Golden hour is a short period of time (30 minutes to an hour) following the sunrise or right before the sunset. The lighting during the golden hour is soft, warm, dimensional, and full of creative possibilities. Golden hour is the best time for shooting portraits. It comes everyday, twice a day and most importantly it’s – free. The timing of golden hours varies from country to country as well as from one season to another. So let’s see why is the golden hour so good for portraits.
Golden light is soft. During a golden hour (morning and evening) the sun is low in the sky. So when the light source is larger and closer to the subject it produces soft, defused light. Soft light is preferable for any subject as it doesn’t create harsh shadows. Alternatively, if you are shooting at noon in the direct sunlight, your light source (the sun) is further away from your subject and much smaller comparing to the golden hour light. As a result, when the light is coming directly from above it will produce some harsh shadows on your subject’s face. You have probably posed for someone in a bright sunlight before so you know how difficult it is to look natural and not to squint. The softer the light is, the better it will look virtually on any subject. In fact, golden hour light is so soft, that you can place your subject facing straight the sun and they won’t squint!
Golden light is warm. I use ‘warm’ here to define a color temperature. The warmth of the light varies as the sun moves across the sky. So when the sun is near the horizon, the light has to travel through a greater depth of atmosphere; and as a result, it reduces its intensity significantly. That’s why during the golden hour we can look at the sunset without squinting. Also, as per Wikipedia, more blue light is scattered during the golden hour, which makes the golden light appear more reddish – warm. And warm light is good for portraits!
Finally, golden light is dimensional. Before a sunset or right after a sunrise the sun is very low in the sky. It results in a more directional light due to the low angle. Check for yourself: golden lighting adds more dimension to the scene. The shadows are longer and softer comparing to the daylight, which makes the scene look more interesting too! Golden hour is definitely my choice number one when it comes to outside photo shoots. Golden light is soft, warm and it looks very flattening on all the subjects. I highly recommend you to try for yourself!
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