Digital Sunrise and Sunset Photography - The Problem with Sunglasses

SUMMARY: Resist the urge to overexpose photos previewed on LCDs when wearing sunglasses - or take them off before shooting a photo.

On sunny days, I definitely cannot recommend NOT wearing sunglasses. Besides the fashion aspect <grin>, sunglasses are important in that (if properly made) they help protect your eyes from the sun's harmful rays. They may not protect you if you look straight up at the sun, but that's not a smart thing to do no matter what.

All that being said, there is one problem with wearing sunglasses and trying to take photos of the sun rising or setting. Especially if your sunglasses are tinted, the colors you see when you preview your photos with your digital camera's LCD will not look the same as when others look at your photos later.

You may think you are setting the white balance and exposure compensation correctly, but others may find your photos too light. Since sunglasses darken your vision, including how you see LCD previews of a photo, instincts will probably tell you to overexpose your pictures slightly. Either resist the urge to do so, or try to set up your shots so that the camera is blocking your eyes from the sun. Then, take off your sunglasses, shoot your photo, put your sunglasses back on, THEN lower your digital camera. Just make sure if you do this to not look towards the sun without your sunglasses on as this can permanently damage your eyes.