{"id":69633,"date":"2021-04-26T19:49:07","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T23:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=69633"},"modified":"2022-08-30T17:09:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T21:09:25","slug":"golden-hour-photography-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/golden-hour-photography-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Golden Hour Photography Tips for Magical Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Golden hour. As the name suggests, this magical time of day for capturing portraits under the golden glow of the rising or setting sun is short-lived. The flattering effects of its warm, soft light, however, make it infinitely popular. In fact, most portrait photographers I know schedule outdoor photography sessions around golden hour because their clients want that look. While the light in its natural beauty sets the stage for incredible portraits<\/a>, capturing it well requires strategic planning. In this article, I\u2019m going to share 8 golden hour photography tips to help you capture the best golden hour photos possible, even when the sun isn’t available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Golden Hour?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Golden hour in photography refers to photographs taken around sunrise and sunset. Although often the subject of the photographs is the mesmerizing walk of the sun in the sky, golden hour photography may have any other subjects from people to landscapes to architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand what the golden hour is, you need to imagine the colors of sunrises and sunsets. Think of those stunning shades of orange, red, pink, and purple, and you\u2019ll understand why it got the name golden hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Is Golden Hour?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people ask at what time the golden hour is, but the answer is not that easy. Sunrise and sunset happen at a precise time each day, but not at the same time each day. The hours change throughout the year. Furthermore, golden hour doesn\u2019t refer to the exact time at which the sun goes above or below the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The golden hour time is considered to be the first hour after the sunrise and the last hour before the sunset. But you can slightly prolong the period and try golden hour photography a little bit before sunrise or after sunset. The colors will still be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is Golden Hour So Good for Photography?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you know when the golden hour is, you know that you don\u2019t have that particular sunlight quality at any other time of the day. Golden hour photography relies heavily on low-intensity, highly saturated sunlight and outstanding sky colors. The light polishes everything with golden shades, enhances contrast, and creates a special mood. It also flatters the skin and improves portraits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 Golden Hour Photography Tips for Magical Photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. Know When to Schedule Your Session for Golden Hour Photos<\/a><\/li>
  2. Scout the Location<\/a><\/li>
  3. Shoot RAW Images<\/a><\/li>
  4. Backlight Your Subjects<\/a><\/li>
  5. Expose to Highlight Golden Hour (Not the Skin)<\/a><\/li>
  6. Control the Flare<\/a><\/li>
  7. Re-Create the Sun when Necessary<\/a><\/li>
  8. Finish Your Golden Hour Photos in Post<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #1: Know When to Schedule Your Session for Golden Hour Photos<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Image courtesy of SLR Lounge, edited with Visual Flow<\/a> presets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    So, what is the golden hour in photography? In reality, the golden \u201chour\u201d varies from minutes to hours depending on your location and the time of year. The golden hour effect, however, happens as the sun moves between six degrees above and 4 degrees below the horizon. This happens twice per day, around sunrise and sunset, and typically lasts less than an hour. If you\u2019re capturing landscape or personal images, then you can decide to wake up early and catch a sunrise. Most clients, in my experience, prefer to schedule their sessions around sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dedicated Apps<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    To ensure you don\u2019t miss golden hour, I recommend checking out dedicated apps like Photo Ephemeris<\/a> or PhotoPills<\/a> that will allow you to plug in your location and view the lighting conditions for the time and place of your shoot. These apps include an augmented reality feature that uses the camera on your device to map the sun\u2019s location and light direction at any time of day, which is helpful for scouting and planning shoots. They can also let you know if conditions won\u2019t allow for capturing natural light golden hour photos that day. On such occasions, refer to tip #7 below for re-creating the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #2: Scout the Location<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Image courtesy of Lin & Jirsa Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Whether you plan to capture golden hour photos or shoot under midday sun, always scout your locations in advance. That is a golden rule no matter the occasion. When it comes to golden hour photography, in particular, the brief window of opportunity makes it absolutely necessary to prepare ahead of time. If you\u2019re unable to access the location before the session, take advantage of apps, like those mentioned above, or look for the location online to get a feel for the lay of the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why is scouting so important? Consider the variables. A city skyline will introduce challenges you won\u2019t find in wide open fields for golden hour photos. You\u2019ll need to anticipate when the sun might duck behind a row of buildings. More objects in a scene will also introduce more shadows, which open up a variety of creative possibilities. It\u2019s also important to keep in mind the position of the sun when looking for spots to frame your shots. A perfect backdrop won\u2019t do much good if it faces the sun. We\u2019ll dive more into this in tip #4 below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #3: Shoot RAW Images<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Shooting in RAW format, rather than JPEG<\/a> will give you a little extra wiggle room to fine tune your images. This is true no matter when you\u2019re shooting, but it\u2019s especially helpful for golden hour photography. Even though the light is soft, it\u2019s still a high contrast lighting scenario and it\u2019s easy to lose details, as I mentioned earlier. A compressed JPEG will only give you so much control in post, whereas RAW image files will retain much more detail and allow you to make major edits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #4: Backlight Your Subjects<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Image courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    You can use the setting sun as a main light and even capture dramatic portraits with creative angles, but I recommend backlighting your subjects for stellar golden hour photos. Backlighting will give your subjects a gorgeous glow and soften the shadows on their faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s okay to push for a darker exposure here, especially when creating a silhouette. In order to keep detail in the background as well as on your subject\u2019s face, however, you\u2019ll need to add fill light. A simple 5-in-1 reflector should do the trick. I recommend using the white side of a reflector to keep the fill light soft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #5: Expose to Highlight Golden Hour (Not the Skin)<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    \"Couple
    Image courtesy of Lin & Jirsa Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    This is really an extension of the tip above. If your subject is backlit and you expose for the skin, you\u2019re going to blow out the highlights and destroy the magic of golden hour. Although we typically expose for the skin, doing so here won\u2019t allow us to maintain the rich colors associated with golden hour. Instead, we want to retain the highlights as much as possible. Again, if your subjects disappear in the shadows, use a 5-in-1 (or similar) reflector<\/a> to push light back onto them (as mentioned above), or otherwise recover more shadows in post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #6: Control the Flare<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Example of heavy flare – Image courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    When shooting into the sun, it\u2019s easy to overwhelm the frame with blooming light, often at the expense of detail in your subject\u2019s face. To better control the flare in your golden hour photos, carefully place the subject between the camera and light. Then, slowly adjust your position to reveal more light, allowing just enough light for the perfect capture. So long as the flare barely bleeds through, you can maintain highlight details next to the subject\u2019s head. I recommend capturing multiple shots to increase your chances of getting the shot you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Image courtesy of Lin & Jirsa Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    You also have the option of stopping down your aperture to change the shape of the flare (see the image above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #7: Re-Create the Sun when Necessary<\/h3>\n\n\n
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    Images courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Sometimes, we simply do not have ideal lighting conditions and trying to capture natural light golden hour photos is not an option. That doesn\u2019t mean, however, that we can\u2019t re-create golden hour lighting on our own. With a basic detachable or external camera flash<\/a> or off-camera flash equipment and these golden hour photography tips, we can convincingly re-create golden hour and capture images that will wow your clients every time.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    Image courtesy of SLR Lounge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s a list of gear you\u2019ll need (with multiple options) for re-creating golden hour in your photos:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pocket Flashes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n