What Is the Golden Hour and Why Does It Matter for Outdoor Portraits?
What Is the Golden Hour and Why Does It Matter for Outdoor Portraits?
If you have any friends who are photographers or if you’re an expert at selfies, you might have heard of the “golden hour.” What exactly is the golden hour and does it matter for your outdoor portraits? As a Seattle area family photographer, I’ll give you the essentials I’d want my clients to know.
What Is the Golden Hour?
In photography, the “golden hour” is the hour immediately after sunrise or immediately before sunset (but sunrise is a bit on the early side for most, so most often, I photograph in the hour before sunset). During this fleeting time, because of the position of the sun, the natural sunlight is particularly perfect for flattering portraits.
Does the Golden Hour Really Make a Difference in Outdoor Portraits?
The short answer to this question is yes, absolutely! The golden hour can take any portrait from nice to spectacular.
Because the sun is preparing to set during the golden hour, the sunlight is low and coming from the side rather than being directly overhead. This makes the lighting warm and soft, which is flattering for everyone. It makes your skin tone look richer, casts only the most delicate of shadows, and makes you truly glow.
By contrast, the midday sun is high in the sky, creating harsh lighting. It casts shadows that don’t bring out your best features, and it can give portraits a cold and uninviting look. There are times when fashion photos or artistic photos are taken in the stark midday light purposefully, to create a certain look or style, but it isn’t what you want for portraits.
Challenges with Taking Portraits During the Golden Hour
From an aesthetic standpoint, the golden hour is the best time to take outdoor portraits, hands-down. It does present some challenges, though.
For one, the golden hour is just that - one hour. That’s a very specific time frame in which the weather needs to cooperate with us.
Second, the golden hour doesn’t fall at the most convenient time during some parts of the year. In the fall, the golden hour might be from 4:30pm-5:30pm. In the summer, it could be from 8pm-9pm. Those time frames aren’t convenient with everyone’s work schedule or every child’s bedtime. As both a business owner and a mom of three, I know how tough it is to adjust your schedule, but trust me when I say that it will be worth it! With a day or two of inconvenience, you’ll be able to have beautiful family portraits that reflect all the warmth and love you have for your family, and those portraits will last forever.
Are Golden Hour Portraits Worth It?
With all the lighting tools and equipment in modern photography, nothing can truly recreate the look of golden hour lighting. I know scheduling portraits during the golden hour can be difficult for some families, but it’s a worthwhile hurdle to get family portraits you’ll treasure for life.
Want to schedule your golden hour outdoor photography? Contact Jaimié Birtel Photography and I’ll make it happen!
