Stunning sundowners

SET UP AN OUTDOOR OFF-CAMERA FLASH TO LIGHT YOUR SUBJECT FOR DRAMATIC SUNSET PORTRAITS

1 Setting sun

The best angle for our sunset portrait will usually be shooting towards the sun. The most vibrant colours will often form in this part of the sky as the sun reaches the horizon. Even if the sun disappears behind low clouds like this, you’re still likely to see dramatic cloud formations and hints of orange or pink.

2 Location

Think of a location near you that will work for your sunset portrait, and consider the direction of the setting sun in advance. The rapeseed field here offers vibrant colours that match those in the sky. The beach or a lake can be great choices too, as the sun will reflect off of the water.

3 Outdoor flash

A standalone flash unit, like the Godox AD300PRO here, is ideal, as the output is enough to balance with the sunlight even when firing though large modifiers like a softbox or umbrella. A unit like this will have an in-built rechargeable battery pack. If you don’t have an outdoor flash, a Speedlight can work too.

4 Modifier & light stand

Light modifiers, like the softbox here, let us transform the hard light from the flash, making it softer so that it spreads out and gently lifts our subject with flattering frontal light. Umbrellas or softboxes are best, but if you don’t have one you could simply fire it through the diffuse panel in a 5-in-1 reflector.

5 Flash trigger

When shooting with an off-camera flash we need to be able to trigger it from the camera, either using a second Speedlight, a sync cable or a dedicated trigger like this. Alternatively, you can use the camera’s pop-up flash and set your off-camera flash to optical release so that it fires at the same moment.

6 White balance

Set the white balance to enhance the sunset tones. Try using the Manual white balance setting and choose a kelvin value around 8400. Shoot in Raw if you can, as this gives you the option to alter white balance afterwards with the same results as if you’d done so beforehand.