

So if you miss it in the morning, there’s always the chance of shooting during the golden hour time in the evening. However, golden hour also happens twice a day. Overcast and shorter winter days can limit the magic hour. Along the equator, in a lower latitude, the same process can be much quicker – taking around 50 minutes.įor photographers in the UK, it generally lasts around an hour or less. Where there’s a higher latitude and longer days – such as in Antarctica during summer – the sun can take around 90 minutes to move from -4° below the horizon to 6° above it during sunrise. How long the golden hour lasts depends on your shooting location and season. As a good rule of thumb, golden hour is usually the first hour of sunlight in the morning and last hour of sunlight in an evening.

It depends on your location (latitude), time of year (season), and the weather – the latter of which also affects how long it may last. If you would like to see more images from my family portrait portfolio, then please visit my website – KellyWilliamsPhotographer.The golden hour time changes each day. Interested in scheduling your own Riverside Park family portrait session? Drop me a line and let’s chat. Riverside Park is a lovely spot for a family portrait session check out my other family portraits in the park here and here. Precious!Įnjoy the images and I’ll have more photo adventures for you next week! Her final outfit was her Wayne’s World Halloween costume alongside her fur-brother.

Jamie and Cliff looked great, and their little girl was such a trooper for looking fashionable throughout not one, not two, but three outfit changes. These photos of the family along the pier are some of my favorite shots because I could isolate Jamie and Cliff and not have any crowd interference.įinally, no family portrait session would be complete without a snap or two of the parents alone. The park was incredibly crowded that day due to the warm weather – it was nearly 80 degrees in October.įrom here we walked along the waterfront. From here I went to an area behind a group of trees so we would have more privacy and could take photos of their little daughter alone. We started off on the same less trafficked pathway as I did with Ely and Aamir. It is amazing the difference a week makes and the trees that were lit up for Ely and Aamir had lost all of their leaves by the time Jamie and Cliff arrived for their family portrait. I wanted to make sure their photo shoot unique to them, and so instead of heading towards Waterline Square Park as I did with Ely and Aamir, we headed north and remained in Riverside Park. Like Ely and Aamir, this family lives on the Upper West Side and wanted to take photos in the same spot near 61st Street in Riverside Park. Jamie and Cliff’s Riverside Park Family Portraitįor Jamie and Cliff’s family portrait session, however, we timed it perfectly. Nothing is worse than being caught out on a photo shoot and technically having enough time on the clock, but having your subject drowning in horrible shadows because the tall buildings stole your light. For example, if you are planning a sunset shoot on Roosevelt Island, then you need to add an extra 30 minutes to your photo shoot start time so that you have enough available light. If you find yourself on the opposite side of the city, then you’ll notice that the sun seems to set earlier on the east side because the skyscrapers have cut off the light, and vice versa on the west side for sunrise. Sunrise is going to be fantastic if you are taking photos near the East River and sunset will be great the closer you are to the Hudson. In New York City, golden hour is very much influenced by where you are located thanks to the tall skyscrapers lining the middle of the city.

#Golden hour time ny plus
This means the light is stronger, plus the overhead position gives your portrait subject under eye shadows. In comparison, photos taken in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest suffer from the harshest rays of the sun. It is a magical time of the day when everything the sun touches is bathed in a warm glow and there are no harsh highlights. Golden hour is defined as the hour of time before sunset or just after sunrise when the sun’s position in the sky produces a softer and warmer light with longer shadows. Catch all the glorious photos plus a few NYC golden hour portrait tips in today’s blog post.įirst, let’s start off with a little science lesson. I have preached long and hard about the advantages of photographing anyone or anything at ‘golden hour.’ Jamie‘s family portrait makes it clear why scheduling your session just before sunset or just after sunrise is optimal.
