Creating compelling images of landscapes and sunsets is often not as simple as it might appear. What we take in with our eyes is much more vast and intense than what we are able to capture with a camera. However, once you understand your camera and learn how to work creatively, you'll be making compelling images that both "capture the moment" and express your vision.

Check the Weather
While it's difficult to predict when beautiful sunsets are going to occur, there are some things you can do to plan for such a shoot. First off, it's good to check the weather forecast. The average person tends to think that cloudless blue skies are ideal for sunsets, but most seasoned photographers will beg to differ. Due to how the sun hits them when it sets, partly cloudy skies tend to yield the most striking results. Be sure to monitor the skies throughout the day of your shoot to see how they're shaping up.

Sunset Composition
On a partly cloudy June afternoon in Maine, this shot (Figure 1) was taken at a local beach facing west toward the setting sun. The shot was taken with a point-and-shoot digital camera set to "Auto-everything." This scene of a lobster boat anchored off shore is the way many people would take it. It's an OK photo, but it's not accurately reflecting the beauty of the scene.

To immediately improve your results, try these simple changes.

• Wait for it. Wait for the sun to fall a little further in the sky, this improves the scene's color.
• Get Closer. Zoom in on the boat and the sunset.
• Use Sunset Scene Mode. See below.
• Get out of the center. Set the boat -- and sun -- off-center to create a more interesting composition.
• Don't stop shooting too early. In many cases, the sky will be most dramatic and saturated with color after the sun has dipped below the horizon.
• Double-check the horizon line. A good shot can be ruined if your horizon line is not straight. Many Olympus cameras feature a " frame assist" grid, which can be displayed by pressing the DISP button.

Sunset Scene Mode
Olympus cameras have several “Scene” modes (Fireworks, Macro, Sunset, etc.) that allow you to easily capture nice images in certain types of situations without having to make manual adjustments to your camera settings. One of these settings is the Sunset Scene mode. Note, however, that most of the camera settings, such as aperture and shutter speed, cannot be altered while in the Scene Mode.

Sunset Scene mode can help you get a good exposure in a very high-contrast scene, and will help enhance the vibrant colors of a sunset.

Tweak White Balance
If your camera allows you to adjust white balance, you can accentuate the red-tinged sunset glow try setting your camera's white balance to cloudy []. This setting [] is usually used to compensate for the blue hues that occur on cloudy days. But you can use the same effect to dramatically enhance the red tones in your picture. It's always a good idea to take three shots using each of these white balance modes -- [AUTO], [] and [] -- and then keep the one you like most.

E-System Owners
Read this lesson from the Olympus Digital School to learn more about how to use your E-System camera to adjust exposure mode, shutter speed and how to achieve stunning sunset panoramas.

Please note, the Olympus Digital School is not maintained by Olympus America. It is part of the Web Photo School family of sites.

Want to see more great user photos? Check out Resolution: The Olympus User Photo Gallery.

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