‘How do I take a better picture?’ It’s a question that almost everyone asks at one point or another, whether they are a pro snapping shots of a celebrity with a giant SLR (single lens reflex) camera or an average Joe with a point and shoot trying to snag a nice sunrise picture on his honeymoon in Hawaii. This series of blog posts will help to answer that question one puzzle piece at a time until (hopefully) your shots come out looking as good as you want them to. Today’s basic photo tips will address the concept of the golden hour.
When do photographers take pictures? The answer to that is anytime. When do photographers prefer to take pictures? Well, the answer to that is a bit different.
It’s called the golden hour, a relatively short period of time just after the sun rises and just before it sets, usually about an hour, thus the name. During this window of opportunity the suns usually harsh rays are softened and gain human-like characteristics.
A normal blue sky filled with clouds is suddenly painted with swathes of pink, purple, orange, and lots of colors in between as the fiery orb of our suns peaks above the horizon. I’m sure you’ve it thousands of times, sunsets that is, sunrises are a bit more tricky and require you to get up early…
Light from the sun is usually uniform and flat, depending on the weather. It shines down from the sky above separating light and dark with harsh contrasty lines. For some kinds of photography that’s great, but if you want a soulful landscape or a romantic portrait the golden hour is when you’ll want to be shooting.
If you are wondering why the light is so awesome during the golden hour it’s because it is passing through more of our planets atmosphere and being changed by it (getting technical, the blue light is being scattered by atmospheric particles causing the light to appear reddish) . The closer the sun is to the horizon the more stuff between you and it. That is also why the sun is harsher and whiter in the afternoon, because it is passing through less atmosphere.
Interestingly enough that is also why the moon sometimes appears bloody red when it rises but begins to gets whiter and whiter the higher it gets.
Seasons also affect the golden hour. Obviously enough the time when the sun rises and sets changes but something also to take into consideration is that depending on the season the character of the light also changes. A winter sunset is not the same as a spring sunset is not the same as a summer sunset is not the same as a fall sunset (same thing for sunrises). The distance from us to the sun is always changing and that has an affect on the light we see. Out of all of them I’ve always found fall sunsets and winter sunrises to be my favorite.
The golden hour is a great time to capture landscapes and create photographs with soul. We see these pictures with soft lines, relaxing colors, deep shadows, and can’t help but identify with them. The trick is to be at the right place at the right time. Check out websites like Sunrisesunset.com to know when to be where you want to capture that perfect picture.
Got a question? Feel free to ask.
Related posts:
