Golden hour and blue hour: when they happen and how long they last

What golden hour is

Golden hour is the time just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the Sun is very low in the sky. Its light travels through a thick layer of atmosphere, so it turns warm, soft and directional. Shadows get long, colours get warmer and faces lose the harsh shadows you get at midday. That is why photographers and filmmakers plan portraits, weddings and landscapes around it.

The most common definition is simple: golden hour lasts while the Sun is between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. That is also how Zenitmap calculates it.

Blue hour

In the evening, blue hour follows golden hour. The Sun is now 4° to 6° below the horizon, the sky turns a deep blue and city lights come on. It is the best moment for streets, bridges and lit-up buildings, because the sky and the lamps are about equally bright. In the morning the order is reversed: blue hour first, then golden hour.

How long golden hour lasts

The length depends on how steeply the Sun sinks below the horizon, and that depends on your latitude and the time of year. At the equator the Sun drops almost straight down and crosses those 10 degrees quickly. The further from the equator you are, the more it slides along the horizon at a shallow angle, and the longer it takes.

Evening golden hour calculated by Zenitmap:

City	20 March	21 June	21 December
New York	53 min	62 min	63 min
London	64 min	83 min	87 min
Stockholm	79 min	125 min	148 min

Blue hour is much shorter, usually 10 to 20 minutes, although in Stockholm in June it stretches to about 44 minutes because the Sun barely dips below the horizon.

How to check golden hour for today

The easiest way is the Sky tonight page. Pick a city or tap “My location” and you will see:

• the morning and evening golden hour,
• the morning and evening blue hour,
• sunrise, sunset and day length,
• astronomical night, when the sky is truly dark.

The times are calculated by your browser for today’s date, so tomorrow you will see tomorrow’s values. Your location is not sent anywhere.

Making the most of golden hour

• Arrive early. The best light often comes in the last 15 to 20 minutes before sunset, and setting up takes time.
• Check the clouds. A thick bank of cloud in the west can take away all the golden light. Look at the live cloud map before you go. Broken, high clouds, on the other hand, often give the strongest colours.
• Shoot into the light or from the side. Into the Sun you get silhouettes and glowing hair, side light shapes faces and landscapes nicely.
• Keep shooting after sunset. Blue hour starts straight away, and the sky is often most colourful a few minutes after the Sun has gone.
• In winter you get more golden light but less day. In London in December, the evening golden hour already starts around 2:50 pm.

Golden hour, terrain and weather

The times assume a clear sky and a flat horizon. In the mountains or between tall buildings the Sun disappears earlier, so the golden light ends sooner than the table suggests. By the sea, with an open horizon, you get the full golden hour right up to sunset.