Golden time photography
The Golden Hour in Photography
If there's one thing that can make or break a photograph more than any other, it's lighting. You might have the most incredible landscape or stunning portrait model, but without the right quality of light you can still be left with a flat, dull, and uninspiring photo.
This is particularly true in outdoor photography - it can often be difficult or impossible to use artificial lighting to illuminate your subject, so you're completely reliant on the natural light.
As a result, it's critical to find the right time of day to shoot your outdoor scene. Thankfully, professional and amateur photographers have been thinking about this problem since the invention of the first camera, and have found the perfect solution - the so-called "golden hour".
What is the Golden Hour?
The golden hour, sometimes called the "magic hour", is roughly the first hour of light after sunrise, and the last hour of light before sunset, although the exact duration varies between seasons. During these times the sun is low in the sky, producing a soft, diffused light which is much more flattering than the harsh midday sun that so many of us are used to shooting in.
Lighting during the golden hour is soft, diffused, and warm. Image by Martin Sojka.
This type of light produces less contrast, reducing the chances of losing parts of your subject in strong shadows or blown-out highlights. The warm glow adds a pleasing feel to the scene, and the long shadows help to pick out details, adding texture and depth to the image.
As an added benefit, there are generally fewer people around at dawn and dusk than there are at other times of the day, giving you a chance to capture your images in relative peace.
When to Use It
The golden hour rule can be applied to any type of outdoor photography. As well as the more obvious subjects such as landscapes and city scenes, it also works well for outdoor portraits, shots of flowers and plants, and even certain types of still life such as cars.
Professional photographers swear by this rule, and many follow it so rigidly that they even go as far as refusing to shoot outdoors at any other time of the day. You don't need to be quite so strict, but bear in mind that these guys are called experts for a reason, and their advice is usually worth following.
Calculating the Golden Hour
The quickest and easiest way to calculate the times of your two daily golden hours is to use this golden hour calculator. It uses a slightly more complicated definition of the golden hour than we've discussed here, but is a doddle to use and produces some very accurate times.
Calculating your local golden hour times will help you plan your shots. Image by Bethan.
Alternatively, if you'd prefer to work things out yourself, you need to start by finding your local sunrise and sunset times - the easiest way is to use an online sunrise and sunset calculator.
Next just do some simple maths - the first golden hour of the day will begin just before sunrise and continue for about an hour.
The second golden hour will begin around an hour before sunset and finish just after.
Tips for Shooting
Once you've figured out what you're going to photograph and when you're going to do it, you're nearly ready to get your camera gear together and head out to snap some great pictures. But before you do, bear the following tips in mind, to ensure things go smoothly and you make the most of your time:
Use a tripod - At the times nearest sunrise and sunset your scene will be very dark. However, it would be a shame to miss out on the fantastic colours and textures by waiting for it to get lighter. Set your camera up on a sturdy tripod, set the ISO nice and low, and use a long exposure.
Allow plenty of setup time - When the golden hour starts, it starts surprisingly suddenly, so it's essential that you're prepared. Get to your shooting location with plenty of time to spare, even if that means getting up in the middle of the night.
Keep shooting - During each golden hour, the light changes remarkably quickly, and your scene can look vastly different after just a few minutes. Rather than snapping one or two shots and then heading home, stay for the entire hour and capture the full range of effects.
Take a torch and a hot drink - Dawn and dusk can get very cold and dark. This sounds obvious but it's easy to forget, especially if you're heading out in daylight to photograph sunset. A torch will help you see what you're doing and where you're walking, and a warm drink is a godsend while you're standing around in the cold waiting for your next shot.
Shooting during one of the golden hours adds colour, texture, and depth to your scene. Image by sibbiblue.
Shooting during the golden hour is without a doubt the one tip that has made the biggest difference in my outdoor photography. It may mean having to go out with your camera at times when you'd rather be curled up in bed, but it's worth the sacrifice.
Give it a go and see how it transforms your photography.
13 Techniques for Shooting Golden Hour Photography
The right light can make a single photo stop you in your tracks. Imagine a warm, natural glow that makes everyone and everything look their best. That’s the magic of golden hour photography.
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What is Golden Hour Photography?
The golden hour starts roughly one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.
If you want a more exact time for when the golden hour starts, you can use a golden hour calculator app like The Photographer’s Ephemeris. Or try other apps like Helios Golden Hour (for iOS) and Blue Hour Calculator (for Android).
You can also use an online golden hour calculator like this one to find out when the golden hours start at a specific location.
The golden hour’s soft, warm, directional light makes it easier to shoot than the harsh light of a midday sun. Both professional photographers and beginners prefer to shoot during the golden hours since it’s easier to work with.
Golden hour gets its characteristic look since the sun is in a lower position in the sky. Compared to other times of day, golden hour light is:
- Soft: the transition from light to dark is gradual, creating soft light that’s universally flattering and particularly good for portraits.
- Warm: the low angle of the sun creates an orange glow, associated with calm and happiness.
- Directional: since the sun is low in the sky, it’s easy to create back-lighting, side lighting or front lighting with just the sun and an inexpensive reflector or a modified fill flash.
Together, those three characteristics form the magic of the golden hour. All you have to do to take advantage of the golden hours is adjust your shooting time. And perhaps wake up a little earlier!
Our Top Tips for Shooting During Golden Hour
13. Get the Timing Right
Golden hour is one of the easiest types of natural light to work with, but it can still go wrong. You can run out of time and have to shoot high ISOs as the light wanes, or take portraits where the subject is squinting.
To avoid rushing, plan on arriving at least an hour before sunset, depending on the weather conditions. If the weather is cloudy, give yourself even more time. Overcast days don’t provide quite the same magic, but the type of light is still soft and directional.
12. Position the Shot to Make the Most of Golden Hour
If you’re new to working with light, pay attention to the sun’s position for the best quality of light. For portrait photography, arrange your shot so that the sun is to the side. If you are not shooting a portrait, the sun should be in front of your subject. Don’t use front lighting from the sun for portraits, or you’ll get a squint.
One of the best uses for the golden hour is back-lighting. Placing the sun behind your subject gives you that magical glow.
11. Choose the Best Golden Hour Camera Settings
Shoot in manual mode to make the most of back-lighting and to adjust exposure. Or in a semi-manual mode such as aperture priority with spot metering.
Spot metering tells the camera to expose for wherever the focal point is, instead of considering the entire scene. Without spot metering, you’ll most likely end up with a dark subject or even a silhouette.
On most DSLRs, there’s a physical shortcut for the metering mode.
On many models, you can also adjust metering mode inside the menu.
Another great way to shoot with golden hour backlight is to use a reflector. Bounce some of the light back on the subject, creating a more even exposure. A low-powered flash with a diffuser also does the trick.
If I can’t juggle the reflector in the right spot, I use a hot shoe flash on-camera, but on a low setting with a diffuser. An orange gel is also helpful – the color helps the flash blend in with the ambient, or existing, light.
Golden hour settings vary based on the exact light and the subject. For portraits, I shoot with a low aperture, around f/1.8 to f/2.8. If I’m shooting a couple or a group, I use a narrower aperture to keep all the faces in focus.
I often use aperture priority mode and increase the ISO as the sun goes down. For landscapes, particularly if you use a tripod, you can keep the ISO low and lengthen the shutter speed as the sunlight wanes.
Another potential pitfall to look out for are lens flares.
Adjust your position, use a lens hood or find a way to incorporate them artistically into the shot.
Back-lighting can sometimes be tough for budget lenses, so check your focus to make sure you got it sharp before leaving the scene.
The light changes quickly during the golden hour. You’ll want to watch your settings and adjust as the light fades. You might have to increase your ISO, widen the aperture or lower the shutter speed as the amount of sunlight decreases.
10. Avoid Unwanted Shadows
When taking portraits, the light direction has an important effect on how they will look. You should avoid vertical lights coming from above your model because they create ugly shadows on the face.
An especially unflattering effect in portrait photography is “raccoon eyes”. This is where the eyebrows cast a shadow over the eyes, making them look like dark circles. This is not the case with golden hour photos. The light comes from a low angle, illuminating the model’s face from the side, not from above.
You might need to deal with other shadows, but you can save yourself so much pain in post-processing just for avoiding the raccoon eyes effect.
9. Use the Warm Golden Hour Colors to Add Positive Energy
Colors are a strong compositional tool in photography that can be used to convey mood. One of the main traits of the golden hour is its characteristic color palette: yellows, oranges, reds.
All of these are warm colors (between 1000 and 4000 on the Kelvin colour-temperature scale). Warm colors evoke positive feelings such as happiness, excitement, and optimism. For that reason, images taken during the golden hours have positive energy associated with them.
It makes your photography look a bit magical, hence the golden hour’s nickname as “magic hour”.
Portraits also benefit from the golden hour because the quality of light makes skin tones look better. The yellow-red hue of the light makes the skin look warmer rather than neutral or cold.
8.
Use Creative Side LightDuring the golden hour, sunlight hits the subject from only one side. This results in one side of your subject being shadowed. This is why it is also called split lighting.
Shadows add texture and depth to the portrait. They give it a different look than a front light. It also adds a bit of drama, but not as much as when you try this lighting in a studio.
7. Make the Most of Natural Backlight Photography
The light’s angle during golden hour is perfect for some backlight photography. This occurs when the light comes from behind your model/subject. And it gives you a lot of artistic possibilities.
You can get a dramatic effect when the object you are shooting has some degree of translucence. The translucent part of the subject will have a strong light intensity, and the opaque part will be darker. This makes the subject seem to glow.
It is even more evident when the background is dark. The contrast between the translucent and the opaque areas also makes the photo look more dynamic.
Translucent parts can be; hair, feathers, leaves, flowers, etc.
6. Shoot Towards the Sun to Create Silhouettes
The golden hour is a great opportunity to create silhouettes. A silhouette is when the subject of your photo is blacked out, and the background is well exposed. They work especially well with subjects that have an easily recognisable shape.
The high contrast with the subject and the lack of detail make silhouettes a great way to add drama and mystery to your photo. You can create them by shooting towards the light source (in this case the sun) and placing your subject between you and that source.
Exposure is important in order to get nice silhouettes. You need to set your exposure settings so that the brightest part of the image would be at optimal exposure. In our case, we want to capture the sky with all its colors and details. Under such settings, your subject will be extremely underexposed.
One thing that helps me when I am taking silhouettes is to imagine that the most important thing in the photo is the background.
Then I expose the image to get it well. I use spot metering mode, and I meter by focusing on the background.
I adjust the exposure accordingly, and before taking the photo, I change the focus to the actual subject I want to shoot. The camera will say that it is underexposed, but that’s not a problem, we already have the settings the way we want them.
5. Have Fun With Starburst
Starburst is one of my favourite optical effects. Here’s how to create them.
First, set your aperture to a high value (ideally f/16 or f/22). Then, set the shutter speed and the ISO to underexpose the image by two stops. The sun will be in the frame. If you don’t underexpose it, you might end up with too much light in your photo.
Starburst is easier to get if you have the sun as small as possible. In other words, if the sun is a bit covered by something. When the sun is high in the sky, it might be difficult to find objects that can hide the sun. You might find yourself limited in terms of angles and perspectives.
But since the sun is in a lower position during golden hour. You can get interesting starburst then. You can use your model to cover the sun. Be creative and have fun! But be safe too. Don’t look directly at the sun. The lens concentrates the light just like a magnifying glass, so don’t use the eyepiece if you don’t have protection!
Instead, you can use the screen display and don’t forget to consult your camera manual for details.
4. Get Out Early to Avoid the Crowds
If you like taking photos of empty landscapes, early golden hour is a perfect time to take photos. Most people venture outside later. During these early hours, you can enjoy the beautiful golden hour light, a calm location and some privacy.
Another thing to take into account is cleanliness. In most places, cleaning is done at the end of the day or at night. If you wake up early, chances are that you will arrive at a clean location.
This is a very busy spot usually, but during the morning golden hour I was almost alone.
3. Use Long Shadows as Part of the Composition
Shadows add texture and detail to the image. They give a sense of volume and depth. During the golden hour, due to the position of the sun, you will have long shadows. You can use these to emphasise elements in the photo such as sand dunes, grooves etc.
You can also take photos of the shadows of your models. And you can use the shadows as a photo composition element. Shadows can balance the warm reds and yellows from the sun with their darker colors.
You should also remember your own shadow because it might get in the way and ruin the photo. This is especially important if you want to take photos with the sun behind you. Just be aware of your shadow and make sure to check where it is before you press the shutter release.
If your shadow is in the image, move around and place yourself so that your shadow falls outside of the photo frame. Unless you want to take creative photos with your shadows!
Look how long a shadow can get during the golden hour!2.
Make Everyday Sights MagicalEverything under this light seems beautiful and dreamy. You can use this to your advantage and take beautiful photos even when your subject might not look so spectacular. Dry vegetation, lonely trees, old fences, empty paths – these can all turn into photography subjects.
If you want to give a sense of nostalgia to your landscape pictures that might otherwise look barren or hard, I recommend you take photos during the golden hour. It adds gold tints and soft light effects that will make the image easier to relate to.
1. Capture the Most Beautiful Sunrises and Sunsets
I have always loved sunrises and sunsets. And since becoming a photographer, the number of sunrise and sunset I’ve witnessed has increased. It’s easy to miss these in our daily lives. We’re tired, or sleeping in, or busy doing other things.
Chasing the golden hour will give you the motivation to jump out of bed to catch that magical light. And you won’t regret it.
You will see beautiful scenes, and you will capture them with your camera. You can also bring your friends, family or even dates to keep you company. Or you can venture out yourself and enjoy some well-deserved peace and quiet.
Conclusion
Shooting during the golden hour has a lot of advantages. You can emphasise textures and get creative with long shadows. Try some backlight photography or have some fun creating silhouettes.
You will also enjoy some beautiful warm colors. Just take your camera and get ready to catch the golden lights of the sunrise and sunset!
Learning how to compose your images to take advantage of the Golden Hour? Take a look at some tips on using the Golden Ratio to compose your images with no complex maths involved. You should also check out these beautiful sunset photos for inspiration!
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Golden Hour Photography: 8 Ways to Capture Magical Photos
Lighting is a photographer's biggest concern when it comes to photography. And when it comes to natural light, there is no better time than golden hour. The most magical photographs are taken exactly an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset.
Surely you have already taken pictures during the "golden hour" or seen photos taken by other photographers. They have a very soft glow and golden tones. These are ideal lighting conditions for landscape photography and portraits. nine0003
So understanding how to work with this type of light will be absolutely useful. For those who want to learn how to fish this special time, we have prepared a handy basic guide.
Golden Hour in Brief
Golden Hour is the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset.
When the sun is at these vantage points in the sky, the light becomes especially soft and reddish. "Golden hour" should not be confused with the magical "blue hour" in cinematography, which means the time before dawn and just after sunset. nine0003
Why is golden hour so special?
If you have ever observed this special time of the day, you understand all its virtues. When the sun is low in the sky during the morning and evening hours, the light is diffused and usually softer. Pictures take on an incomparable golden glow, and harsh shadows are not visible on them. This is a great time to get spectacular long shadows and emphasize the texture of objects.
What can I shoot during golden hour? nine0013
Anything! If you manage to catch the sun during this time of day, any subject or object in the photo will be very beautifully lit. In fact, you should experiment with different genres of photography: landscapes, portraits, city views, still photography, and even macro photography.
But you're not limited to outdoor photography. This is a great time to take photos indoors as soft natural light streams in from the windows.
Golden Hour Photography Tips
1. Get ready
This type of photography requires preparation in advance. The fact that the "golden hour" falls on a very short period of time really limits the time of the photo shoot. Decide where you will go and what you will shoot. The ideal time to shoot during golden hour can be calculated using the handy golden hour calculator.
2. Start with front lighting
Let's start with the simplest: shoot your subject so that they are facing the sun. If you are shooting a portrait, there is simply no better time to photograph people. During golden hour, the light is so soft that the model doesn't have to squint in the sunlight. nine0003
This example shows that the light is not as harsh as during the day. The fields take on a special soft glow, and the objects are beautifully lit despite being in direct sunlight.
3. Experiment with backlighting
Try to position your subjects between yourself and the sun - this way you get really interesting backlighting or backlighting. The effect of radiance around subjects and subjects makes any portrait photo session special and romantic. To prevent light from flooding the lens, focus on the foreground. Here you have many opportunities to experiment with angles and different effects. nine0003
As opposed to shooting facing the sun, backlighting creates those special long shadows that make the shot so much more interesting. Pay attention to the wonderful radiance, it would seem, of such a simple thing as dust. It takes on the same soft golden glow as the rest of the background.
4. Be sure to shoot long shadows
When the sun is low, it casts really long and beautiful shadows. You have a unique opportunity to add visual interest to your shots by capturing the long shadows of trees, buildings and people in the frame.
They will be a wonderful addition to your composition, no matter what you are shooting at the time. nine0003
The blue sky is still visible in this particular shot, providing a breathtaking contrast with the golden glow at the bottom of the frame. Tree shadows and sun rays create an original focal point in the foreground.
5. Don't Forget About Edge Lighting
Focusing on an object when the sun is behind it produces beautiful edge lighting. By focusing the camera in this way, you create a halo of light that frames objects with a soft glow. This halo, as it were, separates the subject from the background and, thus, gives it expressiveness and allows you to favorably distinguish it from the general background. nine0003
In this shot, the photographer managed to capture both haze and halo. The outlines of the artist are clearly visible against a muted background. And if you slightly change the camera angle, the light will flood the lens less, and the outline of the object will stand out even sharper and more spectacular.
6. Try the haze effect
Haze is also an interesting effect worth experimenting with. By experimenting with the amount of light that hits the lens, you get either a sun flare, which we'll talk about in a moment, or an interesting haze effect. To shoot or not to shoot haze is a personal matter for every photographer. If you put too much sunlight on the lens, you will lose focus on the subjects, but with practice you can give portraits visual interest. nine0003
Do not confuse haze with bokeh. You can clearly see in this shot that the lighting has been adjusted to bring enough light into the lens to create haze and give the frame a filtered effect.
7. Sunflare makes everything magical
Sunflare occurs when light hits the lens and creates reflections of light. To get the most out of this effect, stand facing the sun and play with the amount of light that hits the lens. Due to the fact that the light becomes softer during the "golden hour", the highlights are more artistic.
nine0003
This photo would be completely unremarkable, but the sun glare gives it dimension. In addition, by scattering light, reflections create the effect of applying a filter in the picture.
8. Perfect time for silhouettes
It's hard to find a better time to shoot silhouettes than golden hour. By placing your subjects in front of the sun and shooting them in the same direction, you get impressive results. Silhouettes add drama to your photos, so try to play around with the position of your subjects in relation to the sun. nine0003
This amazing photograph was most likely taken after the golden hour had ended. Despite this, the colors of the sky and the amazing colors that contrast with the silhouettes make it truly unforgettable.
9. Experimenting with bokeh
Don't get hung up on portraits, golden hour makes everything magical. For example, plants and objects really come to life, and it seems as if they are surrounded by tiny reflections.
To do this, you need to shoot facing the sun and position the camera so that the sun's rays flood the lens. To get the bokeh effect, just shoot at a wide aperture. Golden Hour highlights everything in the air, so that water droplets and other particles in your shots will appear as golden highlights. nine0003
A great example of how, at the right time of day, haze and other particles in the air can create a truly magical atmosphere in a photo.
During the golden hour, your photos are truly transformed. Make the most of these magical hours in the early morning or just before sunset. Even if you take pictures the way you usually do, your photos will effortlessly take on a dreamy and surreal hue. Remember that you do not have much time, so plan ahead to catch the "golden hour" in your city. nine0003
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Golden hour in photography
Professional photographers use the term "golden hour" to describe the time of day with the best lighting. Let's take a closer look at this concept.
If we try to name one of the most important components of photography, it will certainly be lighting. You can find a great landscape or an incredibly beautiful model, but without the right lighting, you end up with a flat and uninteresting picture.
This is especially true for street photography, as it is extremely difficult or impossible to illuminate the subject with artificial lighting and you have to rely entirely on natural light.
Therefore, it is necessary to determine the best time of day in terms of lighting. Fortunately, professional and amateur photographers have been asking this question since the advent of the camera, and a solution has been found.
The time of day with the best lighting is called "golden hours". nine0003
What is Golden Hour
Golden Hour, also sometimes referred to as "Magic Hour", is roughly the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. The length of this time varies depending on the season. At this time, the sun is low on the horizon, emitting a soft, diffused light that is much more suitable for shooting than the harsh midday light that many of us still prefer to use for our photographs. nine0003
During the golden hour, the lighting is soft, diffused and warm.
By using golden hour lighting, you will get less contrast in your photo, reduce the chance of "losing" some objects in deep shadow, and "overexposing" brightly lit parts. The warm tones of the golden hour bring a pleasant feel to the composition, while the long shadows bring out the finest details, adding texture and dimension to the image.
nine0003
Taking photos during sunrise and sunset will result in relatively few people around, allowing you to work in peace.
When to Use the Golden Hour
The concept of the golden hour applies to any type of street photography, from the obvious like landscapes and urban scenes, to portraits, shots of flowers and plants, and even still lifes with cars.
Professional photographers idolize this time of day, and some of them refuse to shoot at any other time. Of course, you should not take this as a dogma, but at least you should listen, because it is not for nothing that these people are called professionals. nine0003
Golden hour definition
The quickest and easiest way to calculate golden hour time is to use the golden hour calculator. This calculator is based on a more complex golden hour calculation algorithm than we described above. However, you can easily get accurate results.
Determining the golden hour at the location you are going to shoot will help you plan your work.
nine0160
An alternative way to determine the golden hour is to determine the time of sunrise and sunset. The easiest way is to use the online sunrise and sunset calculator.
Further - a matter of technology, the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset is the very golden watch.
Golden Hour Tips
So you've decided on your subject and prepared the appropriate equipment for it. Before you press the shutter release button, check out some tips. nine0003
Use a tripod. As a rule, the lighting immediately after sunrise and before sunset cannot be called bright. However, don't wait for brighter light, as you will miss out on the fantastic colors and textures of the objects. Simply mount your camera on a tripod, lower your ISO, and shoot at slow shutter speeds.
Allow sufficient time for preparatory settings. Gold hours usually start quite unexpectedly, so it's important to be fully prepared.
Arrive at the shooting location well in advance (even in the middle of the night if necessary) and make all the necessary settings. nine0003
Keep shooting. During the golden hours, the lighting changes rapidly, and your composition will look completely different in a few minutes. So make the most of this hour - shoot continuously to be able to get the full range of effects.
Stock up on hot drinks and a flashlight. Sunrises and sunsets are very cold. Sounds obvious enough, but believe me, sometimes it gets forgotten. A flashlight will help you see what you're actually doing and where you're going, and hot drinks will keep you warm while you wait for the right shot. nine0003
Shooting during the golden hour adds color, texture and a sense of depth to the image.
Without a doubt, shooting during the golden hours was a breakthrough in my street photography. Of course, this means that you will use the camera at the time that you used to spend in bed, but the result is worth such sacrifices.
