Why the Sky looks blown out in photos - and how we capture it right.

Client Question: Why are some of my photos too bright? We did a sunset session, so why is so much colour and detail lost in the sea and the sunset?

Photographer Answer: I completely understand your desire to capture all the beautiful details of the sunset and ocean in your photos! This much depends on the direction in which I am shooting. Let's say you ask me to take a picture of you with the sunset directly behind you. If you are facing my camera with the sun directly behind you, and I am taking your portrait shooting directly toward the sun, this creates a situation called "backlighting." This is a perfect angle for a silhouette shot. But if you're expecting, you will be bright and the background will be in full colour and detail. This will not be the case. When shooting at sunset, especially on the beach, there’s often a trade-off between properly exposing the subjects and capturing all the details in the background. The camera struggles to balance both. It has to choose between exposing the bright sky or your face, and it usually can't do both simultaneously. Think of a camera as an eye. Cameras were created to behave like our eyes -they have a lens like our cornea, an aperture like our pupil, and a sensor that works like the retina. But even the best cameras can't quite match how amazing our eyes are at adjusting to light. So, please don’t be so hard on my camera ;) 

My priority is always to ensure that you are well-lit and visible rather than dark and shadowed. This is why I will shoot in so many different directions. For the most part, I shoot a little bit on an angle, with the sun not directly behind you, but rather lighting you from the side, creating a more balanced exposure.

That said, during my editing process, I make adjustments to slightly tone down the brightness in the background while keeping you properly exposed. However, I'm cautious not to overdo this, as trying to recover too much detail can make the image look unnatural or overly edited. Again, my main focus is to ensure my subjects are correctly exposed. 

Sunset sessions provide that soft golden glow, making it an ideal time to shoot. There aren’t any harsh lighting contrasts or shadows on the subjects (you) during this time, resulting in soft and flattering lighting. Although sunset is my favourite time for sessions for various reasons, it may not be the best time to capture the vibrant turquoise colour of the water. The light, colour, and shadows change throughout the day based on the position of our light source (the sun). There are pros and cons to shooting during the day versus at sunset, but that could be a topic for another blog post.