One tip to taking sunsets is to use the “Shade” white balance. When the sun is low, the light is much warmer (with an orange hue) than when it is high up in the sky. However, the human eye is able to adjust the colours that we see such that they do not look very different from other times of the day. With “Direct sunlight” or “Auto”, the camera may attempt to over correct at times and the overall photo looks too “cool” and bland with a bluish tint. In other words, adjusting the white balance is not “manipulating” the original colours of the scene, but in actual fact, the colours at sunset are actually much warmer than how we perceive them. With the “correct” white balance selected, the camera is able to compensate for this to reproduce these colours more accurately.
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This photo was taken using the “Shade” setting. When “Direct sunlight” was used, it produced a slight bluish tint and the image looked too “cool”.
Try the “Shade” white balance setting when you next photograph the sunset and you will be surprised at how much better your photo turns out!
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