Ahh! San Diego, California is home to the NFL football team San Diego Chargers and is the second largest city in the Golden state. Known for it’s mild year-round climate, natural water harbor, and beautiful beaches, San Diego is one of the largest growing cities in the United States. When I lived there one of my favorite places to visit was Scripps Pier near La Jolla Shores.
Nearby, you will find Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It was founded in 1903 and is one of the largest centers for scientific research. In 1915, Scripps Pier was built expanding 1,000-feet into the Pacific Ocean. To read more about this amazing pier, visit Megan Dax’s blog article: Scripps Pier Interesting Photo’s and Facts. Scripps Pier has become a photographer’s dream location to capture sunsets, engagement photos and highlight one of the most beautiful piers along the Pacific coast.
Photography Tips on Capturing the Perfect Sunset
Sunset photographs create a sense of calm and encourage viewers to dream of a hopeful future. Most importantly, sunsets allow us to forget about stress and remind ourselves of a moment in time that brought us joy. What do you think of when you see a sunset picture?
Great Photographers prepare for each shot
Dedicating time to research is very important, as it allows the photographer to capture the most important aspects of the surroundings. Think about it, when you go shopping you take the time to write down your list and plan your route; great photographers are no different.
Scope out the location days or even weeks ahead. As I mentioned before, San Diego is growing rapidly so count on additional photographers to be in the area as well as a large group of people. For example, a couple days prior, find the best spot to setup your tripod and take some practice shots. Look for interesting vantage points that allow you to include foreground elements and silhouettes. Angled shots offer dynamic compositions and are unique. If you have your own style, use it.
On the day of your shoot, arrive early and stay late because sunsets usually last about 30 minutes. Yes, you may only be there for the sunset but the images you capture before and after might inspire you to take unplanned photos. For example, on the day I photographed Scripps Pier, my wife and I decided to stay a little longer to capture all the changes of the sunset until there was nothing but stars. I decided to try something different after I accomplished what I set out to do. I used my tripod and remote to capture an eerie, dark and mysterious photo from a different vantage point (come back later to see the photo I’m referring to).
It’s important to shoot at a variety of exposures. There is no one correct exposure, using a variety will allow you to be creative. Also, keep in mind different aperture ad shutter speed settings will take longer to expose. To ensure great exposure without blur when using a low 1/15 shutter speed use a tripod and a remote shutter. Most people understand the tripod; however, in certain situations, only using a tripod may make your pictures blurry. People forget when there finger presses that shutter release button the camera jerks. Have you seen a photo that has a grainy feel? Using high ISO settings like 6400 causes this. But, we want our images to be large to put on a wall in a nice frame. Usually during low light shots we just boost up our ISO settings to get a better-exposed image. So, how do we use a low ISO setting like 200 during low light conditions? By using a tripod and remote shutter release.
Glimmer
I hoped this helped you in planning your next shot. Remember, take your time and plan out your photo shoot. Don’t forget to have fun and be creative. You will never know what you can accomplish until you push through your comfort zone. Please stay tuned, as I will be adding more to the Scripps Pier Collection.
Let me know if you have any questions regarding this topic or any other topics. I encourage you to view more photographic art prints from the Adam Dax Gallery and contact me to order prints.
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