One of my absolute favorite times to photograph families is during the golden hour. What is the golden hour, you ask? It’s that magical hour before the sun sets behind the horizon and the light takes on a warm, golden glow. The golden hour is also that first hour of light before the sun rises, but I’m usually asleep in my bed so I very rarely see it!
So why is it so magical? Well, the sun is so low in the sky that the light is soft and even. You can also get long, dramatic shadows that add a little depth to your image. Plus, you just can’t beat the warmth of the light. If I could schedule every single session during the golden hour I would. It can be a little tricky with small children though. In the summer months, the golden hour can right at their bedtime. I still encourage clients to be open to the idea and just adjust naptimes and dinner. I also ask them to bring extra snacks and a favorite toy or stuffed animal in case anyone gets cranky. To be honest, most of the time, children are happy to be doing something outside of their normal routine.
If you find yourself enjoying a beautiful summer evening and want to snap a few pictures of your kids at sunset, here are 5 things you need to know.
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1. Time matters. Download an app that will tell you exactly when the sun sets in your area. I use Sunrise Sunset Lite on my iPhone, but there are many others to choose from. Find one that you like.
2. You have to act fast! It’s called the golden ‘hour,’ but the light changes very quickly. Make sure you’ve got everything in place before you start. Get the camera ready, make sure the battery is charged and that you’ve got an empty memory card. If you’re lucky enough to have the sun set in your backyard, ask the kids if they want to have a bedtime snack outside. Lay down a nice blanket or quilt and have them sit so that the sun is at their backs. As they are enjoying their snack, click away. Change your angle and your perspective and see how that affects your image. Just keep shooting!
3. Capture pretty bokeh by shooting with a larger aperture. Try using an F-stop around 2.0, 2.2, or 2.5. If you don’t have a lens that opens that wide, make sure there is a good amount of distance between the kids and the background. It’ll help to create a similar blur.
4. Set your white balance to cloudy. If you shoot on auto you’ll lose out on all those beautiful warm tones. Switch to cloudy so that you can enhance the golden light.
5. Your subject will be dark. Because you’re shooting with the sun behind your subject, your camera will expose for the brightest part of the image and your subject will be dark. Look for a piece of white foam board, a white sheet, or anything else around the house you can use to bounce some light back up onto your kiddies. If that doesn’t work, you can use your flash to add in some fill light.
Challenge yourself and try shooting at sunset this summer. If you would like this and other photography tips delivered to your inbox every Friday, click here.
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