Golden Hour & Blue Hour Calculator
Plan photographic light windows by city and date using calculated solar elevation.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour Photography Calculator
Optimal solar lighting angles for landscape, portrait, and architectural photography
Morning Photography Windows
Deep indigo skies balanced with city streetlights. Ideal for urban architecture.
Low horizontal light, long soft shadows, mist illumination, and rich golden highlights.
Evening Photography Windows
Flattering warm skin tones for outdoor portraits and dramatic rim lighting on hair and leaves.
Vibrant saturated blue skies as street lamps ignite. Perfect for long exposure tripod captures.
When the sun is low on the horizon (solar elevation under 6°), sunlight passes through roughly 10 times more atmosphere than at solar noon. Rayleigh scattering selectively disperses short blue wavelengths (proportional to 1/λ⁴), allowing only longer golden, amber, and red wavelengths to reach the camera sensor. The resulting diffuse lighting minimizes harsh facial shadows and drastically expands dynamic range.
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