Shoot for the Sun! Tips for Taking Great Sunset Photos in NT

Looking for a sunset picture that you can both frame and proudly post in your Instagram account? Collecting sunset photos while staying in Northern Territory will no longer be a frustrating job for budding photographers and selfie-savvy travellers with these sunset photography tips:

Camera Techniques

Avoid looking at the sun directly through your camera lens, since this can ruin your vision. Instead of looking through your lens, you can compose the scene using your LCD monitor by enabling your camera’s live view function.

Set your shooting mode to aperture priority to gain total control over the depth of field when photographing a landscape at sunset. Choose a small aperture with an f-stop value of 1/16 or higher. If your camera has image stabilisation, then a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second should be fine.

Do you want to capture the sunset together with your surroundings for that great summer souvenir? When you’re taking a photo with a compelling landscape, go with a wide-angle focal length between 24mm and 35mm. Tone down to the lowest possible ISO setting for sunset shots; however, you can increase it if there are plenty of clouds blocking the sun on that day.

Some cameras metre the scene and crank up the exposure to create a sunset image that’s brighter than it actually is. Unfortunately, this creates a photo where there are dark parts in your photo. In this case, you can use exposure compensation to decrease the exposure and balance the visibility of the elements in the picture.

For darker shots without the annoying noise, reverse graduated neutral density filter does wonders – this makes the horizon darker and helps your camera manage the dynamic range.  

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Equipment

Use a tripod if you’re shooting at longer shutter speeds and with longer focal lengths. It also makes your shots more stable (if you don’t have a good grip), gives sharper images and enables you to make use of creative shutter speeds. Tripods are also a must-have if you prefer using your own smartphone when taking sunset pictures.

Equipping your camera with telephoto lens means getting images where the sun will be much larger and the other other elements will be compressed. This creates the illusion of the objects appearing closer to the camera and each other than they really are.

Location and Time

You can’t just shoot from anywhere and expect to get a stunning picture of the sunset. Sometimes, your location may be too high or there could be other things blocking the view. That’s why you should spend a few days ahead of your shoot to look for a great sunset viewing platform in Northern Territory.

Having the best camera techniques and equipment is enough to take the best shot. It could be difficult to take a great sunset shot when the skies are too cloudy, or the weather is too gloomy. Stay tuned to weather forecasts for the next few days, and pick a day where there are clear skies for a picture-perfect sunset.

On the day of your sunset shoot, find out when the sun will set, and get to the sunset viewing platform at least half an hour before the reported sunset time. Score a great place where you can take sunset photos, and consider the foreground elements and silhouettes in the background as well.

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Take these tips to heart so you can take photos that perfectly preserve your memories while you’re staying in Erldunda. Your sunset photo serves as a lasting memoir to a fleeting yet mesmerising moment on our planet when the sun sets off to call it a day.

Looking for stunning sceneries to take pictures of while you’re in Erldunda? Contact us at Erldunda Roadhouse to know the best places suited for travel photography!

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