Sunsets

All of us, at some point, have seen a sky so spectacular that we scramble try to capture it in a photo.  Most of the time, a beautiful sunset photo isn't something that you can generally plan out--it sort of just happens.   However, there are a few ways that I have found to predict which nights are likely to produce an impressive sunset to photograph.  I also have a few tips (though I am still learning myself) on how to photograph sunsets.

The main way to predict beautiful sunsets is simply to look at the sky.  If the sky is completely clear or completely cloudy, put the camera away--you aren't going to get any decent shots.  I've found that partly cloudy skies (even if the clouds are "barely there") wispy clouds, are the best for sunsets.  You still need some sky showing (obviously) so you can see the sun or sun rays, and you need clouds to reflect the light and create color.

As you're photographing a sunset, if possible, stay outside until the sun is completely gone and all of the color has faded from the sky.  In my experience, an A+ sunset often turns into an A+++ sunset if you have a little patience.

As you can see, if you stick around awhile, the colors and clouds can change a lot in the space of only 20 minutes or so.  Sticking around and taking many shots of the same sunset can give you more photos to choose from later.

Another thing I would recommend is trying different angles with sunset photos.  The examples above feature the sun in the center of the photograph, but that isn't how the picture  has to be structured.  Try placing the sun off center or don't include it at all.  You can get awesome pictures of clouds as the sun is setting and the sun itself isn't necessary to make the photo work.  A few examples of what I am talking about are shown below:

There's no sun in this shot, but it still works.  The trees, flags, and cloud color are more than enough to make up for its absence.

This photo was taken at ground level and the sun was not visible in this shot because it had already set.  Despite this fact, the clouds still retained their color, and the farmhouse is an interesting detail, so there's no reason the sun has to be in the picture.

The sun is in this shot, but as you can see I placed it to the left in the photo.  In case you're wondering, I did apply an effect to this particular photo to bring out the colors even more.

Finally, I'm still figuring out exact camera settings myself, so I can't give much advice in that respect.  The only obvious advice I can give is to NOT use flash.  It's an outdoor photo, and it would just look strange if you tried.  When in doubt, try Auto.

To summarize:
1) Look for partly cloudy skies or skies with some kind of detail (even trails from jumbo jets can work) when trying to predict if a night will yield a good sunset.
2) Take multiple pictures over time of the same sunset for variety.
3) Experiment with angles and sun placement.
4) DON'T use flash.

I'm assuming that a lot of this also applies to sunrises.  I'm not going to lie, I'm rarely up to see a sunrise, so I have no photos of that particular phenomenon. :)