The Golden Hours of Outdoor Photography
Shooting Pictures Before Sunset and After Sunrise
Sep 5, 2009
It is always about the light. Photography is the capture of light on a recording medium, either film if the camera man is old school, or a digital sensor for most modern photographers.
It stands to reason that the quality of light is one of the biggest factors in the end quality of any picture and while a studio photographer has an array of lights and flashes most often the outdoor photographer will rely on the sun for photographic illumination.
Harsh Overhead Light
When the sun is directly overhead the light passes through the minimum amount of atmosphere. This produces a brighter light which can wash out detail in photographs. The high angle of the sun produces short shadows that reduces the look of contour to landscapes and the overall brightness can cause any people in the photograph to have a “squint” to their eyes.
While these effects are avoided by most photographers there are some advantages to midday outdoor photography. The brighter conditions allow photographers to stop down lenses and increase depth of field for photographs requiring a larger area in focus such as macro photography.
Sunrise and Sunset Photography
An old saying among photographers is they only shot outdoors when the shadow they cast was longer than they were tall. This gives cameramen a three or four hour window each morning and evening, but the best light is that first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset.
Those conditions will give you the longest shadows and the softest light. Photographers need to be aware of the very directional light and place the camera and subject properly for a well lit photograph.
Planning for the Golden Light
Getting to the field near sunset is often easier for photographers. Time can be spent scouting a proper location and getting in position for a shot when the light is just right.
Photography at sunrise takes a little more resolve and planning. Cameramen will have to have a location in mind, a place they can find in the dark, and then set the alarm clock if they want to get a good shot at utilizing the morning version of golden light.
Final results
Below are two photographs taken in the same wheat field about an hour apart. Photo 1 was taken about two hours before sunset while photo 2 was taken about 30 minutes before sunset.
The soft, almost golden light of the second picture makes being in the field during photography’s golden hour worthwhile.
 |
 |
