The Golden Hour Rule

I’m curious if you know what time the sun sets on your wedding day?

There’s a term among photographers referring to the hour right around sunset, and we call it the “golden hour.” This is when you find the richest sunlight outside, and typically gets you the most even exposure when your taking photos. Otherwise, creamy, golden light to bathe your subjects in. 

This was a really special shoot for me to do. I actually completed their wedding photography back in November 2016. One thing we didn’t realize about their wedding day is that it was also Daylight Savings Time – the sun set an hour earlier that day, and I’m not sure anyone realized it until the invitations had long been sent out. They scheduled their Ceremony to begin just after the sunset, and after it was finished, (unfortunately) I was only able to take a couple of formal photos that were entirely in the dark. 

Granted, it’s better than “ideal” to have your formal photos taken the day of your wedding (in fact I think most couples would chase me down if I didn’t take them on their wedding day), but in this very rare situation – I cannot believe how beautiful these images turned out. I’m so excited to begin editing them, that I wanted to share a few of the sneak peek’s shared with Mr. and Mrs. Santos. 

So the moral of the story – have a good idea when your sunsets, and plan for your ceremony to begin 90 to 120 minutes before that. That way, you have a good hour to capture some extraordinary images bathed in golden light!