Sunset Strobing

The West coast of Florida is an incredibly unique area, particularly the beaches. White sandy beaches, swaying palm tree, and incredibly dramatic sunsets over the gulf of Mexico. Hot, humid, and fast moving clouds during the summer create “Sunset Season” here in Florida that runs from proximately late April to early June. During the “Sunset Season”, daily showers, and dark looming skies around dusk creates incredibly beautiful sunsets. Are there beautiful sunsets outside of “Sunset Season”? Most definetly! Any rainy, dreary day, stormy days can make amazing sunsets. $#^&y days make the best sunsets.

From a technical photography perspective it’s quite simple. Expose the camera for the dramatic setting sun, and blast your subject with a strobe. The golden, or often orange diffused light from the sun provides a perfect backlight enveloping the models hair and body. These shoots can be done with one or two lighting setups.

An important aspect of doing a sunset shoot is where is the sun going to be, and when. Photoephemeris is a great tool for tracking the sun, moon, and milkway.

One Light Setup	Two Light Setup
A single key light at 45 degrees off camera, and at a 45 degree angle at the model’s face.	A key light at 45 degrees off camera, and at a 45 degree angle at the model’s face. A fill light low and angled at 45 degrees at the model’s body.

One Light Setup

Two Light Setup

A single key light at 45 degrees off camera, and at a 45 degree angle at the model’s face.

A key light at 45 degrees off camera, and at a 45 degree angle at the model’s face.

A fill light low and angled at 45 degrees at the model’s body.