Sunset advice?

I'm going to have my first go at taking sunset photos this weekend. I'd love to hear some suggestions to help make the most of my shots. For instance, is it hamful to point the lens directly at the setting sun? (probably a stupid question but I don't know:lol.

What settings should I be looking for? Low or high ISO? Shutter speed? Aperture?

The subject is going to be the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, as seen from a rocky shoreline. Possibly tide-pools or some such in the foreground. The gear will be a tripod-mounted FF camera with a 70-200 F4L lens. I may have to alter the shot as a result of the zoom lens, but it is all I'll have to work with for this weekend (a test of my creativity perhaps ). Which should I try to have in focus, the foreground, horizon, both?

Thanks in advance. After the weekend photoshoot I'll share the resulting pictures. Then will come the time for PP suggestions.

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*** UPDATE ***

I went out and took the photos a few weeks ago, and ended up being pretty unhappy with the results. I really wished I'd had a Graduated Neutral Density filter. But as luck would have it, I made friends with the GND filter in Lightroom 4. I also tweaked the clarity, vibrance, did some cropping and cloning, etc. The end result isn't spectacular (the foreground isn't all that interesting), but I'm much happier with the results after PP. I'll include the original as well for comparison:

The shutter speed is generally going to be too fast for the sun to do any damage to the sensor. A graduated neutral density filter is of course very helpful, unless you're planning on a silhouette shot. If you don't have a GND and want a proper exposure for both the land/sea and sky, then you'll want to take one exposure metered off the sky and a second metered off the land/water. You'll then have to blend them in Photoshop. Then, of course, there's the HDR option.

Otherwise, the biggest issue I see with sunset pictures is too much attention payed to the sky and absolutely no attention to the land. Every one of us has seen a thousand sunset pictures, and the good ones are seldom about the sunset itself. Look for leading lines around the seashore to give your photo some depth. As you probably know, you generally won't want the horizon to split the frame. . .in other words, put the horizon line in the top or bottom third of the frame (bottom if the sky is more interesting, top if the land/water is more interesting). For seascapes, pay attention to reflections in the water. The can add greatly to your photo if used correctly. . .detract from them if you don't.

Otherwise, play around with it. Generally, I'd shoot on a low ISO with a long shutter speed, but try some with a higher ISO and faster shutter speed. Especially if you're getting waves crashing on the rocks, sometimes a faster shutter speed can help convey that feeling of force and power. If you want to convey serenity, a slow shutter speed is generally going to be what you want. You may even need a neutral density filter to get it slow enough.

Thanks Island Crow! Great tips. I plan on playing around a bit. I'll try to get some with faster shutter speeds and some with slower, to see which I prefer the feel of.

A 70-200 is not going to be the best lens for coastal sunsets especially if you want both the sun and foreground interest in the frame. For that, a wider lens is better.

Ideally you should have everything in focus, but with a telephoto you're going to have to use a very small aperture to do that, think f22 or smaller. Unless your foreground is quite far away from you that is. You could also try to do a panorama to overcome your focal length limitation.

Pointing the lens at the setting sun is perfectly fine. The intensity of the sun isn't going to be as great as during midday for example, and won't damage your sensor. I do it all the time. However, if you do take photos with the sun in the frame, use live view. Don't look through the viewfinder, especially with a telephoto lens as it could hurt your eyes.

Jedi5150 wrote in post #15219198
I'm going to have my first go at taking sunset photos this weekend. I'd love to hear some suggestions to help make the most of my shots. For instance, is it hamful to point the lens directly at the setting sun? (probably a stupid question but I don't know:lol.

What settings should I be looking for? Low or high ISO? Shutter speed? Aperture?

The subject is going to be the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, as seen from a rocky shoreline. Possibly tide-pools or some such in the foreground. The gear will be a tripod-mounted FF camera with a 70-200 F4L lens. I may have to alter the shot as a result of the zoom lens, but it is all I'll have to work with for this weekend (a test of my creativity perhaps ). Which should I try to have in focus, the foreground, horizon, both?

Thanks in advance. After the weekend photoshoot I'll share the resulting pictures. Then will come the time for PP suggestions.

Well you want everything in focus for a landscape generally. But for rocks and pools of water, that's more important than the horizon in most sunsets.

You'll probably need a graduated neutral density filter or two to get the exposure right. If you don't have any, take one shot which is exposed for the foreground elements and then one that is for the sky/sunset and then blend them.

Use the lowest ISO you can, f/16 if you want everything in focus and let the shutter fall where it needs to. A regular old ND filter could be nice as well to smooth out the waves.

Pointing at the sun isn't really an issue.

Agree with all the above recommendations. I would also stay after the sun sets so you can use longer exposure times to get the misty water effect if you are shooting the Ocean. Even without the sun in the picture, you can still get all the great colors of sunset in the photos.

What appears dark to the naked eye can actually be "properly exposed" with long shutter speeds. A Graduated ND or reverse grad ND filter is a must.

I would check your shots after each one. Lens flare and ghosting can ruin an otherwise great photo. It can also add. Moving the camera slightly or changing the aperture or focal length might change the characteristics of the flare/ghosting to improve or ruin the photo.

Lots of great advice already here. It's good that you are already thinking about foreground elements. As someone said above, the most interesting sunset photos are usually those that use the sky as a background to something else. The trick will be to get good tonality throughout the photo, so I second Numenorean's recommendation of using a GND filter or else taking two photos for blending in post.

A third alternative you can try is using a black card during a long-ish exposure. You hold the card over the sky for part of the exposure and then pull it away at the very end. Some people use a black glove on their hand instead. Anyway, you need to find some way to get those tones balanced out.

Here's a decent tutorial on the "black card technique": http://hanjies.blogspo​t.com …d-photography-part-i.html

Jedi5150 wrote in post #15219198
For instance, is it hamful to point the lens directly at the setting sun? (probably a stupid question but I don't know:lol.

The lens won't fry but it's not good for the sensor to be exposed to direct sun light for long exposures. It's also not good for your eye if looking at the Sun through the viewfinder - the safer alternative (for your eyes) is to use LiveView instead.

spotz04 wrote in post #15228339
The lens won't fry but it's not good for the sensor to be exposed to direct sun light for long exposures. It's also not good for your eye if looking at the Sun through the viewfinder - the safer alternative (for your eyes) is to use LiveView instead.

No No NO!

Read your Canon manual. Don't use Live View when pointing at the sun otherwise your camera will explode (I exaggerate - but only a little).

SuffolkGal wrote in post #15288421
No No NO!

Read your Canon manual. Don't use Live View when pointing at the sun otherwise your camera will explode (I exaggerate - but only a little).

I do it alllll the time, and never any problems. Now... a laser, yes.

1Tanker wrote in post #15288649
I do it alllll the time, and never any problems. Now... a laser, yes.

Me too, and not just at sunset where the sun is much weaker. During the middle of the day, I wouldn't do it with anything more than 70mm or so, but at sunset I've never worried about it.

1Tanker wrote in post #15288649
I do it alllll the time, and never any problems. Now... a laser, yes.

Check your user manual

SuffolkGal wrote in post #15297218
Check your user manual

Yep, it is there. Wonder whether it is just the usual 'dont put your cat in the microwave' attempt at cover-all disclaimer or whether it truly degrades the sensor over time when exposed to ongoing harsh light.

SuffolkGal wrote in post #15288421
No No NO!

... Don't use Live View when pointing at the sun otherwise your camera will explode (I exaggerate - but only a little).

Pity. If it did explode, insurance would be easier!!!

I updated the original post with photos. ^^^