Chasing Golden Hour Light

The magic window just after sunrise and before sunset — why I plan every outdoor session around it and how it transforms a portrait completely.

Golden hour is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. The sun sits low on the horizon, and the light travels through more of the atmosphere before it reaches your subject. That filters out the harsh blue wavelengths and leaves you with warm, soft, directional light that wraps around a face in a way that no studio strobe can replicate perfectly.

I always scout locations the day before a shoot, at the same time of day I plan to shoot. That way I know exactly where the light will fall, which direction to face my subject, and where the shadows will be. Five minutes of planning the day before saves thirty minutes of confusion on the day itself — and that thirty minutes is exactly the window of great light you have to work with.