Shooting in the right light

[RustySterling]

I've read a lot about the "Golden Hour" -- that hour just after sunrise or just before sunset. I was up in Guerneville this last weekend and came upon this quaint scene. I thought this would be a good example of shooting at different times during the day. It certainly illustrates the importance of shooting early in the morning or late in the evening.

The first shot was taken at mid-day (about 2 p.m.) and you can see how harsh the shadows are, especially the shadow from the light attached to the little building. I could have cloned it out but decided to wait until later in the evening.


So I returned at about 7:30 p.m. and captured this. You can clearly see how much more even the light is and that the distracting shadows are gone. The background seems a bit more lit from the sun that was just approaching the horizon at this time.


The next morning, I jumped out of bed at about 6 a.m. and headed over to take one last shot. Again, you can notice how even the lighting is all around. Comparing this to the early evening shot, you can see the true color of the background trees instead of the glow of the sun. Frankly, I like both but slightly prefer this shot.


So when you are out shooting take note of the time. It's true that you will get the best results shooting during that "Golden Hour" just after sunrise or just before sunset.

The only adjustments I made to these photos, BTW, was in Adobe Camera Raw and that was just to set the white balance.

[hugy789]

Thanks for the tutorial, really good comparason

[lionking]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I too love the view from early morning (just after the sunrise.)

[jetblack]

Nice tip and comparison

[CoachB]

Very nice - thanks for the tips. I like the 7:30pm shot best - the way the sun hits the background adds further depth to the shot. Excellent!