How To Take Amazing Sunrise and Sunset Photos on iPhone

Capturing the beauty of sunrise and sunset has long been a favorite pursuit of amateur and professional photographers.

The golden hues, dramatic skies, and tranquil ambiance make for some of the most stunning and evocative images.

While traditional cameras have often been the tool of choice for these moments, advancements in smartphone technology have made it easier than ever to snap breathtaking photos with a device that fits in your pocket.

This article gives you key tips and techniques for taking spectacular sunrise and sunset photos on iPhone.

Whether you’re a seasoned photographer looking to make the most of your iPhone’s capabilities or a beginner eager to explore the world of smartphone photography, these tips will help take your sunrise and sunset photos to the next level.

Table of Contents

Sunrise And Sunset – The Best Time To Take Photos

It is widely accepted that taking photos at midday is not ideal. The sun is at its peak in the sky, producing intense, harsh light that can cause strong shadows and highlights.

The stark contrast between light and shadow can make capturing details in a scene’s bright and dark areas challenging.

Additionally, overhead sunlight can diminish texture and detail, resulting in less visually engaging scenes.

Midday sunlight also has a higher color temperature, which produces cooler tones in photos. These tones appear less vibrant and warm than the golden hues of early morning or late afternoon light.

Sunrise and sunset are the opposite of midday, so it’s no surprise that these are the two best times of day for photography.

The low angle of the sun creates interesting lighting effects and dramatic shadows.

Sunrise and sunset, when the sun is low on the horizon, produce warm, golden tones that enhance colors and create a pleasing atmosphere in photographs.

The light is softer and less intense, reducing harsh shadows and highlights making it easier to capture details in both bright and dark areas of the scene.

The sun’s low angle creates long, interesting shadows that add depth and dimension to photos, making compositions more dynamic and appealing.

The oblique light accentuates textures and details, highlighting the intricacies of surfaces and landscapes.

At sunrise and sunset, the sky displays various vibrant colors, from deep reds and oranges to purples and pinks, creating stunning photo backdrops.

And finally, the strong directional light behind subjects is perfect for creating striking silhouettes against colorful skies, adding a dramatic effect to your photos.

Planning a Sunrise or Sunset Photoshoot

Depending on where you are (the further you are from the equator, the more gradual the sunrise and sunset tend to be), a sunrise or sunset lasts 5 to 10 minutes.

That’s a very small window to capture that perfect shot you’re looking for.

And that’s why planning ahead is essential to sunrise and sunset photography.

Before going on a sunrise/sunset photoshoot, you need to know two basic facts:

What exact time will the sun rise or set?
What direction will the sun be?

Various apps will give you this information for any location in the world. The one I use and recommend is Photo Pills, which is free to use.

Here’s how to use Photo Pills to plan your sunrise/sunset photoshoot.

Open the PhotoPills app and tap on the ‘Planner’ tile:

On the next screen, tap the orange circle and drag your finger across the screen until the white cross is where you want to take your sunrise/sunset photo. Then tap the orange circle again.

You’ll now see some colored lines. The yellow line indicates the direction of sunrise, and the red line indicates the direction of sunset.

A panel at the top of the screen shows sunrise and sunset times. Drag this panel to the left, and you’ll see another top panel that shows the ‘golden hour’ for sunrise and sunset:

In this example, the sunrise golden hour lasts from 6:02 a.m. to 6:44 a.m., and the sunset golden hour lasts from 6:17 p.m. to 6:59 p.m.

PhotoPills is an incredibly powerful app for planning sunrise and sunset photoshoots. Use the planner to put a pin in your photoshoot location, and then use the sliding panel at the top to see when the golden hour for that location will begin and end.

Here are two more tips for planning a sunrise or sunset photoshoot:

Scout the location the day before to see what subjects you can include in your photo. In the example above, I chose a yacht club, so I knew boats and water would be in the shot. But I didn’t realize that an eight-foot chainlink fence surrounded the marina. This is the kind of detail that you only discover by scouting the area the day before.
Aim to arrive about 45 minutes before sunrise or sunset. This gives you ample time to choose your location, set up your tripod (if using one), and get a feel for the ambiance. You definitely don’t want to feel like you’re in a race against time.

5 Lighting Tips For Better Sunrise/Sunset Photos on iPhone

Taking stunning photos of sunsets and sunrises with your iPhone involves a few key techniques, including setting the right exposure.

Here are some steps and tips to help you effectively capture the beauty of these moments.

1. Use the AE/AF Lock Feature

One of the most useful features of the iPhone camera is the AE/AF lock (Auto Exposure/Auto Focus lock).

To activate it, open your Camera app and frame your shot. Tap and hold on the screen where you want to set the focus and exposure.

A yellow box will appear around the area you tapped, and “AE/AF LOCK” will appear at the screen’s top. This locks both the exposure and focus at that point, ensuring consistent settings as you recompose your shot.

When choosing which area of the screen to tap on, please note the following:

Setting the exposure for the bright area of the sky often causes the darker areas to become completely black.
Conversely, the sunset sky can become overexposed if you choose a darker part of the image.
The key is to select a point in between and then use an editing app to enhance the colors and contrast.

Remember: iPhone photos are easier to edit from under-exposure than over-exposure. So, if you have to choose, always under-expose rather than over-expose.

2. Manually Adjust Exposure

After locking the AE/AF, you can manually adjust the exposure to get the perfect balance of light and color. To do this, swipe up or down on the screen.

Swiping up will increase the exposure, making the image brighter, which can be useful if the scene is too dark. Swiping down will decrease the exposure, darkening the image, which can help prevent the bright sky areas from being overexposed.

This manual adjustment allows you to highlight the vibrant colors and dramatic contrasts typical of sunsets and sunrises.

3. Use Third-Party Apps

While the native iPhone Camera app is powerful, there are third-party apps that offer more advanced controls for exposure and other settings.

Apps like Halide, Camera+, and ProCamera provide manual controls for adjusting ISO, shutter speed, and white balance, giving you even more flexibility to capture the perfect shot.

These apps often come with advanced features like focus peaking, RAW shooting, and enhanced HDR, making them ideal for photographing challenging lighting conditions like sunsets and sunrises.

4. Use a Tripod

Using a tripod is always a good idea in low-light conditions. A tripod lets you set a slower shutter speed, allowing more light into the camera.

Personally, I usually take sunrise and sunset photos without a tripod. The iPhone camera is good at capturing whatever light is available, and if the image is underexposed, I can always add exposure, brilliance, and brightness in post-processing.

5. Experiment with Composition and Filters

Finally, don’t forget about composition and post-processing.

Positioning the horizon in the lower third of your frame can emphasize the sky and create a more dynamic image.

After taking your photo, use editing apps like Snapseed or Adobe Lightroom to fine-tune the exposure, contrast, and saturation. In Lightroom, you can easily create a mask for the sky that lets you edit the sky independently.

Alternatively, if the sky in your photo has the right exposure but the foreground is too dark, you can copy and invert the sky mask and use that to increase exposure in the foreground alone.

Applying filters can also enhance the natural colors of the sunset or sunrise, making your photo even more striking.

Using these tips and the features available on your iPhone, you can set the exposure and capture beautiful, evocative photos of sunsets and sunrises.

6 Composition Tips For Better Sunrise/Sunset Photos on iPhone

1. Include a subject

However dramatic the sunrise or sunset is, you generally need a subject for your photo. That could be a person, a bird, a boat, or a rock. In most cases, a sunrise or sunset is a great backdrop, but not enough on its own to make a great composition.

2. Rule of Thirds

Turn on the rule of thirds grid in your iPhone camera settings. Place the horizon in the top or bottom third, but not in the middle.

3. Look for clouds to add drama

Sunrises and sunsets become truly dramatic when you also have clouds. The early morning or late afternoon sun rays catching the clouds can add texture to the sky and create a highly charged atmosphere.

Various apps can help you predict if clouds will be present during sunrise or sunset.

One of these apps is Meteo Blue, a comprehensive weather forecasting tool that gives accurate and detailed predictions and is particularly good at predicting cloud coverage.

The app includes real-time updates and animations depicting cloud patterns’ movement and development. This helps you visualize how cloud cover will change over time.

The app includes satellite imagery and radar overlays to help you understand cloud formation in a particular area.

4. Use silhouettes

With the sun low in the sky, sunrises and sunsets are great opportunities to capture silhouettes of people. These can be friends or people who happen to be there at the same time as you.

5. Shoot sunset/sunrise photos over water

The sun’s low angle creates superb reflections on water. On a beach, wait for the waves to recede, leaving a band of wet sand—this will reflect the sunrise or sunset.

A lake at sunrise or sunset will also produce amazing reflections.

6. Take lots of shots

Take multiple shots and discard the ones you don’t want. If necessary, use burst mode to capture 10 frames per second. That’s one way to ensure you get the exact shot you want.

Editing Your Sunrise and Sunset Photos

If you don’t use a tripod (and a slower shutter speed), your photos will likely be underexposed. That’s fine, but it means you will have to edit your photos to make them really pop.

Here are some settings in the native iPhone app that I usually adjust.

Auto-Enhance

Open the Photos app and select the photo you want to edit.

Tap “Edit” and then the magic wand icon to apply auto-enhancements. This can quickly improve the overall appearance.

Use the slider underneath the magic wand to adjust the strength of the auto-enhancement.

Adjust Light and Color

Tap the “Adjust” icon (the dial) and then slide your finger to the left. You’ll see controls for manually adjusting light, color, and more.

Increase the “Brilliance” to enhance the details in the darker and brighter areas.
Adjust “Exposure” and “Brightness” to bring out details in the photo.
Use “Contrast” to make the colors pop.
Adjust “Highlights” and “Shadows” to balance the lighting.
Increase “Saturation” and “Vibrance” to make the colors of the sunset or sunrise more vivid.
Use “Warmth” to enhance the golden tones typical in these photos.

Add Filters

Next to the ‘Adjust’ icon, tap on ‘Filters’ and choose a filter that enhances the mood of your photo. Filters like “Vivid Warm” or “Dramatic Warm” can be particularly effective for sunrise and sunset images.

Conclusion

Capturing the magic of sunrise and sunset on your iPhone can be a truly rewarding experience.

By understanding the basics of lighting, composition, and the capabilities of your iPhone’s camera, you can create stunning sunrise and sunset photos on iPhone.

Remember to plan your shots, use the appropriate settings, and take advantage of the various apps available for editing.

With some practice and creativity, you can capture the breathtaking colors and serene atmosphere of sunrises and sunsets, turning them into lasting memories and impressive works of art.

So, grab your iPhone, head out during the golden hours, and start shooting!