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The "Go-To" Instructional Photography Blog, by Michael Willems

Friday evening, this was the sunset as I was almost home:

Oakville Sunset, photo by Michael Willems

That colour is not photoshopped: it was real.

For sunset pictures, remember this:

Set your white balance to “daylight” (on the camera or, if shooting RAW, in Lightroom later).
Expose right (if using evaluative metering, then use -1 stop Exposure Compensation). This saturates the colours.

I prefer to set the WB on the camera even when shooting RAW. That way, I can see on the LCD roughly what I may be getting.

A quick reminder for those who shoot sunset or late-afternoon pictures, shot during that wonderful “Golden Hour”.

This is a picture I shot in Sedona, AZ, last December.

For late-day pictures, this:

Set your exposure right. This may well mean exposure compensation of minus one stop.
If you shoot JPG, ensure your white balance is not set to “Auto”; use “Daylight” (the sun symbol) instead.
Ensure that all is sharp: us a small aperture (a large “F-number”)
If a setting sun is in the picture, then use a long telephoto lens to make the sun seem large.
Use a tripod.

Have fun!