Golden hour park
Golden Hour Photos: The Most Flattering Light You Can Get
The most flattering light of the day.
Nothing improves a photo more cheaply than shooting it in the hour before sunset. The sun sits low, so light comes across your face rather than down onto it. That means no shadows in the eye sockets and no shine on the forehead. It is physics rather than a trick, and it flatters everyone.
A park adds separation on top of that. Grass and trees behind you go soft and golden, and you come forward off the background with no editing at all.
What to wear
- Warm tones such as rust, olive, cream or denim, which sit inside the light rather than fighting it
- A light layer you can carry or sling over one shoulder, which gives your hands something to do
- Not pure black, which becomes a shape with no detail once the light turns this warm
When to shoot it, and the light
Roughly the last 60 minutes before sunset, and the 20 minutes after are better still on a clear evening. Keep the sun behind you and slightly to one side so it rims your hair instead of hitting you flat in the face.
The mistake that ruins this shot
Leaving it too late. The light drops off a cliff about ten minutes after the sun goes down, and photos taken after that look blue and underexposed rather than golden.
Where it goes in your profile
Strong first or second photo. It is the most conventionally attractive shot in most sets, which makes it the safest opener after a plain headshot.