Golden Hour for Photos and Weddings: How to Plan the Light
Golden hour is the time when the sun is low in the sky, between about 6° above and 4° below the horizon. The light is warm, soft and comes in from the side, so faces don't get harsh shadows and buildings glow. There's one window after sunrise and one before sunset.
The golden hour calculator gives today's windows for your city. This page explains how to use them.
Golden hour and blue hour
- Golden hour: sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. Warm, low, directional light.
- Blue hour: sun between 4° and 6° below the horizon. The sky goes deep blue, there's no direct sunlight, and street and window lights start to show. In the evening it comes after golden hour; in the morning it comes before.
Golden hour isn't always an hour. It depends on how steeply the sun crosses the horizon: steeply near the equator, at a shallow angle far from it.
How long golden hour lasts
Evening golden hour at midsummer and midwinter (21 June and 21 December 2026):
| City | 21 June | 21 December | Starts before sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 18:42–19:25 (44 min) | 18:34–19:17 (44 min) | about 30 min |
| Johannesburg | 16:49–17:39 (50 min) | 18:25–19:15 (50 min) | about 34 min |
| Cape Town | 17:06–18:01 (55 min) | 19:19–20:14 (55 min) | about 38 min |
| New York | 19:49–20:51 (62 min) | 15:47–16:50 (63 min) | about 43 min |
| London | 20:27–21:49 (83 min) | 14:51–16:18 (87 min) | 54–62 min |
| Stockholm | 20:51–22:56 (125 min) | 12:55–15:23 (148 min) | 77–113 min |
Morning golden hour is the mirror image: it starts 15 to 30 minutes before sunrise, when the sun is still 4° below the horizon, and lasts just as long. Much further north, in Reykjavík in December, the sun never climbs above 6°, so the light stays low all day.
Planning a wedding or portrait shoot
- Look up sunset for the date and place. Use the venue's city, not where you live, and the actual wedding date. Sunset in Cape Town moves from 17:44 in June to 19:56 in December.
- Book portraits for the start of golden hour. In Cape Town in December that's about 19:20 for a 19:56 sunset. Starting at the beginning gives you the whole window, plus slack if speeches run late.
- Check what's to the west. A mountain, a tree line or tall buildings hide the low sun early, so the usable light can end well before sunset. At a venue under a mountain, start earlier or pick a spot with an open view.
- Keep blue hour for the last shots. The 10 to 20 minutes after golden hour suit silhouettes, a lit venue or city lights behind the couple.
- Watch the cloud forecast. Thin, high cloud often gives the best colour. A thick, low bank on the horizon blocks the sun and ends golden hour early.
- Consider the morning. Morning golden hour has the same light, fewer people at popular spots and calmer wind. It's good for engagement shoots and property photos.
Other shoots
- Property and real estate: shoot the front of the house when the low sun falls on it: evening if it faces west, morning if it faces east. Take dusk exteriors with the lights on in blue hour.
- Landscapes: arrive before golden hour starts so you're set up when the colour peaks.
- Video and social content: golden hour shifts by a minute or two a day, so recheck the time if you're filming over several days.
Get today's windows from the golden hour calculator, or open the sunrise page for Cape Town, Johannesburg, London or New York. All sunrise times.