14 Wonderful Golden Hour Photos That Will Brighten Your Day

Ritesh Saini
Ritesh Saini

New / Noteworthy

In photography, the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset holds a special place as that’s when the sunlight is at its magical best. The time is known as the ‘golden hour’ or ‘magic hour’ and offers perfect light to create stunning photos.

The light during the golden hour is great for a variety of shots, particularly for portraits, landscapes and street photography and lends itself wonderfully to composition tools like silhouette, backlighting, texture, shadows and much more.

This post is a collection of some images that make excellent use of the golden hour light. We hope that they inspire you to create some of your own golden hour photos. Give it a go!

Light is fundamental to photography, and having a strong understanding of light will open a new world of photographic opportunities. If you’d like to improve your appreciation of light in photography, do check out Kent DuFault’s guide to understanding light. Take a look at it here.

Photo by Erik-Jan Leusink

Photo by Neven Krcmarek

Photo by Joshua Kirshner

Photo by Jurica Koletić

Utilize light to control the mood and feelings in your photographs

If you’d like a better understanding of the light you encounter, to instill a sense of mood into your shots, do take a look at Kent DuFault’s guide to understanding light.

Photo by Brianne Reed

Photo by Corina Rainer

Photo by zhang kaiyv

Understanding light is the secret to incredible photography

If you’d like to take your photography to the next level by learning the key concepts of light and how to make it work in your photography, do take a look at our bestselling guide Understanding Light and jump leap years ahead of your competition. Click here now to check it out.

Photo by Sergey Pesterev

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo

Photo by KAL VISUALS

BONUS: I've got something special for you on the next page...

If you’ve struggled to take advantage of light in your photography to the fullest and you want a complete, in-depth training to help you with that, take a look at our best-selling guide Understanding Light.

You’ll get case-studies, how-to instruction. Plus it includes a free printable chart for your camera bag that outlines the psychological effect of colors to ensure you don’t forget when you’re out shooting.

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About Ritesh Saini

About Ritesh Saini

Ritesh has been photographing since 2010 and his photographic interests have varied from nature and landscapes to street photography. He recommends Kent DuFault's best-selling guide, Understanding Light Book One to learn how to understand and control light.

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