Sunset, the magical moment when the light fades to let darkness fall. The buildings turn orange before becoming panels of fireflies and the sky recreates itself by displaying infinite shades, starting with the warm ones that give way to the blues and violets that shelter the night. From the golden hour to the blue hour and from the blue hour to total darkness, when cities sleep and dream of a new day. From the working day to the intimate and personal space of family, friends, leisure… That moment when minds relax and let themselves be carried away by the warmth of the atmosphere before taking refuge at home, when the sun plants you face before telling you until tomorrow… Dusk is that moment when the sun wraps the cities in gold foil to give them to the moon.
For all this, we can say that sunsets in the city are also really beautiful and worth photographing. You don’t need to look for a beautiful landscape to capture its sunset, go to the mountains or to the beach, you just need to know how to photograph the sunset in your city. For that, today we travel through a gallery of city sunset photography for inspiration.
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LOOK FOR THE REFLECTIONS
Sunset is a perfect time to photograph the sky reflected in water. If your city has a river, sea, a large pond, or even puddles formed by rain, take advantage of this moment to capture the golden hour reflections and get the sky to have a continuity beyond the horizon, or rather more “here” 😉 .
Another good option is that the reflection of the sky is accompanied by a monument as in this image of the Temple of Debod, in Madrid, where there are spectacular sunsets.
PORTRAYS THE FESTIVITIES
Only with the silhouette, the author of this image has managed to convey the festive spirit of that day in the city of Seville. A beautiful backlight in which the sun sneaks through the famous Triana bridge. You can portray, as here, symbols or icons of the festival or decorative elements such as banners or flashlights, or even the silhouettes of typical costumes.
In the following image a party has also been photographed. This time it has been in the blue hour, that moment when the sun has already disappeared but there is still some clarity and the lights shine more than ever to keep company to the star and the moon in a sky that is about to be flooded with stars.
LET THE SKY “FRAME” THE STATUES
Sunset can give you a beautiful and unique backdrop for statues or sculptures in your city. Change the perspective and instead of portraying these figures with a building (not necessarily worth photographing), shoot with the sunset scenery. It can also be a good resource if your lens does not allow you a wide aperture to blur the background and it is “annoying”.
SHOOTS THE “JEWELS” AT THE MOMENT THEY SHINE THE MOST.
Every city has some “jewel”. It’s true that not every city has a marvel like this one, but surely they have one (or more) to boast about, and what better time to immortalize them with your camera than when the sun gives them that golden color that makes them shine more than ever!
RISE HIGH
The panoramic view from the rooftops of many cities is a spectacle, but you can’t stay at road level. Take advantage of the rooftops of the tallest buildings and show that part of your town that passers-by can hardly appreciate at a time when the view is composed of a set of architecture bathed in the same chromatic tone.
CLIMB EVEN HIGHER
Is there a hill nearby, a lookout point? If you have a place that offers a panoramic view of the whole city, do not hesitate to take your camera at sunset and climb to the top to capture all its immensity under a beautiful orange blanket.
The following image is taken from a skyscraper, specifically the Empire State Building. The views are incredible and the moment when the orange stripe divides heaven and earth, separates the divine from the earthly and gives way to the night, is truly unique.
SEARCH FOR THE SKY AMIDST THE CHAOS
Among the architectural maelstrom, traffic and other metropolitan elements, you can find bits of sky that contrast with the cement, asphalt, cables and satellite dishes. That contrast can be really wonderful at sunset time – are you going to miss it 😉.
HIGHLIGHTS ARCHITECTURAL SILHOUETTES
Surely there is some building in your city that you would recognize just by its silhouette. And the best silhouettes are obtained during sunrise or sunset, so I recommend that you take advantage of this time to outline your favorite architectural elements.
GO TO THE PARKS
In the parks you can always find an endearing “picture”, a story to tell, a sunset amidst greenery…
PRACTICE STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
If you don’t know what I mean, or you are not familiar with the term “Street Photography“, be sure to read this article, because the sunset is also a perfect time for this style of photography. If you don’t believe me, take a look at these two examples of images taken at the “golden hour” in Prague.
DOES YOUR CITY HAVE A BEACH?!!!!
Then don’t limit yourself to photographing the sunset on the sea. The beach itself, its movement, its life at sunset is a really worthy motif to capture. If you don’t think you can get a beautiful image of the beach with buildings in the background and/or a lot of people, just look at the following image to convince you otherwise.
PHOTOGRAPH THE BRIDGES…
…their views and their stories. Some people have a weakness for bridges, maybe you are not in this group, but I’m sure that when you see these two images you will realize how much a bridge can gain at sunset. Aren’t you already thinking about that bridge in your city? 😉
“LOVE IS IN THE AIR…”
I guess you already know how romantic the sunset is, don’t you? Songs, movies, novels, advertisements… remind us of it every day. And it’s true, it’s an ideal moment for romanticism and for couples photographs. And best of all, it is not necessary to have models. Take a walk around the city, you’re sure to have a story to tell like the one in the following image.
You already have some tips and a lot of inspiring examples. And I insist, inspiring, to inspire you, not to copy them as they are. Although in this case it is very difficult, for two reasons, one because no two sunsets are the same and two, because to copy any of them, unless you live in that city… it’s difficult 😉 But these images have surely helped you to see that you can not only capture beautiful sunsets in the sea or in the countryside. The city also hides magical sunsets, so what are you waiting for to capture them?
Thanks once again for making it to the end. If you liked it, I would appreciate it if you would share it so that others can also enjoy these wonderful city sunsets. See you next time!
