How to enhance Sunset pictures?


jiaxuan90

Member
Sep 28, 2009
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Hi, new to photoshop, i am exploring on ways to edit sunset pictures, what are the tools to look out for? Here's a photo taken by me, how do i go about enhancing the image.

4923294200_f0ed6be06b_b.jpg


Thank you in advance:)
 

the sun is still high up, far from sunset, even you can add color into it, will look very unnatural, try a later timing, you can get more dramatic color in the sky.
 

Yeap, try the golden hour as suggested. I think nowadays anything after 6pm till 7.50pm can be good. But also depends on weather. And also different times of the year, the golden hour can change (at the moment it happens later part of the day). Taking all these into account, you can further PP by adding warmth, etc as required. I don't think got one single method to enhance (e.g. if you take deep blue sky, then you don't add warmth already).

The other problem you may wish to take note is exposure for background and foreground when the sun is bright - you may get dark foreground (buildings) like what you're getting if you need to get the sky right, or if you get the foreground right, then your background may be too bright. Several ways of handling these situations, including HDR and layer blending, both using bracketed exposures to get the correct exposure from the different portions.

Hope that helps.
 

Last edited:
loads of things you can do:

1) curves
2) saturation
3) selective manipulation of exposure with layers and layer types
4) shadow/highlight recovery
5) color balance
6) channel mixer


actually, that's all i use.
 

Hi, new to photoshop, i am exploring on ways to edit sunset pictures, what are the tools to look out for? Here's a photo taken by me, how do i go about enhancing the image.

4923294200_f0ed6be06b_b.jpg


Thank you in advance:)

The sun has yet to set... :think: :bsmilie:

Try to take when the sun is near the horizon, when the sky starts to turn orange. Once taken, then in post processing just enhance it as what nightmare mentioned if needed. Most of the time curve & saturation will do. But not all needs adjustment, some would be just fine without.

Have fun! :)
 

Take during the Civil Twilight.

Go to this website ...

http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astro...-services/rs-one-year-world/?searchterm=civil

and enter the data as follow ..

twilightx.png


and you will get the civil twilight of Singapore for one year...

civil2.jpg


now look at Aug 26, it begins at 6:41 am in the morning and ends 7:32pm in the evening. The during of Civil Twilight is around 20 minutes, therefore time for morning is 6:41am to 7:02am, and for the evening is 7:11pm to 7:32pm.

If you have iphone, download "Skylock Lite" or "Magic Hour". Both will give you the same results.
 

Take during the Civil Twilight.

Go to this website ...

http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astro...-services/rs-one-year-world/?searchterm=civil

and enter the data as follow ..



and you will get the civil twilight of Singapore for one year...



now look at Aug 26, it begins at 6:41 am in the morning and ends 7:32pm in the evening. The during of Civil Twilight is around 20 minutes, therefore time for morning is 6:41am to 7:02am, and for the evening is 7:11pm to 7:32pm.

If you have iphone, download "Skylock Lite" or "Magic Hour". Both will give you the same results.

Amazing! Thanks for sharing this.
 

the sun is still high up, far from sunset, even you can add color into it, will look very unnatural, try a later timing, you can get more dramatic color in the sky.

oh thx you i will take note
 

Yeap, try the golden hour as suggested. I think nowadays anything after 6pm till 7.50pm can be good. But also depends on weather. And also different times of the year, the golden hour can change (at the moment it happens later part of the day). Taking all these into account, you can further PP by adding warmth, etc as required. I don't think got one single method to enhance (e.g. if you take deep blue sky, then you don't add warmth already).

The other problem you may wish to take note is exposure for background and foreground when the sun is bright - you may get dark foreground (buildings) like what you're getting if you need to get the sky right, or if you get the foreground right, then your background may be too bright. Several ways of handling these situations, including HDR and layer blending, both using bracketed exposures to get the correct exposure from the different portions.

Hope that helps.

Does it matter if the picture is under expose? if i wan to try to get the stary effect of the sun ray?
 

loads of things you can do:

1) curves
2) saturation
3) selective manipulation of exposure with layers and layer types
4) shadow/highlight recovery
5) color balance
6) channel mixer


actually, that's all i use.

wow, that's quite alot of things to take note. thx
 

Take during the Civil Twilight.

Go to this website ...

http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astro...-services/rs-one-year-world/?searchterm=civil

and enter the data as follow ..

twilightx.png


and you will get the civil twilight of Singapore for one year...

civil2.jpg


now look at Aug 26, it begins at 6:41 am in the morning and ends 7:32pm in the evening. The during of Civil Twilight is around 20 minutes, therefore time for morning is 6:41am to 7:02am, and for the evening is 7:11pm to 7:32pm.

If you have iphone, download "Skylock Lite" or "Magic Hour". Both will give you the same results.

The sun has yet to set... :think: :bsmilie:

Try to take when the sun is near the horizon, when the sky starts to turn orange. Once taken, then in post processing just enhance it as what nightmare mentioned if needed. Most of the time curve & saturation will do. But not all needs adjustment, some would be just fine without.

Have fun! :)

WOW great thx for the info kutten

thx ziploc, i manage to catch a glimpse of the orange sky u mention.
 

Yes, that's more like sunset, but you seem like taking the building as the subject rather than the sunset itself. :)
 

Yes, that's more like sunset, but you seem like taking the building as the subject rather than the sunset itself. :)

oh ya. will improve on that when i encounter the GOLDEN hour again. thx