The Recipe for Getting This Type of Shot

SCOTT KELBY

Characteristics of this type of shot: the classic sunset shot, but not shot in the classic snapshot way.

1. Use the widest wide-angle lens you've got (this was taken with a 1224mm zoom, with the length set at 12mm for maximum wideness).

2. What makes this work is the fact that the horizon line isn't dead center (and sadly, dead center is where amateurs work so hard to get the horizon line). When shooting a shot like this, make your choice between these two: (a) you want to emphasize the beach, or (b) you want to emphasize the sky. In most cases, since you're shooting a sunset after all, make the sky the star of the show by putting the horizon line in the lower third of the frame (as shown above). Now, most people shooting sunsets don't include the beach at allthey're attracted to the sun and the horizon, so their sunset shots are usually made up of just sea and sky, but by including a little bit of beach, it helps lead the eye and tell the story.

3. It doesn't much matter which shooting mode you use, because there's no important object to focus onyou pretty much want it all in focus, so you can use program mode or aperture priority mode with your f-stop set to anything from f/8 to f/16 and everything will look sharp from front to back.

4. I know I've beat this to death, but you're shooting in low light; it's tripod time.