How the times are worked out
The planner calculates where the sun sits in the sky for the place and date you choose. It runs in your browser. Your location, if you share it, is used on this page and sent nowhere.
Photographers name the light by how high the sun is above the horizon:
- Golden hour is roughly while the sun is between 6 degrees above and 4 degrees below the horizon. The light is warm and the shadows are long.
- Blue hour is roughly while the sun is between 4 and 6 degrees below the horizon. The sky turns deep blue and street lights start to count.
These are conventions, not hard edges. The light changes gradually, and clouds, hills and tall buildings all move the moment it looks right. Treat the times as the window to be out, not the minute to press the shutter.
Why the length changes
Near the equator the sun climbs steeply, so golden hour can be over in well under an hour. Further north or south, and in winter, the sun rises at a shallow angle and the warm light lasts much longer. Try the same date for Miami and Anchorage and the difference is plain to see.
Using the light
- Golden hour photography with a phone: when the warm light helps and when it doesn't.
- How to photograph sunrises without waking up too early.
- Overcast day photography, for the days the planner cannot help with.
- How to photograph fog with your phone.