The document provides tips for planning and shooting sunset portraits based on windows of opportunity caused by changing light conditions throughout twilight. It outlines different lighting styles that can be captured, including: backlit orange light 30 minutes before sunset; balanced ambient and artificial light during civil twilight; silhouettes against colorful skies; and night portraits using environmental lights. Technical advice is given for different stages, such as using reflectors, tripods, and higher ISOs. The goal is to efficiently capture variety within a two hour shoot by anticipating the brief windows for each lighting style.

1. SUNSET PORTRAITS
Art and Science Tutorial
SUNSET PORTRAITS
by Daniel Arnauldby Daniel Arnauld

2. Plan your shot list based on predictable windows of opportunity
caused by the atmosphere and the speed of the Earth’s rotation.

3. • Every 8 to 12 minutes the lighting conditions will change
because of the speed of the earth’s rotation.
• Knowing these light conditions, you can plan to achieve
different styles of portraits throughout a two hour shoot
with your subject.
• This will make you efficient in your execution and give you
variety in your images.
• You know the window of opportunity for each light
situation is only 8-12 minutes. If you miss it, then move
on.
• Or if one style of dusk lighting is a priority, then be in the
right place and ready for the window when it happens.

5. Windows of Opportunity
Anticipating your Shot List
• Orange Window
Backlit
Glowing Iris
• Civil Twilight
• Colorful Sky/Silhouette
• Nautical Twilight
• Night Portraits

6. Harsh, Angular and Orange
• Starting about thirty minutes before the time for official
sunset, the light slashing through the atmosphere is harsh,
angular and orange.
• Place the subject so this harsh light is on the back of their
head. Use a reflector or flash to fill in the face.
• You can turn the subject into the harsh orange light and
use the color for what it is: a warm colored spotlight. The
angle of the light may go directly into the iris and make the
subject’s eye shine like a lion (if eyes are brown.)
• You will know this window is ending when the shadows
become very long.

10. Turning the model toward the orange light can be harsh on the
skin but looks stunning as the light enters the iris from the side.

12. Civil Twilight
• For a brief time the ambient light of the sky will balance in intensity with
man-made lights as they come on at dusk.
• Before this window of balance the daylight sky overpowers man made
lights. After this window the man made lights of the city will overpower the
night sky.
• Look for places with many man-made lights and be there ready to shoot.
Skylines, bridges, traffic or cafe lights usually have well lit architecture.
• You will probably still need to add light with and LED or flash to expose the
face correctly and to aid the auto focus of your camera, which needs
contrast.
• You will know this window is beginning when the shadow suddenly
disappear.

15. Vivid Skies for Silhouette
• As the sun touches the horizon it becomes red and the sky is often
purple. Light is below the clouds and lights the bottoms creating
dramatic shapes.
• It is very hard to balance your added light, either in the form of LED or
flash.
• This is a good time to get a silhouette of your subject.
• You need a sky that is bright with color and a strong clearly readable
outline of the human form.
• Get low and avoid any other objects that will clutter the outline of your
subject. Since there is little or no detail in the shadows, contrasting the
sky with the body’s outlines is key to give the shape of a human figure.

18. Nautical Twilight
• After the sun goes below the horizon, light continues to shine up into the sky.
• Sailors found they could continue to navigate by this light for another twenty minutes.
• Amateur Photographers go home at this time, thinking the show of dramatic color is over
and it is too dark.
• Professionals get out a tripod and dial their cameras in to read the rich blue in the sky, as
the man-made lights shine in the windows of the local architecture.
• Real estate photographers often use this time of sunset to make the buildings stand out,
while still having deep blue color in the sky.
• This is a good time for the model to be wearing an edgy outfit, like a leather coat.
• When using added light, you must set your exposure triangle to the ambient light, and then
dial in the added light to match the intensity. If your added light overpowers the ambit light
you loose the environment. If the background is all black. You might as well have shot in a
studio.

21. Anticipating your Shot List
The Angular Orange shot was taken about
thirty minutes before the Night shot.

25. Night Portraits
• Look for clusters of lights like a bridge or cafe lights on a patio. Then fill the
negative space around the model with bokeh.
• Place the model close to the camera and as far away from the light source
as possible. Use a telephoto lens and zoom in. This compresses the light
into the globes of flat light patterns.
• Use backlight to separate the model from the darkness behind them.
• Leave some shadows on the face to give it shape and an edgy look.
• Before you place your model, turn your lens to manual focus and zoom in to
see your surroundings out of focus. This will help you abstract the
environment into an impression, like a Monet painting with light. Place your
model close to the camera so the Monet abstraction of bokeh is in the
negative space around their head.

33. Technical Tips for Night Portraits
• Use a tripod or monopod to stabilize, especially when
using lower shutter speed.
• Crank the ISO up. Modern sensors are amazing.
• Use a cable release to prevent shaking the camera when
pushing the shutter.
• You must have light in the background in order to have
interest in the negative space and make it a street
portrait. An empty black background looks like a studio
and is a missed opportunity.

34. Look for sources of light coming
from the environment and use
them to create a source light for
the model’s face.
Point the model’s nose toward
the light.
Add light for hair light or fill, but
do not overpower the actual
source being shown in the
frame.
Final Tips for Night
Portraits

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