Just before sunset or after sunrise
It is the most well-known photo trick in the universe. The best time to take a picture is the so-called “golden hour” for guaranteed beautiful (landscape) photos. This refers to the time shortly after sunrise or after sunset (about 1 hour). The sun loses its intensity by the proximity to the horizon – shadows become longer – contrasts will loose intensity – colors get warmer.
Portraits and landscape photos benefit from these light conditions tremendously- especially with the possibility of making backlight pictures. For inspiration, you can search for the hashtag #goldenhour on Instagram.
After golden comes magic
After the golden hour comes the magic hour (unfortunately it lasts only about 30/40 minutes). The sun has disappeared, but it is not dark yet. Brooke Shaden loves to photograph at this time for her photo compositions.
See the inspiring video clip from Brooke Shaden on CreativeLive:
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Learn more
Golden / magic hour app tips
Make sure you do not miss the right time
- Magic Hour – (elfinda Apps) – Free/ iOS (with Apple Watch Support)
- Lumy – Helps you track photographic times (Santhalakshimi K) $3,99/ iOS (mit Apple Watch Support)
- Sunfollower – Sunrise, sunset, sun position calculator (Evgeny Vostrikov) – 0,99€/ iOS –> there is a website, too
- The Photographers Ephemeris (Crookneck Consulting LLC) – 8,99€/ 3,47€ iOS & Android
- Sun Tracker AR (Zuzana Eskinasi) – Free with Ads (iOS)
There are of cause also websites like golden-hour, that help. So, now – let’s go and shoot!
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