11 Golden Hour Photography Tips For Your Next Photoshoot

Golden hour is fleeting. One minute, you’re basking in perfect light; the next, it's gone — faster than your client’s ability to follow posing directions. 

That’s why with golden hour photography, planning is everything. Whether you're capturing a dreamy couple’s session or a dramatic landscape, knowing how to anticipate and make the most of this short-lived glow can be the difference between a good shot and a breathtaking one.

But it’s not just about showing up at the right time. To make the most of the golden hour, you must follow best practices and work quickly to capture the fleeting glow. With the right approach, you can maximize every second and create stunning, natural-looking images.

Let’s break down what makes this light so magical — and how to use it to your advantage.

What Is the Golden Hour in Photography? 

The golden hour is that magical time shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the world is bathed in warm, soft light. 

Unlike the harsh midday sun, this period typically lasts for around an hour and offers a golden glow with gentle shadows and reduced contrast, making it ideal for photography. 

While it’s called an “hour,” the duration varies depending on location, season, and atmospheric conditions. In some places, especially near the poles during summer, golden hour can last several hours or even all night.

Harnessing Golden Hour for Wedding and Portrait Photography

Golden Hour isn’t just visually stunning —it’s emotionally powerful. The warm, golden hues evoke nostalgia, romance, and serenity, making it an ideal backdrop for weddings and portrait photography. This soft, flattering light enhances skin tones, reduces harsh shadows, and creates a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere that feels almost magical.

Psychologically, warm colors like gold, amber, and soft pinks are associated with comfort, happiness, and intimacy. The gradual transition from day to night also signals calm and reflection, adding to the emotional weight of golden hour imagery.

Another element that enhances the golden hour aesthetic is halation — a glowing effect caused by diffused light scattering slightly beyond bright areas of an image. 

This soft haze adds an ethereal, cinematic quality, often seen in backlit portraits or landscapes where the light wraps gently around subjects. Halation can naturally occur with specific lenses or film stocks and is sometimes enhanced in post-processing for added warmth and atmosphere.

This is why golden hour photography doesn’t just capture moments — it captures emotions.

How to Calculate the Golden Hour

Golden hour doesn’t happen at the same time every day—it’s all about location, time of year, and even the weather. Because of this, you can’t just count on the exact timing from day to day. But don’t worry, you can calculate it by considering a few things.

Golden hour typically occurs when the sun is low in the sky, between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. In the morning, it starts at dawn (just before the sun rises) and lasts until the sun gets about 6° above the horizon. 

In the evening, golden hour kicks off when the sun drops to 6° above the horizon and lasts until dusk when the light fades away completely.

One thing to remember is that golden hour isn’t just one fixed window of time. It changes throughout the year, depending on where you are. 

If calculating all of this sounds complicated, you can use apps like the Golden Hour Calculator for iOS or Android to find out when Golden Hour will occur, so you don’t have to guess.

If you don’t have an app handy, you can do a manual viewfinder check: Look through your camera’s viewfinder at the landscape. If colors appear noticeably warmer, shadows have a soft, golden quality, and the light adds depth without harsh contrast, you’re likely in the golden hour.

Some professional photographers also carry a sun angle finder or inclinometer to measure the sun’s position more accurately, ensuring they never miss the perfect lighting conditions.

11 Expert Tips on How to Plan for the Golden Hour

As much as photographers love the golden hour, it can be tricky to work with. Here are some expert golden hour photography tips to help you make the most of it and capture breathtaking shots.

Packing the Right Gear for Golden Hour Photography

Having the right photography gear ensures you make the most of every shot. Here’s what to bring:

• Fast Prime Lens (50mm f/1.8 or 85mm f/1.4): A wide aperture helps maximize available light and creates beautiful background blur.
• Tripod: Ideal for low-light conditions, especially for landscapes or capturing motion blur with slower shutter speeds.
• Reflector: Helps bounce light onto your subject, particularly in the final moments of golden hour when shadows deepen.
• ND Filter: If the light is still too bright, a neutral density filter allows you to maintain wide apertures without overexposing highlights.

Read also 9 Must-Have Wedding Photography Accessories

Making the Most of a Short Golden Hour

Golden hour doesn’t last long —usually just 20-30 minutes —so it’s easy to feel rushed. To make the most of this fleeting light:

• Arrive Early and plan ahead: Arrive at least 30 to 60 minutes before golden hour begins to scout your location, set up your gear, and prepare your compositions. This gives you time to think about your shots without the pressure of the rapidly changing light.
• Prioritize key shots: Focus on your most essential shots when the light is at its peak. If you have time afterward, experiment with other compositions, but always be ready with your primary shots to avoid missing that perfect moment.
• Simplify your shots: Keep your compositions simple, especially when you’re in a time crunch. The more straightforward your shot, the more time you'll have to adjust settings as the light changes.

Adapting to Rapidly Changing Light for Consistent Shots

The exposure settings that work at the start of the golden hour may not be right as it progresses, creating problems for consistency across shots. The key to managing this is having control over your settings.

• Switch to manual mode: Manual mode allows you to adjust ISO, aperture, and shutter speed as the light fades or shifts.
• Adjust gradually: Instead of drastically changing your settings, try adjusting them gradually. If you’re unsure, bracket your shots—take a few with different exposure settings—to ensure you capture the perfect exposure no matter how fast the light changes.
• Use metering for your subject: Spot metering ensures that your subject is correctly exposed, even when the background is significantly brighter, which is common with backlighting or dramatic sky contrasts.

Balancing Exposure in High-Contrast Scenes

Golden hour often features high contrast between bright skies and darker subjects, which can overwhelm your camera’s metering system. You might end up with a well-exposed sky but a dark, underexposed subject—or vice versa.

• Use graduated neutral density filters: These filters can help balance exposure between bright skies and dark foregrounds, providing a more even shot.
• Shoot in RAW: Shooting in RAW provides more flexibility in post-processing. You can recover details from the shadows or highlights that may have been lost due to tricky exposure settings.

Read also: How to Photograph a Wedding

Controlling Lens Flare and Harsh Shadows to Your Advantage

While golden hour light is typically soft and flattering, it can sometimes result in harsh shadows or lens flare, especially when shooting directly into the sun. While this can be frustrating, ways to make it work to your advantage exist.

• Fill flash or reflector: If shadows are too harsh, use a fill flash or a reflector to bounce light back onto your subject and soften those shadows. This is especially useful in portrait shots, where you need to balance the light on your subject’s face.
• Positioning for better light: Position your subject at an angle to the sun to avoid unwanted harsh shadows or flare. However, don’t be afraid to embrace lens flare if it enhances your shot — it can add a creative, ethereal effect that’s uniquely golden hour.
• Play with backlighting and silhouettes: Position your subject with the sun behind them for a beautiful silhouette effect. The glowing outline can add depth and drama to your photos, turning what might be a challenge into a stunning opportunity.

Keeping a Consistent Look as the Light Shifts

Since golden hour light shifts quickly, it’s challenging to maintain consistency in exposure and color across shots. You may find that one shot looks perfect while the next doesn’t match.

• Use a tripod: A tripod helps keep your compositions stable and prevents unwanted camera shake, especially as light levels decrease. This ensures your images stay sharp as the light fades.
• Check your settings regularly: As the light changes, check your settings every few shots to ensure consistency in exposure, shutter speed, and aperture. If you’re using manual mode, minor adjustments will keep everything looking consistent.

Enhancing Dynamic Range and Exposure for Balanced Shots

Midday sunlight creates harsh contrasts with blown-out highlights and deep shadows, often exceeding a camera sensor’s dynamic range. On the other hand, Golden hour light is softer and more diffused, making it easier to retain highlight and shadow details. This means:

• Less need for HDR bracketing to balance exposure.
• Reduced reliance on graduated ND filters to darken bright skies.
• Minimal post-processing for shadow recovery.

Using Directional Light to Add Depth and Texture

With the sun lower in the sky, golden hour light creates striking directional effects that enhance depth in photos. Experiment with:

• Side lighting to sculpt facial features in portraits.
• Backlighting for glowing, ethereal rim-lighting effects.
• Soft shadows that add a three-dimensional look to landscapes and architecture.

“The way elements are arranged within a frame can dramatically impact the feeling an image conveys. I use composition to guide the viewer’s eye, create a sense of balance and harmony, and emphasize the most significant moments,” said Wes Shinn, a professional wedding photographer. 

Taking Advantage of Lower Light Intensity for Creative Flexibility

The reduced intensity of golden hour light allows for wider apertures and more creative control. This enables:

• Shallow depth of field (f/1.4–f/2.8) for dreamy, blurred backgrounds.
• Lower ISO settings for cleaner images with minimal noise.
• Longer exposures to capture motion blur in water, clouds, or moving subjects.

Leveraging Warm Tones for Natural Color

Golden Hour’s naturally warm color temperature enhances skin tones and landscapes without extensive post-processing. Compared to the cooler, neutral light of midday, this lighting can:

• Add a golden glow to portraits for a flattering, natural look.
• Enhance the richness of colors in nature photography.
• Reduce the need for artificial warmth adjustments in editing.

“Colors evoke emotions and set the tone for an image. I pay close attention to the interplay of colors throughout your wedding, capturing the vibrant hues of your decor, the subtle tones of your surroundings, and the natural beauty of the light,” Shinn added. 

Sorting Through Hundreds of Shots

Ah, the classic golden hour dilemma. You’re snapping away, and suddenly, you’re left with hundreds of nearly identical shots.

The key to overcoming this? An efficient photo culling process. Instead of spending hours sorting through hundreds of photos, let Aftershoot do the heavy lifting for you. 

Its AI-powered culling quickly sorts through your images, flagging the best ones so you can focus on perfecting your photo edits and not get bogged down by too many options. That way, you can spend less time choosing and more time creating.

Read also: The Complete AI Photo Culling Workflow Guide for Photographers

Capture Golden Hour Effortlessly

Golden hour is one of the most magical times for photography, offering warm, soft light that enhances every shot. You can create breathtaking wedding and portrait images that capture beauty and emotion with the right approach. 

When sorting through hundreds of golden hour shots, Aftershoot makes the process effortless. AI-powered culling swiftly identifies your best shots, while AI editing ensures consistent, stunning results for golden-hour photos. This means less time spent sorting and more time perfecting your favorites with creative edits.

Ready to perfect your golden hour shots? Claim your free 30-day trial today.