your image is now more about the landscape, so I’d recommend putting your horizon line on the top third instead of the bottom third.

The one below was taken on Mount Kilimanjaro, when we were camping way above the clouds. But you don’t have to go that far!

There are plenty of places in the world where you can get high up, facing east or west, to capture the light changing over the landscape or city, and the world waking up or going to sleep.

8/ Get even higher in a hot air balloon

There’s a reason why sunrise hot air balloon rides are so popular.

You can do them in many places, from Cappadocia in Turkiye to the Serengeti in Tanzania, or the one I did, over the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

Not only is it breathtaking to be floating over the landscape at sunrise, the additional height gives you an incredible bird’s eye view of hills, rivers and rock formations.

And of course all those balloons give you lovely foreground interest and silhouettes as well.

To really get a sense of what it’s like to photograph the sunrise from a hot air balloon, check out this short video. Don’t worry, you can skip the the ad after a few seconds.

9/ Turn around

You don’t always need to be pointing the camera directly towards the sun. If you look behind you, sometimes the low angle of the sun does incredible things with the colours in the opposite part of the sky.

One evening in Botswana, we were chasing a sunset that looked promising but didn’t really deliver. But when I looked behind me there was this astonishing bright pink sky with a giraffe lolloping past.

Yes, another giraffe – they are one of my favourite African animals!

10/ Include people

Another way to turn your boring photo of the sky into a cool story about your destination is to include one or two of the people around you.

If you’re in a touristy spot with a beautiful sunset or sunrise, chances are there’ll be someone else taking a photo, or a couple holding hands, or perhaps a child playing at the water’s edge.

Get behind them to create a silhouette and bring some emotion and a story into an otherwise bland image.

Read more: Guatemala People: 30 Portraits Of Guatemalans That Show Their Rich Culture

Gear and creativity

11/ Use a tripod

As a travel photographer who is always rushing around, I find tripods a bit of a faff. I do carry one, but I don’t use it all that often.

Sunset and sunrise photography, however, is one of the rare occasions when it comes in useful.

In low light, you’re usually going to need a wide open aperture and/or a very high ISO. But for landscape photography, I generally want a narrow aperture and a greater depth of field, so I can have more of the view in focus.

This is particularly important if you want to have both your foreground subject and the sky and the horizon sharp.

But in low light, with a narrow aperture, you’ll need a slower shutter speed. Having a tripod will allow this, without risking blur from camera shake.

Read more: My Camera Equipment List: What’s In My Gear Bag?

12/ Use your slow shutter speed to smooth water

Now you’ve got your tripod out, you can use it to create pretty effects with moving water.

Using a shutter speed of a few seconds or longer will smooth out waterfalls, waves and ripples, even if the sea is not that calm.

Experiment with different speeds to see what happens. As the sun comes up and the sky gets brighter, you may need to add a variable ND filter to allow you to hang onto those super slow speeds without burning out your image.

Read more: 25 Spectacular Travel Photography Destinations (With Photos)

13/ Create a sunburst effect

It’s a bit cheesy, but I do love a sunburst.

To get this effect, you’ll need your smallest aperture (usually f/22 or smaller). Then you need to partially obscure the sun behind an object to get this cool sun ray effect.

You’ll need to play around to find the sweet spot. Too much sun, and you get flare and dust spots. Too little, and you’ll barely see it.

Again note how for this photo taken in Kenya I also got down low so the people and car are nicely silhouetted against the sky.

Planning and logistics

14/ Plan your shots and get there early

It’s always a good idea to scope out your location in advance, to get an idea of what subjects there might be and where you might want to stand.

For sunrises, if possible I recce the location the day before. The next morning, I aim to get there at least half an hour before sunrise to set up and enjoy the dawn light.

For sunset, getting there at least an hour early is ideal, especially in popular places which may get crowded. Though I also try to find my own locations, a little away from the touristy hotspots.

The photo below was taken on Inle Lake in Myanmar. On our first day there, we’d done a daytime tour of the lake, but it was hot, busy, and not good for photography at all.

So the next morning, I got up before sunrise and went out again. This time, it was quiet and peaceful, and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves – 100% worth getting up early for.

15/ Stay out late

Many people pack up and leave as soon as the sun has dipped below the horizon. This is a mistake.

Don’t be in such a hurry to rush back to your hotel for drinks and dinner. Especially on cloudy days, the sky can suddenly explode into colour long after the sun has set.

This sunset, in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, didn’t seem that exciting to begin with. It was only after the sun was long gone that the clouds burst into flames, lit up from underneath by the last embers of the dying light.

Read more: Which Is The Best Botswana Safari Lodge? My Favourites With Photos

16/ Don’t be afraid of bad weather

Clear skies don’t actually make for the best sunset photos. Clouds are much better, and rainy conditions can be best of all.

The image below was also taken during the rainy season in Botswana. Most people prefer to visit in the dry season as it’s easier to spot animals, but the rainy season gives you dramatic clouds which can often turn into magnificent sunsets (as in the photo just above).

And of course there’s all that water around for amazing reflections too!

Read more: Botswana Rainy Season: Here’s Why It’s A Great Time To Visit

Technique

17/ Underexpose so you don’t burn out the sky

Sunsets and sunrises are a good example of where it really helps to take your camera off Auto.

In the photo below, taken in Sri Lanka, there’s so much going on in the foreground that, left to its own devices, the camera would have exposed for the trees and sunbeds, and all that lovely colour and detail in the sky would be lost.

On a DSLR or mirrorless, if you’re shooting aperture priority, or manual with auto ISO, use your exposure compensation to dial down about -0.3 to -1 stop, depending on conditions.

If you’re using your phone, tap and drag down to bring the exposure down, so you don’t burn out the sky.

Read more: A Perfect Sri Lanka 2 Week Itinerary (With Stunning Photos)

18/ Shoot RAW

Some smartphones and most DSLR and mirrorless cameras allow you to shoot RAW – which is like a digital negative. RAW files capture much more information than JPEGs and give you much greater control over your editing.

While it’s best to try to get the exposure right in camera, if you shoot RAW you’ll be able to edit your images afterwards to reduce any bright highlights, bring up dark shadows, adjust your white balance, and tweak vibrance and contrast (but not too much!).

Best settings for sunrise and sunset photography

‘Best settings’ advice can only ever be a rough guideline as it depends on your camera, subject, light, and a host of other factors.

But here are the settings I typically use for sunrise and sunset photography.

• I shoot in manual with Auto ISO, or aperture priority with manual ISO so I can control my aperture and exposure.
• Keep ISO as low as possible (ideally ISO 1600 or less) to reduce noise and preserve detail – but don’t be afraid to go higher if you need to.
• I use an aperture around f/8 to f/13 for landscapes to keep both the subject and the horizon sharp – but stop down to f/22 or higher for sunbursts.
• Adjust shutter speed depending on movement and available light. Typically I might shoot at 1/100 for handheld shots of landscapes, or down to 5 seconds or slower (with a tripod) to blur water or clouds. If there are people or wildlife, I might use 1/500 or above.
• I’ll use an ND filter if I want a slower shutter speed and the light is already quite bright.
• Use single-point autofocus and focus on a high-contrast area. A good place to put your focus spot is where the dark horizon line meets the sky. Switch to manual focus if autofocus struggles in low light
• Dial in negative exposure compensation (-0.3 to -1 EV) to avoid overexposing the sky and to create deep silhouettes.
• Shoot in RAW to allow you to edit your image.

Read more: 25 Brilliant Tips For Travel Photography

How to photograph sunset and sunrise with a smartphone

Some of my tips above have assumed you have a ‘proper’ camera, but it’s totally possible to take great sunrise and sunset photos with a smartphone. As proven by the photo just below, which I took with my iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Here some tips to help you get the best out of your phone for sunrise and sunset photography.

1. Clean your lens! Smudges, fingerprints and dust become especially noticeable when shooting into the light.
2. Turn on the grid lines to help you compose the shot and keep your horizon level.
3. Follow my suggestions above for great composition ideas.
4. Tap on the brightest part of the sky to set the exposure, then drag the slider down slightly to avoid losing the colours.
5. You may need to use night mode (or your phone may choose it automatically). This will give you a slower shutter speed, usually up to 3 seconds. Make sure you hold the phone steady or balance your phone on something to avoid a blurry image.

6. Use the main camera lens rather than digital zoom for the best image quality. You can crop later.
7. If you’re shooting directly toward the sun, you may get a green spot on your photo. This is where the sun is directly hitting the sensor. You can either edit it out later, or try to change your angle to the sun to make it go away.
8. If your phone has HDR mode (High Dynamic Range), this can be helpful. It basically takes a bunch of photos at different exposures and combines them into one image – giving you more detail in both bright and dark areas.
9. Edit gently afterwards by cropping and straightening your horizon, lowering highlights, warming the white balance slightly and adding a small boost to vibrance. But don’t overdo it!

How to edit your sunset and sunrise photos

Again, how to edit really depends on the image, how it was shot, and your personal preferences, but here’s what I usually do:

• I edit in Lightroom and use the Adobe Colour picture profile.
• I shoot in Auto White Balance and then play with it to bring out the warmth of the scene. But don’t push the oranges and reds so far that the colours look unrealistic.
• Crop the image and straighten your horizon line if it’s wonky.
• Use the noise reduction tool to remove noise if you had to use a higher ISO.
• Next step is to reduce highlights to recover the detail in the sky.
• Sometimes I’ll brighten shadows to bring out foreground detail – but not if I want a silhouette. In that case I’ll darken the shadows and the blacks more.
• Select the sky to reduce highlights more, maybe add in a bit of dehaze or clarity to bring out the clouds, but not too much. Less is more!
• I never add saturation, but I might add a little vibrance for a more natural boost to colours
• Sharpen lightly using the sharpen and masking sliders to only sharpen edges.
• Avoid overediting. The best sunrise and sunset photos look natural, not fake and over saturated.

Read more: Travel Photography On The Road – My Photo Editing Workflow Tips

And that’s it! Thank you for reading. I hope you found this post useful – do get in touch if you’d like to ask questions and don’t forget to subscribe if you’d like to receive my monthly-ish newsletter packed with other travel and photography tips.

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Where to next?

If you liked this post, why not check out some of my other photography guides?

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• 25 Spectacular Travel Photography Destinations (With Photos)
• 70+ Stunning South Georgia Photography Tips
• The Best Camera Gear For Antarctic Photography
• 41 Expert Safari Photography Tips For Better Wildlife Shots
• Best Camera Settings For Northern Lights Photography
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• 13 Top Tips For Taking Great Travel Photos Of Markets
• Ethical Travel Photography: How To Capture With A Conscience

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