09/29/2024
Bill Gardner
So, you want to learn about golden hour, huh? It’s a pretty popular time of day for photographers to shoot. We’ll tell you what it is and why we prefer this time of day to other times.
We’ve all seen it – the soft, warm, golden light that can literally transform a scene into something amazing. It’s known by photographers as “the golden hour” – the last hour of daylight before the sunset. It is, without question, the best light of the day for outdoor portrait photography.
These hours are coveted by professional photographers. Why is the golden hour the best time of day for photographs and why is the light at midday so horrible for photographs? Well, to be honest, the golden hour happens twice a day – the last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise. It is marked by redder, softer sunlight when compared to other times of day when the sun is
higher in the sky.
Midday sun with its hard shadows and very high contrast presents the worst outdoor light photographers can encounter for portraits. And while creating great images in this light is certainly not impossible, we’ll want to avoid putting any important outdoor photographs for your family session anywhere near midday. Instead, we’ll want to schedule your portraits as close as possible to the golden hour! And during this golden hour, the rays of the sun come in at an angle which diffuses the light producing a softer type of light which is typically more flattering. We do prefer to shoot in the hours leading up to sunset. During this time, the lighting is absolutely perfect.
When you make your photo session appointment during the initial Planning Session, you may notice that there is limited availability for sessions in the evening before sunset (depending on the time of the year). This is mainly because we can only schedule one session per shooting day for this time. We are limited by the approximate 1-hour time that nature gives us for photographing. But the entire remainder of the day is still available. Most of our Portrait Sessions are completed at least an hour before dusk when they are in outdoor locations. The same is true for Headshots that are conducted outdoors. We prefer to leave the Golden Hour completely open for those who truly want their session during that special time.
The perks of photographing during the Golden Hour:
• You get yummy light flares and beautiful soft light.
• There are no hard shadows or squinty eyes from the blinding sun at high noon.
• In the summer, the weather often isn’t too hot during the Golden Hour (at least most of the time), so you’re able to relax a little better knowing there isn’t sweat running down your face or making stains on your shirt.
• During Golden Hour, everything is warm and pretty and gives off a magical feeling.
• We can also get some sweet silhouette shots as the sun is going down on the horizon.
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