What is golden hour?

What does golden hour mean?

In photography, golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky. Cinematographers and photographers also call it magic hour (Wikipedia: Golden hour (photography))).

The word hour is figurative. The effect has no clearly defined duration and varies with the season and your latitude.

Why does the light look golden?

With the sun low, its rays pass through more atmosphere. That cuts the intensity of the direct light, so more of the illumination comes from the sky instead, which lowers contrast. More blue light is scattered away, so the sun itself looks redder. The low angle also stretches shadows (Wikipedia: Golden hour (photography))).

For photographers, the result is gentler shadows and highlights that are less likely to blow out than in the harsh light of midday. For everyone else, it is simply nicer to stand in.

How long does golden hour last?

It depends on how fast the sun climbs or sinks, which depends on latitude and time of year. Wikipedia gives an example: in Los Angeles, an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset the sun is about 10 to 12 degrees above the horizon. Closer to the equator, the same altitude is reached in less than an hour. Farther from it, the altitude takes more than an hour, and at high enough latitudes the sun may never reach 10 degrees, so the golden hour can last for the entire day in some seasons (Wikipedia: Golden hour (photography))).

What is blue hour?

Blue hour is the period just before the golden hour at sunrise, or just after it at sunset, when the sun is well below the horizon. Residual indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade and there are no sharp shadows (Wikipedia: Golden hour (photography))). It belongs to twilight, which Wikipedia divides into civil, nautical and astronomical stages.

Civil twilight begins when the sun disappears below the horizon and ends at 6 degrees below. Nautical twilight runs from 6 to 12 degrees below, and astronomical twilight from 12 to 18 degrees (Wikipedia: Sunset).

How does Afterhue define golden hour?

Because the term is loose, a reminder app has to pick numbers. Afterhue defines golden hour as the sun between 6 degrees above the horizon and 4 degrees below it, and blue hour as 4 to 6 degrees below. Sunset is the moment the sun's upper edge meets the horizon, which the app calculates as the sun's center about 0.83 degrees below it. All of this is computed on the iPhone from the date and your position, so it works offline.

These are the app's own choices, not an industry standard. Other apps and photographers draw the line elsewhere, so times can differ by several minutes.

How do I plan for golden hour?

Know the time, arrive early, and stay late. A reminder helps, because the start of golden hour moves a minute or two each day.

1. Find tonight's golden-hour start and sunset time for your exact place.
2. Set a reminder 15 to 30 minutes before the start so you can walk to your spot.
3. Scout the western horizon for anything that blocks the sun, such as buildings and hills.
4. Stay through sunset and into blue hour, because the sky often changes after the sun is gone.
5. If the sky is promising, check how the score and reasons look before you commit to a long trip.

Does a golden hour always give a colorful sky?

No. Golden hour describes the angle of the sun, not the clouds. Warm, soft light happens on clear evenings too. Whether the sky itself burns orange and pink depends on clouds and air, which is the subject of our guide to what makes a good sunset. The golden-hour reminder in Afterhue is free, and the sunset score tells you whether the sky is likely to join in.

Is there a golden hour at sunrise too?

Yes. The same low-sun light happens in the morning, and the same naming applies. Afterhue's default reminder follows the evening, but the Pro alerts can also cover sunrise. Meteorologists even have a word for the pink arch that appears before sunrise, the foreglow, which is the morning counterpart of the afterglow (Wikipedia: Afterglow).

Why do photographers like it so much?

Midday sun creates strong highlights and dark shadows, and a camera has a limited dynamic range, so overexposure is more likely. In portraits the problem is worse, and a fill flash is often needed to balance the face. In the golden hour contrast is lower, shadows are less dark, and highlights are less likely to be overexposed (Wikipedia: Golden hour (photography))).

What happens in the polar regions?

Near the poles the sun can stay above the horizon all night or below it all day. Locations north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle see no full sunset or sunrise on at least one day each year (Wikipedia: Sunset). In those cases Afterhue shows a plain message, The sun stays up all night here or The sun does not rise here today, and hides the score instead of inventing a time.

Keep exploring

Golden Hour Alerts and Reminders for SunsetsA free daily golden-hour reminder, plus Pro alerts only for evenings above your threshold.What Makes a Good Sunset? Clouds, Air and LightThe three ingredients of a colorful sunset, and the weather that ruins each one.Why Are Sunsets Red? Scattering Explained SimplyThe physics of red sunsets in plain language: Rayleigh scattering, long paths, clouds and dust.3-Day Sunset Outlook and Saved PlacesThree days of sunsets and sunrises as ranges, and up to 10 saved places with alerts.Sunset Glow Score0 to 100, four bands, up to three reasons, and a score that learns from your ratings.