How To Master Golden Hour Photography in 3 Simple Steps

Golden hour is magical, until you try it for the first time. It’s tricky! After 2 decades in the industry, I no longer wing it and hope for the best; I’ve gained the skills to knock it outta the park every time, and I’m excited to share that knowledge with you! 

Here’s something you may not realize if you’re new to the craft: use of light is the #1 factor that separates novices from pros – not awesome gear, not editing, not some other secret – light. If you’ve ever wondered why your photos don’t look like your inspo, it has to do with light. If you’ve ever wondered why your edits don’t look as good as someone else’s, it’s how you are (or aren’t) using light. As luck would have it, teaching proper use of light isn’t easy. Perhaps because there is no “proper” – everything in art is subjective. Or, perhaps it’s because it’s difficult to explain how you’ll know when the light is perfect. But at the very least, I’m confident you’ll be better equipped to get out there and start chasing the good light after this! Read on to learn my tried and true methods for golden hour magic. 

Step One – Time + Place:

True golden hour occurs during the 20-30 minutes before sunset and sunrise. During the summer it can be tricky to get clients out that late, so your best bet might be sunrise (although you’ll never catch me out that early!). Plan to begin your golden hour session an hour before sunset or sunrise, or 90 minutes before if the weather is overcast. Choosing a location is equally important – take note of where the sun will set. You’ll want that side of your location to have plenty of trees to filter the light, which creates gorgeous depth in your background. The sunset side of your location should be the prettiest, ideally!

Step Two – Choose Your Weapon:

Gear isn’t everything, but choosing the right lenses & accessories can make your golden hour sesh easy & fun. I recommend choosing a wide angle lens – a 35mm 1.4 is my favorite for golden hour. This is because all the light entering your lens makes it harder to focus, so using a fast-focus lens is ideal. Next, consider bringing a reflector. Golden hour light changes by the second. It gets dark real quick, and having a reflector handy can save those last 10 minutes worth of shots! Practice holding the reflector while shooting, or bring an assistant to help. And don’t forget a lens hood, which eases the burden on your lens with all that golden light shining upon it. Lastly, consider harnessing that beautiful light with fun accessories like a prism (this one is amazing and affordable!) which, when held in front of your lens, creates wildly pretty light patterns. Or, grab a pair of pantyhose to slide over your lens for a trendy filmic effect. You can even use trees in the background to filter & soften your light. Try setting a narrow aperture (f16 +) with light filtering through the trees, which can create an incredible starburst effect. Coming equipped with the right gear for golden hour makes all the difference!

Step Three – Position, Position, Position:

You’re at the perfect location an hour before sunset or sunrise, with all the right gear, but how the heck do you actually shoot this thing? Listen closely: it’s all about the position of the sun in relation to your subject, which I’m about to explain in great detail. If you need help with the best manual settings for golden hour, check out my blog post here: 

Here are the two ways I like to use golden hour sun: 

1. Sun behind subject and to the side. Point your right arm out in front of you in the 12 o’clock position. Next, move your arm to the 2 o’clock position. Then, holding your arm in the 2 o’clock position, turn your body until your arm is pointing directly at the sun. Great! Now have your subject stand directly in front of and facing you. This is the perfect position for soft, even, directional, golden hour light. This position allows you to expose your subject evenly in soft, ambient light – no harsh, orange light should be hitting your subject if you’ve executed this position properly. Next, set that aperture wide open and shoot away! Be sure to use spot metering mode for the best skin tones. Bonus tip: These semi-backlit situations always require you to set temp in Lightroom much higher than you would on, say, a midday or shaded scene – start at 8,000 and adjust from there, or alternatively, set a Kelvin value in-camera between 2-4000.  

2. Sun in front of subject and to the side. The light is a little more direct in this position, but still soft, resulting in beautiful definition in the face. This position will create a bit more contrast than the first, so be careful to expose this one properly. You can use the same technique as the first position, but have your arm in the 4 o’clock position (hope you’re flexible!). Again, shoot wide open and bump that temp up in Lightroom! 

What I wouldn’t do: place the sun directly behind the subject. This overpowers your lens with light and makes subjects hazy and difficult to focus on & expose. I also recommend avoiding facing your subject directly into the sun, as it will create orangey skin tones (and squinty eyes) that are difficult to edit. And again, keep in mind, backlit images need a ton of extra temp!

That’s it, now you’re ready to get out there and conquer golden hour like a boss! If you’re a Reverie + Oak photographer, be sure to share your results with our Facebook group! I’d love to see the undoubtedly beautiful images you create with these techniques!