Golden hour photography – 6 reasons I love it for portrait sessions
You may well have heard photographers talk about the magic of golden hour, but why is it so special? In this post I am going to discuss what golden hour photography is and why I always try and shoot during these times.
What is golden hour photography?
Well first I should explain what golden hour is. Golden hour occurs twice a day, at sunrise and sunset. At dawn, it starts a few minutes before sunrise and ends roughly an hour after the sun comes up. At dusk, it’s the reverse, starting about an hour before sunset and ending a few minutes after the sun has gone down. During golden hour the position of the sun is much lower, shadows are longer and the light is golden and soft. Golden hour photography is photography that happens at dawn or dusk and uses the golden glow of the sun to create images with beautiful, dreamlike light.
Here’s why I always recommend golden hour photography to my clients for their portrait sessions……..
1. It’s the perfect light for portrait photography
As a natural light photographer, I love golden hour photography because it is the perfect light for portraits. The position of the sun means the light is diffused with warm tones and makes people’s skin look gorgeous. The light at these times is soft and flattering. It doesn’t expose every line or blemish on your skin and because the light isn’t harsh direct sunlight, you don’t get unflattering shadows under the eyes and chin.
2. Golden hour photography timings change throughout the year which works well for families.
In the summer months, golden hour sunrise photography can start as early as 4.30am, or finish after 10pm for sunset! This does not bode well for families with young children, who need to schedule sessions around bedtimes. However the great thing about golden hour, is the times for sunrise and sunset change throughout the year. As the days become shorter and the nights draw in, sunrise and sunset sessions become easier for families to attend around meal times and bedtimes. By December golden hour starts as late as 7.45am and finishes as early as 4pm. This is why spring and autumn sessions are often popular with young families, they get the magic of golden hour at a sensible time, plus the beautiful spring or autumnal colours
3. Getting out at sunrise means your miss the crowds!
Photographing at sunrise for portrait sessions allows you to go to beautiful, popular places which are normally busy and get there while they are lovely and quiet. This is great for a couple of reasons. Firstly, as a photographer, it means I haven’t got to try and photoshop people out of the background or rush to get a shot before someone walks into the shot. Secondly and more importantly, it means whoever I am photographing can relax into the shoot much quicker. It’s perfectly normal to feel apprehensive about a photography session and it’s my job to put you at ease and make the experience enjoyable and relaxed. One way to do this is to photograph you somewhere where there aren’t crowds of people watching you 🙂 Sunrise isn’t for everyone, I am definitely not a morning person and I do struggle when the alarm goes off early. However when I do drag myself out of bed and get out to watch the sunrise, it really is the best start to the day.
4. You can face the sun
At sunrise and sunset and a few minutes either side, I can face the people I’m photographing towards the sun. So what, you may be thinking?! Facing people towards the sun at this time, is a really flattering light for portraits. However on a sunny day, this is really the only time you can light people in this way. At any other time of the day, the sun would be direct and cause unattractive shadows on the face. Think about when people shine a torch on their face to tell a ghost story, it creates scary looking shadows. Direct sunlight has the same effect, which is why golden hour is so good for portraits, because the light is indirect and so much softer. Secondly if you ask someone to look towards the sun, they will squint a lot and possibly get quite sweaty! Not the best look for a portrait! So taking advantage of this short window, when they can face the sun comfortably, creates some beautiful results.
5. It’s all about backlighting
Backlighting is used a lot during golden hour and is simply when I get my subjects to face me with their back to the sun. The reason I love it, is because backlighting creates golden hues from the sun, that wraps itself around the people I’m photographing, making them glow. It’s just dreamy!
6. Embracing the haze
Backlighting is also great for creating a hazy effect on your photos. This is where you backlight your subjects and then intentionally let too much light into your lens. This gives the image a slightly hazey, dream like effect and while I don’t use it very often I love the look it can create. As with everything in photography, this can be done intentionally or accidentally. Too much light and haze and you can lose the detail of your subjects, or if it’s not your usual style it can look out of place, but if used intentionally it produces some wonderfully ethereal style portraits. The next time you watch a film, have a look at when the outdoor scenes are filmed. You will start to notice, that more often than not, the scenes outside are shot during golden hour, where there is lots of golden light and the actor’s are backlit with a halo effect. Regardless of the time of day it’s supposed to be in the film, it will look all dreamy and golden. Once you start looking you notice it everywhere!
6. It’s all about the halo effect
Another cool thing about using backlighting is you can create a rim of light around your subjects – literally making them glow. As the sun starts to get lower during golden hour, if you position your subject in front of the sun, they get a halo effect around their hair, head, shoulders, or sometimes their entire body! The warm glow you get on people’s hair is one of my favourite lighting effects, but you have to be quick as the sun is not in this position for very long!
The next time you watch a film, have a look at when the outdoor scenes are filmed. You will start to notice, that more often than not, the scenes outside are shot during golden hour, where there is lots of golden light and the actor’s are backlit with a halo effect. Regardless of the time of day it’s supposed to be in the film, it will look all dreamy and golden. Once you start looking you notice it everywhere!
So there you have it, I like most photographers love golden hour! As I am writing this I am looking out of my window at my spring garden, just before sunset and the colours and light are just so beautifully soft. Golden hour photography sessions are my favourite and I always encourage my clients to book at this time, because it brings a magic to their portraits that you just don’t get any other time of day!
Itís hard to find well-informed people for this subject, but you seem like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.