Your light windows
Times are shown in your device's time zone. All values are for a flat horizon; a hill or a skyline to the east or west will shorten the window in that direction.
The month at a glance
| Date | Blue hour AM | Golden hour AM | Golden hour PM | Blue hour PM |
|---|
What actually happens to the light
When the sun is low its light travels through several times more atmosphere than at noon. Short wavelengths scatter away, so what reaches your subject is warm and orange, and the low angle turns every texture into raking side light with long, soft shadows. The contrast ratio between highlight and shadow drops to something a sensor can hold, which is why faces and landscapes both look better.
Blue hour is the opposite trade: no direct sun at all, a large soft dome of sky as the only source, and a colour temperature high enough that street lights and windows read as warm accents. The usable window is short and the light changes by the minute, so it pays to be set up before it starts.
Planning checklist
- Check the window length here, then arrive 30 minutes early — the best five minutes are rarely the ones you planned.
- Note the sun azimuth at the start and end of the window and pick your position so the sun rakes across the subject rather than behind you.
- For a sun that lines up with a street, a bridge or a valley, use the alignment finder in the map tool.
- In winter at high latitudes golden hour and blue hour can merge into a single long soft afternoon; treat the whole low-sun period as workable.
- Check the sun path for the day to see whether a ridge will cut the window short.
Definitions used here
- Golden hour
- Sun altitude between −0.833° (geometric sunrise or sunset, including refraction and the solar disc) and +6°.
- Blue hour
- Sun altitude between −6° and −4°, inside civil twilight.
- Civil twilight
- Sun between 0° and −6°. Outdoor activity is still possible without artificial light.
- Nautical twilight
- Sun between −6° and −12°. The horizon at sea is still visible.
- Astronomical twilight
- Sun between −12° and −18°. Below −18° the sky is fully dark, which is when the Milky Way is at its best.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What time is golden hour today?
Golden hour runs from sunrise until the sun reaches about 6 degrees altitude in the morning, and from 6 degrees back down to sunset in the evening. Enter your location above and the calculator gives both windows to the minute for today or any other date.
What is blue hour?
Blue hour is the deeper twilight when the sun is roughly 4 to 6 degrees below the horizon. The sky is still bright but the direct sun is gone, so artificial lights and the sky balance well - the classic window for cityscapes and architecture.
Why is golden hour longer in summer at high latitudes?
The length depends on how steeply the sun crosses the horizon. Near the equator it dives almost vertically and golden hour can be under 25 minutes. At 55 degrees latitude in June the sun skims along at a shallow angle and the golden window can last well over an hour, which is why northern summers are a landscape photographer's season.
Which direction will the light come from?
The calculator shows the sun azimuth at the start and end of each window. Combine it with the sun path to plan the angle on your subject, or use the alignment finder on the map to find the dates when the sun sets exactly along a street or valley.
Is golden hour the same as magic hour?
Magic hour is the looser film term covering both golden hour and the twilight around it. Golden hour has a defined bracket used by planners and by this calculator: sun altitude between about -0.833 degrees, the geometric sunrise, and +6 degrees.