Photography Blog
Best Time to Take Photos
Published on March 3, 2020
I always get a the question “When is the best time of day to take photos?” Many people think during the day when the sun is high. However, I always tell my clients 1-2 hours before sunset or after sunrise because the sunlight is low in the sky. When the sun in higher in the sky it casts harsh shadows and less light is blocked. A person or object blocks more light when the sun is low in the sky. More blocked light makes shadows longer and that’s what photographers like. We look for nice open shade. Another term we use is “Golden Hour.” The exact definition of the “Golden Hour” is the period where the sun lies between 4° below and 6° above the horizon. It starts slightly before sunrise in the morning and lasts a bit longer than the sunset in the evening. The golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset. This is when the light is more golden, redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky. Twilight is blue hour and this take place just before sunrise or after sunset, when indirect sunlight is evenly diffused. An hour or 2 before sunset and especially that light immediately before sunset is the best time for outside on location photography. To see full gallery click here.
Related Posts
Why Are Professional Photos Important?
March 5, 2026
Why are Professional Photos Important? Why do we all take our phones out and snap a million picture...
Read More
Gilbert, AZ | Graduation Photographer
February 1, 2021
The years fly by way too fast. Photographers are preservationists by nature... We make time stand st...
Read More
Happy 5th Birthday
July 2, 2018
I have been photographing this little boy, his brother and whole family for a few years now doing ye...
Read More