Golden Hour Calculator
Golden hour is the window after sunrise and before sunset when the low sun lights everything with warm, soft, directional light; blue hour is the deep-blue twilight just before and after. Pick your location and this page computes today’s times, shows the sun’s path through the day, and tells you what color the light will be.
Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded · updated
Why golden hour light looks the way it does
When the sun is low, its light travels through far more atmosphere than at midday. Air scatters blue light out of the beam, so what reaches you is warm — around 2,500–3,500K instead of 5,500K. The same low angle means light rakes across the scene instead of pounding down on it: long soft shadows, texture in everything, and a sky that grades from warm to blue. That combination is why portraits, landscapes and street photos all look better in it.
Blue hour
Once the sun is 4–6° below the horizon, the scene is lit only by the sky. The light is very blue (≈9,000K), perfectly even, and dim enough that windows, street lamps and headlights glow against it. It is the best time for cityscapes and for any photo where you want lights in the frame without the sky going black.
Best time of day to take photos
| Time | Light | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Blue hour (AM) | Even, blue, dim | Cityscapes, calm landscapes, empty streets |
| Golden hour (AM) | Warm, soft, low | Portraits, landscapes, mist and dew |
| Mid-morning to mid-afternoon | Neutral, hard, overhead | Architecture, documentation; use shade for people |
| Golden hour (PM) | Warm, soft, low | Everything — the classic window |
| Blue hour (PM) | Blue with warm lights | Skylines, neon, night markets |
Keep the color you saw
The catch with golden hour is that phone cameras fight it. Auto white balance assumes the scene should average out to neutral, so it drains the warmth — which is exactly what you went out for. Either sample a neutral point after the shot so the correction is exact, or lean into it with a warm preset. Read white balance on iPhone for the camera settings, and the Kelvin chart for what each temperature looks like.
Questions people ask
What time is golden hour near me?
Tap “Use my location” in the calculator above and it computes today’s golden hour for exactly where you are — no city list needed, and your location never leaves your device. Morning golden hour runs from a few minutes before sunrise to roughly 40 minutes after; evening golden hour from about 40 minutes before sunset until a few minutes after. The exact window depends on your latitude and the date.
What time is golden hour tomorrow?
Use the date arrows or the 7-day table above. Golden hour shifts by a minute or two a day — earlier each evening from late June to late December in the northern hemisphere, later from late December to late June — so tomorrow is close to today but not identical.
How long before sunset does golden hour start?
About 40–60 minutes before sunset at mid latitudes, when the sun is 6° above the horizon. Nearer the equator it starts later and is shorter (around 30 minutes); in summer at high latitudes it can begin an hour and a half before sunset and last twice as long.
What is golden hour in photography?
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the sun is low — between about 6° above and 4° below the horizon — and its light is warm (2,500–3,500K), soft and directional. Shadows are long, contrast is gentle and skin tones glow, which is why photographers plan portraits and landscapes around it.
Is golden hour good for iPhone photos?
Yes — it is the easiest light for a phone camera: low contrast means Smart HDR has less to flatten, and the warm tone is flattering. The one catch is automatic white balance, which often removes the warmth. Keep it by tapping a neutral point with the White Balance Sampler afterwards or by using the Sunset Glow preset.
How do I find my golden hour?
Golden hour starts roughly when the sun is 4° below the horizon and ends when it is 6° above — about 40 minutes before sunrise to 40 minutes after, and the mirror image in the evening. The exact window depends on your latitude and the date: near the equator it is short, in summer at high latitudes it can last two hours. Use the calculator above with your location for today’s times.
Is 3pm golden hour?
Usually not. At 3 pm the sun is still high in most places for most of the year, so the light is neutral and hard. Golden hour arrives in the last hour or so before sunset — in winter at northern latitudes that can be as early as 3 pm, in summer it is closer to 8 pm. Check the calculator for your date.
How long does golden hour last?
Typically 45–75 minutes, twice a day. It lasts longer the further you are from the equator and the closer to midsummer, because the sun rises and sets at a shallower angle and spends more time near the horizon.
What is blue hour?
Blue hour is the short window before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is 4–6° below the horizon. The sky lights the scene with deep blue, even light (around 9,000K) and city lights balance nicely against it. It usually lasts 20–30 minutes.
What time is golden hour today?
It changes every day and with your location, so there is no single answer — the calculator computes it from the sun’s position for your coordinates and date. As a rule of thumb: the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.
Why do my golden hour photos come out grey on iPhone?
Automatic white balance sees the warm light as a color cast and cools the photo, turning gold into beige. Fix it after the shot by tapping something neutral with the White Balance Sampler, or use the Sunset Glow preset to bring the warmth back.
When is the best light for photos today?
Golden hour: the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, when the sun is low and the light is warm and soft. Open https://whitebalancer.com/tools/golden-hour-calculator, tap “Use my location”, and it shows today’s exact windows, blue hour and a 7-day outlook.
How do I calculate golden hour for a specific date and city?
Pick the city and date at https://whitebalancer.com/tools/golden-hour-calculator. It computes sunrise, sunset, golden hour (sun between −4° and +6°) and blue hour (−6° to −4°) from the sun’s position for that place and day, and draws the sun’s path through the day.
White Balancer for iPhone
Shot the sunset and it came out grey?
Automatic white balance cools warm light away. White Balancer puts the gold back in one tap with the White Balance Sampler, or with the Sunset Glow preset — photos and videos, free, no AI, no subscription.
Free · No login · No AI · 100% on-device · No watermark · Never a subscription
