Settings for sunsets?

[iplayitofflegit]

Before I get hazed for not knowing basic photography, I want everyone to know I am sincerely asking because I want to dial in a good formula in camera.

I don't particularly like using ND filters for sunsets of the ocean because it usually causes me to dial in a slower shutter, blurring the waves. I want crisp, almost stopped motion if possible.

In this past I have used ND on other camera systems with varied success. 2-4 stop is usually good. If there are no rocks in the image, graduated ND works great. Recently, I have been thinking about discarding the ND and going with an in-camera solution in my X-H2 or working with a 2 stop ND and doing the rest in camera. 

I used 200 dynamic range, ISO 400, +0.6 EC 1/210s with the Fujinon XF16mmF1.4 R WR at f/16.0 to achieve the attached photo. I've been shooting street at golden hour with 200 dynamic range with a lot of success, so I tried it on a sunset photograph and it worked out well. I think I could have gone +1 exposure compensation or greater and still rescued the highlights.

I want to be able to lift the shadows a bit more, but not to the extent of if I had bracketed three images to be post processed for HDR, so I'm going to try 300 dynamic range and see what happens. Has anyone adjusted the tone curve in camera or anything else to achieve a well balanced photograph? Please share. 

 

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Edited September 16, 2025 by iplayitofflegit
Grammar, clarity.

[Ben Bishop]

You mention that you worry you'll be criticized for not knowing basics. I won't; I'd suggest that you might simplify your approach. If you want crisp waves in low light conditions then you'll need a higher "speed" than 400 ISO. I shoot higher than that on an X-H1 and the images are noiseless for my purposes. I'd give up ND filters and high apertures and instead go with higher speed and lower apertures. I don't just use exposure compensation - I depend on it. But then again, I usually shoot off the hip. If I was shooting off a tripod I would take an ambient light reading with a meter, subtract 1⅓ or 1½ and go from there. I also don't know if this is a scene you can return to regularly or if it's a travel treat. Happy shooting.

[iplayitofflegit]

I only started at 400 ISO to trigger the dynamic range setting on the X-H2 and agree higher ISO will be good for capturing crisp waves I depend on exposure compensation a lot too. For sunsets at the beach, I usually shoot them on a tripod, rarely handheld. At higher ISO, the noise can be considerable when rescuing shadows so I will probably only go up to ~1200. 

The closed aperture is to control the amount of light from shooting direct in the sun and create a wide depth of field, but I also agree, dialing back to f/11 or f/8 could work when the sun is very low on the horizon. 

I spot meter on the sun, then dial in the exposure compensation to bring up the shadows. Maybe this isn't a good approach, but it seems to work. I think I just need to be more aggressive with the exposure compensation and see what happens. I may have a chance tonight at a different location on the coast and will post my findings.

Thanks for the advice.