Lighting is everything in photography. So when is the best time to take photographs? This is a question I get often after the question “Where should I get my photographs taken?” It all depends on the look you are wanting to create! You will hear many people talk about the golden hour as the prime time to take images. In this guide, I will talk about different options for the best time to take photographs and a bit about their pros and cons.
The Golden Hour
This is when the sun casts the beautiful golden tint on the earth. This is the time frame about an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. Some advantages are the variety of shots you can take during as well as the temperature is “a little” cooler in Florida. The sun is low in the sky which creates soft directional light with a nice warm glow. It creates nice shadows, keeps people or animals from squinting, and the warmth of the sun is pleasing to the human eye in photographic imagery. You can create silhouette shots where the sky is exposed and you see the outline of your subjects like a shadow. It can also be used to create a rim light creating a nice glow of you from behind or we could create a flare from the sun. The downside to the golden hour is sometimes the sun will cast a very warm light which is too intense making your images look super orange. This can be corrected in post production and with camera adjustments. You also will need to work fast as there is a limited time to the golden hour. This leads us to the blue hour where you have to move quickly to get unique images.
The Blue Hour is also known as twilight.
This is the time right before sunrise or after the sunset. This is when the sun is below the earth's horizon so you aren’t getting the direct light of the sun. It casts a blue tint making images cooler with very low contrast. This time of day is best shot near items like a lake or ocean where the reflection of the surface can be used as a light source. This time period happens quickly and will be gone before you know it.
Mid Morning and late afternoons
If you are shooting in the evening, I would suggest starting the session about an hour and a half before sunset to get some imagery without the quick changing sun. This will allow for time to get your bread and butter shots and then get the cool extra shots as the sun sets. On the flip side, if you are wanting some sunrise shots you can take advantage of the sunrise with the nice “golden hour look” and then continue to shoot without having to worry about losing light. Here in Florida we know it gets hot by 11:00 am so I find if you aren’t looking for a sunrise or sunset shot, in the mornings I will usually start at 9:00 am and in the afternoon at 4:00 pm depending on the actual sunrise and sunset time.
High Noon
Most photographers will tell you this is not the ideal time to shoot. There are tons of obstacles to overcome when shooting at this time. The colors and textures can seem washed out. The sun is often very bright causing people and animals to squint. If this is the only time you are available to shoot, there are some ways to work around the harsh lighting and to get creative with the light. In order to avoid the harsh light on the eyes casting dark shadows a fill light with flash can be used or a diffuser to diffuse the light. Another idea is to look for shady spots such as walls, trees, overhangs, or buildings. When you watch the surroundings, they sometimes will make a very cool contrast of dark shadows to light creating unique frames and interesting lines to your image.
See how Beau is having a hard time keeping his eyes open while on his walk at high noonish!
I took him to another location which was shaded and was able to get this gorgeous image of him without squinting his eyes.
Overcast day
The pro to having an overcast day is having a huge soft box for the sun. This will create a nice even soft light. Think of the clouds as a diffuser for the sun which will allow you to shoot all day long! Depending on what the clouds are doing your sky will appear completely white or you can get some interesting shots. Your photographer will have to adjust to get the best shots of the day!
Night time
This time can be used to create dramatic portraits using creative flash or the lights in the environment such as street lights or neon lights!
Have you been wanting to book a session? Reach out today and let’s start planning your session at 321-765-WISE (9473) or kt@wiseimagesphotography.com