My Favorite Lighting: All Things Golden Hour

We all love the golden hour look, but when is really the best lighting within that time?

I’m a Northern Utah photographer who lives and shoots in and around the mountains.

When I started photography, I would always get nervous about when golden hour would happen - in the mountains versus in the valley. Sunset is usually an hour and a half earlier up higher in the mountains as opposed to down in the valley.

Due to my anxiety about missing the good light, I would tend to schedule shoots a little too early.

These days, I tend to push scheduling closer to right before the sun sets below the mountains. The reason why I love this later sunset is because the colors are more vibrant and images don’t look as flat as they do in the earlier, hazier, white sunset light. More contrast is also created in images at this later time, which I personally enjoy.

Not to mention, when the sun sets, you get a whole different look and color scheme to your photos. This can be nice for offering more variety to your clients in their session.

In the background of this photo you can notice the smoke from Canada’s wildfires that got caught in the Salt Lake Valley.

If you have anxiety about missing the good lighting, don’t be afraid to lean into the later sunset. The orange tones of this sunset light and the blue lighting that follows can make for amazing images. You won’t regret it!