Making the Most of Natural Light in Photographyĭiscusses how different times of day influence subject appearance.ĭiscusses the types and terminology of light's color temperature.It is possible to edit the photo afterwards to raise the contrast and add warmth if needed.This one is more useful for night photography. FURTHER READINGįor similar topics, also visit the following tutorials: Very high latitudes may also have more than one sunrise or sunset in a single day, but this calculator only mentions the first of each occurrence. Only dawn and dusk will be listed as 'never.' At midday the sun is high in the sky, but at midnight the sun never dips more than 6° below the horizon, so the sky remains relatively bright. Only sunrise and sunset will be listed as 'never.' At midday the sky is bright but the sun never rises above the horizon at midnight the sky becomes dark since the sun dips at least 6° below the horizon. Both sunrise/sunset and dawn/dusk will be listed as 'never.' This can happen near the poles in the spring and fall. The sun remains below the horizon throughout the day, but never dips lower than 6° below the horizon. The sun remains more than 6° below the horizon throughout, in which case both sunrise/sunset and dawn/dusk will be listed as 'never.' This can happen very close to the poles and/or near the winter solstice. The sun remains above the horizon throughout the day, in which case both sunrise/sunset and dawn/dusk will be listed as 'never.' This can happen very close to the poles and/or near the summer equinox. UNIQUE SCENARIOS NEAR THE POLESĪt locations near the poles, you may notice that sunrise/sunset or dawn/dusk is listed as 'never' and a popup message appears. In general though, twilight is when a clear sky is still bright and depicts colors other than a dark blue. Unlike sunrise and sunset, these times aren't necessarily visually well-defined. These represent the start and end of civil twilight, respectively (when the sun crosses 6° below the horizon). The hour after sunrise and before sunset is commonly referred to as the 'golden hour,' since this is often when sunlight appears as a rich orange.ĭawn & Dusk. During this time the sky may become an intense fiery red or pink, depending on cloud cover. These represent when the upper edge of the sun's disc disappears below the horizon. This describes when the sun is highest in the sky, and is often also referred to as 'high noon' or 'astronomical noon.' For situations when there is no sunrise or sunset, such as near the poles in summer and winter, this describes the time of day when the sky is least dark (and the sun is closest to the horizon). Therefore, the times above may differ from actual times by up to 5 minutes, depending on weather properties such as air temperature, humidity and turbulence. The apparent position is determined by how the sun's image gets refracted as viewed through the atmosphere, similar to how objects underwater appear shifted relative to their actual position. What we really see during sunrise and sunset is the sun's apparent position - not its actual position.

For more on types of light, also refer to the tutorial on natural light in photography. Note how the contrast, direction and color temperature changes the appearance of the sphere as the day progresses. Depiction of light as the day progresses from midday to dusk (or reverses towards dawn).įor locations near the poles, the above representation may no longer be representative.

Golden hour time photos