Few things get everyone reaching for their cameras than a sunset. The beautiful red, orange and pink hues can provide wonderful sights and while Britain doesn’t often offer some phenomena seen elsewhere - like the green flash seen over wide ocean expanses - it can make up for it with some extraordinary colours.
The best of these can come when the atmospheric conditions are at their most favourable, such as when there is a blanket of white, fluffy cloud that gloriously reflects the setting sun with a patchwork quilt of peachy pinks and orange across the heavens. You will definitely want to pack your hipster camera bags for evenings like that.
Spring is a good season for these because there is generally more cloud about than in summer and the sun sets at a less shallow angle than in the longest days of the year, when the flattened polar regions mean light fades much more slowly.
Even so, there are ways to make a good photo truly great. For instance, by zooming out you can get a small sun and a wide angle that displays the glorious panorama of a scenic backdrop. Alternatively, take a larger picture of the sun when it is very low during the ‘golden hour’ before sunset.
Another thing to do is learn to use different light filter levels. These can help you capture all the glorious nuances of colour, which some pictures can filter out. Ideally, you want whoever sees the picture to witness the colours as they would have done with the naked eye.
Every sunset is different, of course; the exact spot where the sun sets, the overhead conditions, the humidity and much else besides will all influence how it appears. But with plenty of practice, the use of different techniques and lots of patience, you can use this spring to hone the art of sunset photography and produce some wonderful shots you will enjoy for many years to come.