I have photographed the St. Louis Arch at sunrise, in the morning and during the day but I had never photographed it at sunset and beyond. When our photography club decided to take a trip across the Mississippi and photograph the Arch from a park on the east side of the river I was ready to go. I wasn't sure what I was expecting but when we got there I saw this platform that provided a great overlook to photograph the Arch and the riverfront.
The photos below show the ramp and members of our group lined up at the top of the platform eagerly awaiting the sun to set.
Tips for Nighttime Photography
- Use a tripod...this will help eliminate camera shake in the low light. This is particularly important once the sun has set.
- Don't put the horizon in the middle of the photo. Try getting it somewhere in the bottom third of the photo.
- Shoot in aperture priority when the sun is still up and switch to manual once the sun sets.
- Stay longer ( check next paragraph for reason why).
- Try changing white balance to shade setting for more stunning colors.
- Wait for night clouds. A partly cloudy sky is the best for sunsets.
- Watch for birds. They can add interest to the photo.
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| Sunset in St. Louis |
Search tips for night photography online and you will find a wealth of information. The tips above are a few that I thought were particularly good.
Staying after Sunset
When I am photographing in the evening, I see many photographers wait till sunset, take their photos, and then pack up and leave. If they do they will miss the beauty of the special lighting that often happens 20-30 minutes after sunset.
Right after sunset you will see some really pretty colors in the sky.
You will note in this photo, taken about 5 minutes after sunset that the sky has some pretty pinks and yellow's to it. On some evenings this can be even more pronounced, but I still think it was pretty in the photo above.
If you wait till all the colors have gone in the sky, you will then get to the "Blue Hour" where the sky turns a beautiful dark blue. Many people miss this because they are in too big a hurry to wait. It is definitely their loss. I have seen times where there is only a slight darkening of the blue and other times where it is a fantastic deep blue. It is worth waiting to see what the evening will bring.
In the case of the arch taken from the east, I also wanted to wait till all the lights were on in the buildings around the arch. The arch is usually lit up but at this time of year those lights were turned off so they didn't interfere with the migration of birds. Although I would have liked to see the lights on the arch, I will have to save that for another trip and I do believe it made the other lights on the city appear even brighter. This photo was taken 25 minutes after sunset.
See More on the St. Louis Arch
Here is a Review This post on the Arch showing photography at sunrise and during the daytime.
St. Louis Arch on Zazzle
I have made several of my Arch photos into Zazzle products. Here are a few and you may find more in my zazzle store at Mbgphoto on Zazzle
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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