Golden Hour Calculator — Sunrise, Sunset & Blue Hour Times
Find exact golden hour and blue hour times for any location and date. Pick a city or enter coordinates to get morning and evening golden hour windows for photography.
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Times shown in UTC. Add your UTC offset for local time.
Morning
Evening
Golden Hour vs Blue Hour: Photographer's Guide
Golden Hour
- Sun 0°–6° above horizon
- Warm orange-gold tones
- Long directional shadows
- Best for: portraits, landscapes, architecture
- White balance: 5500–7500K
Blue Hour
- Sun 4°–8° below horizon
- Cool blue ambient light
- Balances artificial warm lights
- Best for: cityscapes, long exposure
- White balance: 3200–4000K
Times shown in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). To get your local time: find your UTC offset (e.g., New York is UTC−5 in winter, UTC−4 in summer) and add or subtract it from the displayed times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the golden hour in photography?
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon. Light is warmer (orange-golden tones), softer, and more directional — casting long shadows and creating flattering, dramatic lighting. It typically lasts 20–60 minutes depending on season and latitude.
What is blue hour in photography?
Blue hour occurs before sunrise and after sunset when the sun is 4–8° below the horizon. The sky turns a deep blue that balances artificial light perfectly — ideal for cityscape, landscape with lit buildings, and night photography. It typically lasts 20–40 minutes.
How do I find golden hour for my location?
Enter your latitude and longitude or click a city preset above. The calculator uses a solar position algorithm to compute exact golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset times for your coordinates and selected date.
How long does golden hour last?
Golden hour duration varies by season and latitude. Near the equator it's shorter (15–30 minutes). At higher latitudes in summer it can last 1–2 hours. In winter, golden hour may last all day at extreme latitudes. Check the times above — golden hour is from the Golden Hour Starts time to Sunrise (morning) or from Sunset to Golden Hour Ends (evening).
What is the difference between golden hour and magic hour?
They are the same thing — magic hour is the older film industry term for the same period of soft, directional post-sunrise and pre-sunset light. Golden hour is the more common photography term today.
What camera settings work best for golden hour photography?
Use Aperture Priority (Av/A) with a wide aperture (f/1.8–f/4) for shallow depth of field. Set white balance to 'Cloudy' or 5500–6000K to enhance warm tones. Expose for the sky to keep highlights, using exposure compensation to protect detail in highlights.