As a photographer, most of us had an encounter with the golden hour and loved the results we had. If you are a beginner and still new to the concept of the golden hour, you have stopped at the right place. This blog is everything you need to know about golden hour photography.
When is Golden Hour?
Golden hour is a small fraction of time right after sunrise and again right before sunset. It is the time when the sky is filled with beautiful golden/reddish hues which are perfect for photography and capturing silhouettes. You cannot achieve the same kind of light at any other time of the day. During the golden hour, the sun is very low on Horizon and the light is directional which creates soft shadows and gives dimension to the photographs. The light effect during the golden hour can be used in achieving many creative shots that are not achievable during any other time of the day.
Plan your shoots
As you know that the golden hour window is very short, you should plan the location and theme of the shoot at least a day before. Try to reach at least half an hour before the time so that you can practice some shots and arrange your gears before the golden hour. Go for one location at one time because if you go for different locations you might lose the time and get nothing out of both the locations.
Go Manual
Talking about white balance, avoid using AWB, as it will make your images bluer and you will end up losing all the natural warmth from the golden hues. Even if you are shooting at RAW it would still create some amount of blues. If you are a beginner you can go for “shade” or “cloudy” this can do a lot better than the auto mode. Keep practicing manual white balance as it is going to help you in the long run.
Wide aperture
Whenever shooting in a golden hour, place a sharp focus on your subject and create a lovely bokeh. Choose a larger aperture opening (f/5.6 or wider) that will create a small depth of field which will help you create a bokeh of the beautiful golden hue.
Exposure Meter
Every camera has a metering system for exposure but sometimes it might create a high exposure to the background. The best thing about shooting in the golden hour is that the light is so soft that it doesn’t create that kind of problem and you can go for spot metering to capture flattering subjects.
Everything seems better in the golden hour, it is the best time to shoot anything you like. It just requires a little attention to a few things but it gives the easiest and the most flattering results. Just a few tips to remember and you are good to go.
- Blog by Harshita Sharma