Golden Hour
The 19-foot-tall statue of Abraham Lincoln that dominates the Lincoln Memorial was carved by the Piccirilli brothers from blocks of Georgia marble.
White marble.
You can see the indisputable whiteness of Lincoln’s statue in the first of these two photos that I took, ten minutes apart, on a recent early spring morning. That was just before the sun peeked over the horizon.
But look at the statue – and the white Indiana limestone wall behind it – once the sun’s first rays have hit Lincoln’s face.
What a difference, huh? And in 10 minutes!
That’s why photographers call it “Golden hour.” It’s the magical time when the sun has just risen and bathes the landscape with soft, dramatic tones of yellow and orange.
Anyone who wants to become a better photographer has to know about Golden Hour (plus the time right before it, called Blue Hour).
Golden Hour is not just for statues!
Its soft, directional light also is very flattering for human subjects, flowers, you name it. And the long shadows you see when the sun has just hit the horizon also make for dramatic landscapes. Once the sun gets a little higher in the sky, and especially by the middle of the day, the harsh light tends to bleach out colors and produce hot spots in your images. And shorter shadows make for flatter, less three-dimensional shots.
So … getting out before dawn is absolutely key to good outdoor photography.
But you don’t have much time!
Neither Blue Hour nor Golden Hour lasts a full sixty minutes. It depends on the time of year, and how far from the equator you are, but both are usually far less than an hour. Still, there is enough time to take advantage of Golden Hour’s wonderful qualities.
This diagram, courtesy of our friends at PhotoPills (their app is a MUST for outdoor photographers), shows the technical definitions of Golden Hour, Blue Hour and the other periods of twilight. Now, of course, it’s not easy to know how far below the horizon the sun is at any given minute. But PhotoPills knows! Their app, among many other cool features (discussed in other posts on this blog), tells you the precise times for Blue Hour and Golden Hour for any day of any year, anywhere in the world.
For a rough rule of thumb, once you know the official time of sunrise, you can count on Golden Hour starting 20-30 minutes before that. Which means you want to be ready at your photographic destination at least 45 minutes or so before official sunrise.
A few more Golden Hour tips:
* Scout ahead. If you’re shooting sunrise GH – and of course, there’s one at sunset also, which is another excellent time but more likely to be heavily trafficked with people – that means you’ll be arriving in the dark. So you need to scout the location in advance a day or two. There are many reasons not to venture into a strange location in the dark for the first time. Photographically, you just want to know the layout, the sight angles, and some idea of what your composition might be.
* Browse what other photographers have done in the same location. This is a way of armchair scouting. For example, if you’re going to the Lincoln Memorial, you might want to start by looking at my own outside Lincoln images, or the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln. Another good DC-based photographer is David Coleman. Check out his Lincoln Memorial pix here.
* Bring a tripod. This is a must, especially if you arrive early enough for Blue Hour (or stick around late enough after sunset for the evening Blue Hour). You’re going to need long enough exposures that cannot be done handhold without blurry results or a lot of noise in the photo from high ISO. I typically start an early morning shoot with 30- to 60-second shots. And even when the sky starts to lighten, you’re still talking one or two seconds for a good exposure. Even someone with arms of granite cannot hold a camera still that long without a bit of movement that ruins the shot.
Here’s an example of a 30-second shot I took from the front steps of the Lincoln Memorial with a tripod.
These worshippers were standing VERY still as they meditated on the Koran. (Notice, by the way, how the smaller figures at the edge of the Reflecting Pool in this photo look kind of ghost-like? That’s because they were moving.) But long exposure tips and tricks are another whole subject. The point for now is that you need to bring a sturdy tripod to any Golden Hour shooting location.
* Keep moving, and keep looking around. You’ll find that Golden Hour photo opportunities are not just looking into the sunrise, but all around you. You might be mesmerized by the clouds dancing in the sunrise. But look behind you, and you might see beautiful splashes of color from the sun’s rays that are begging to be photographed by you. And the light is changing constantly. A beautiful GH can be exhilarating for a photographer because there is so much to shoot, and so little time. Enjoy!
These are some basics for Golden Hour photography. Be sure to take a look at my Blue Hour blog post. Many of the ideas are similar, although the lighting is totally different.
There is much more to say, especially about technical details like exposure settings. Stay tuned.