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Here Comes the Sun!

By Bill Ruting

Trying to capture the perfect image with the sun setting or rising in just the right location is a challenge – how to be in the right place at the right time.  In this brief instruction you will see how to determine when the sun will be in just the right spot.

 Let’s say you want to photograph a lighthouse at the end of a pier with the sun setting behind it.  You want the shot to look down the length of the pier with the lighthouse silhouetted against the setting sun. 

 The first step is to determine the direction you will be facing. The direction must be determined in degrees of azimuth – that is, the number of degrees between the angle you want and due north.  Due north is 0 degrees, east is 90, south 180, and due west 270 degrees.  The best way to determine the angle is to use an orienteering compass – one that is both calibrated in degrees, and is also very accurate.  Following the instructions that come with the compass, you can determine the direction you are facing.  Let us say it turns out to be 243˚. 

 The next step is to determine on what day the sun will be setting at a point that is 243˚ on the horizon.  Using the sunset azimuth program located at the world clock, you can find the azimuth for the sunset for every day of every month.  With a little effort it is easy to find those days when the sun will be setting between 241˚ an 245˚ – a range which will produce the results you desire.  If you are photographing in Chicago, it turns out that you have from November 15 to January 2^nd, or from January 9 to January 25^th to get your shot!  The reason there are two chances is that the sun moves further south along the horizon until December 21, then it begins its northward movement.  In Chicago the sun rise ranges from 57˚ to 121˚, and sunset from 239˚ to 303˚ (see drawing.)

 The only thing left is to be in the right place at the right time.  Keep in mind that the further you go away from the equator, the more the sun deviates during the year, while near the equator (at the plane of the ecliptic) the sun always rises and sets due west and due east.  In some locations, you may never get the sun setting exactly where you would like it!

This site is supported by the generosity of our sponsor La Grange Camera. 

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Last modified: 12/24/09