How to choose the right camera settings for sunset photography.

Shooting great sunset photos is all about your camera settings. Learn how to set your gear up right with these helpful tips.

Sunsets are one of nature’s greatest spectacles, and they make for absolutely stunning photographs — when you pick the right camera settings. Luckily, sunset photography is easy once you know the basics.

These tips will help you set up your camera correctly and capture the full beauty of a blazing sundown.

1. Set your ISO to low.

Naturally, the sun is bright — even when it’s setting. Keep the ISO as low as possible so your photo won’t come out grainy. That said, you should increase the ISO as the sun creeps closer to the horizon.

2. Use a quick shutter speed.

Opt for a quick shutter speed to minimize exposure time — otherwise the setting sun might burn out your photograph. Take a few test shots to find the sweet spot. If your camera has an exposure bracketing feature, this is the time to use it.

3. Shoot with a wide aperture.

You’ll want maximum depth of field to capture the whole sunset scene. Set your aperture to a very narrow setting, such as f/11 or even higher. You can’t really go too narrow.

4. Focus your shot manually.

Some cameras struggle to focus on a sunset, since it doesn’t provide a clear focal point. If your photos are coming out blurry, focus your camera manually.

5. Experiment with the white balance.

Most modern cameras have great automatic white balance settings, but you should definitely try out a few different options. The best setting depends completely on the particular sunset, though, so snap a picture with each manual setting.

Editing your sunset photos.

Take your sunset photos to a new level with an easy-to-use photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. You can tweak the color temperature, tint, saturation, and exposure of your sunset photos, plus easily download customizable presets from professional photographers.

Make your sunsets shine even brighter.

Immortalize your favorite sunset scenes. Explore everything you can do with Adobe Lightroom to level up your editing skills.