Where should I point my camera during sunrise?
It is a question that has been on my mind for some time especially now that I almost exclusively go out for landscape photography at dawn. There is so much potential for wonderful lighting conditions during this time of day, so you definitely don’t want to waste it by photographing the wrong direction, which is why I wanted to create this journal entry.
dawn vs. Sunrise
Many definitions tell us that dawn is a time of day and sunrise is the process of the sun becoming visible as the earth rotates. To a photographer, dawn is an event that can be broken up into four (sometimes five) different sequential stages. They are, in order:
Pre-dawn
Blue hour
Sunrise
Post-sunrise - optional
Golden hour
Assuming sunrise time is 6am, let’s define each one individually approximating the times each stage might take place.
Pre-dawn (5:00am — 5:30am)
This stage is active up until the morning twilight begins. Generally, this is where we are hiking to our location or setting up our shots. If we do not at least arrive on location by pre-dawn, we’ll most likely miss the sunrise. There is generally a very faint glow toward the east during this time of day.
Blue hour (5:30am — 6:00am)
From the time twilight begins to the moment when the top of the sun touches the horizon line, we are experiencing “blue hour.” Our lighting conditions are generally subtle and full of potential color during this time of day. The sun’s warm golden light is transformed into a very cool, almost blue, light, and if we have ideal atmospheric conditions, the clouds are usually a faint pink against sky.
Sunrise (6:00am — 6:10am)
From the point at which the sun hits the horizon line until it has fully risen, “sunrise” is active. Again, in ideal lighting conditions, the colors will generally shift to vibrant pinks and gold. It lasts for a short time, but it is well worth being ready with our camera during this stage of dawn.
Post-Sunrise (6:10am — 6:45am) - optional
There is an odd “in-between” time after the sun has fully risen above the horizon but before the light really getting “good.” The length of time for post-sunrise/pre-golden hour is dependent on our elevation and our surroundings. on the coast, post-sunrise is almost non-existent since we are at sea level and have nothing obstructing its light. In the mountains, it lasts longer because of the mountains and landscapes that obstruct the sun’s light as its rising. If we are at high elevations, above the mountaintops, our post-sunrise will be much shorter as we are above the obstructions. While not experienced everywhere, it’s definitely a stage of dawn we have to be aware of.
Golden hour (6:45am — 8:00am)
The hour or so proceeding sunrise, we experience beautifully warm beams of light with high-contrast conditions. Anything the sunlight touches is transformed into a gorgeous subject. If we have good atmosphere, this is where we might experience sun beams blasting through clouds or fog. I am not a portrait photographer, but this is also the ideal time to be taking those if that’s something you’re in to.
Four Quadrants
A photographer’s surroundings during dawn are broken up into four quadrants. They are not equivalent quadrants, however, as we can either face the sun directly, face opposite of the sun, or face anywhere to either side of the sun.
From this illustration (which I drew) you should be able to see the four quadrants and which direction the shadows always point - away from the sun. Let’s make this overly obvious.
Pointing your camera directly at the sun’s quadrant results in the shadow directly facing you. Pointing your camera opposite of the sun result in shadows facing away from you. Pointing your camera at either side of the sun results in shadows that point to the sides.
Those side quadrants are much larger than the sun facing/sun opposite quadrants because the sun’s light does not travel exactly east/west according to our perspective standing in a fixed position. Realistically, by turning our cameras just slightly to the left or right of the sun gives us completely different lighting conditions especially once you hit golden hour.
Keep this illustration in the back of your mind as we talk practical application.
look to the east
My personal approach is to use the pre-dawn to hike to my location, look with my camera for potential images, and find my first couple compositions facing the eastern direction. I’m basically preparing for the sunrise at this time.
While blue hour is passing, I will sometimes take a few shots if something catch’s my eye, but this is only if the atmospheric conditions are ideal. Because light is an integral part of photography, we have to wait until we have some before we start snapping photos.
As sunrise begins, it’s time to start taking photos. Because we took the time to setup my images ahead of time, we should not feel rushed (for whatever reason, I always do.) The colors don’t last long, so you probably won’t have enough time to run around looking for different compositions.
The negative to shooting in this direction is that the foreground is almost always under exposed. The sky is so bright and so beautiful, but it casts a powerful shadow directly toward our camera. This can be a beautiful effect, like in the above image, but it can also result in an underexposed landscape with an overexposed sky, like in the image below.
Remember to always check your exposure between photos. It’s so easy to overexpose an image during the rapidly changing lighting conditions.
In this 6 image sunrise panorama, you should see exactly what happens when you don’t check your exposure between shots. The light increases so quickly that when I took my first photo toward the north, it was properly exposed, but by the time I and panned all the way to the east, my images were overexposed - gross! Even with my fancy camera, I could not recover much of the sunrise color.
Look to the West
As soon as the color starts to fade in the direction of the sun, spin around and face the opposite direction. If you’ve got any clouds in the sky, they will likely be lit up with beautiful colors mirroring the sunrise.
You will occasionally have an even better opportunity for great photos facing opposite the sunrise. Not only will your photos have beautiful colors in the sky but there will also be better lighting on your landscapes since the sunlight will be shining towards it.
We have to decide which we’re more dedicated to - the vibrant light and colors with strong shadows toward the sunrise or the subtle pastels and cooler hues away from the sunrise - because within a short time, the colors will likely fade and not return.
rest and wait
Unless you’re taking a coastal sunrise photo, you will almost always have some time to kill after the sunrise. The colors will be pretty much gone, but the sunlight will not be strong enough yet to give you the “golden hour” look. Take some time to check your batteries, setup a new composition, eat a granola bar, or whatever else you need to be prepared because the fun is just about to start.
Golden hour
As soon as the light hits, you will likely start seeing hundreds of amazing images in all different directions where, moments earlier, you saw none. Light is so important to photography that as soon as we get some, we’re like kids in a candy store (pardon my cliché.)
I’m completely serious when I say, this period of time, when the light is basking the eastern hills and casting long western shadows, is the most photogenic time of day. In my opinion, if you do not stick around to take photos during golden hour, you are missing out on so many great photo opportunities.
During golden hour, look to those two large side quadrants from the illustration earlier. Everything within those two will have so much character and so much potential, and you will have plenty of time to explore both. Take your time, see what’s catching the morning light. See how the shadows create new shapes. Find those images that stand out.
conclusion
I believe that shooting laterally to the sunlight during golden hour, gives us, as artists, a greater opportunity to take atypical photos, which is a greater potential for leveled up photography. Shooting toward the sun during the sunrise, or even opposite the sunrise, is so obvious. Everyone will think to photograph it. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a bad thing at all! Those directions will create such eye-catching and beautiful pictures that you’d be dumb not to take them.
Think deeper, though, and find the compositions that not everyone will take. Look to the side and see what the light is doing. Find those pieces of art that can only be captured by you.
-Jude