The best time for an outdoor photoshoot

While a professional photographer will be able to adapt to different lighting conditions, an outdoor photoshoot with great lighting will give you the option of shooting in a wider variety of locations and give your background the same beautiful light as the foreground. If you aren’t a professional photographer, starting with good lighting is even more important because the equipment and experience you would need to balance the harsh sunlight may not be available to you- or too complicated to use. When you head outside, the quality of the light is a direct reflection of the time of day so timing really is everything.

Let’s start with what bad lighting looks like. Remember when you were younger and you would tell ghost stories by holding the flashlight below your face and shining it upwards? The reason people do that is because it creates deep shadows on your face. Similar shadows are created if you are taking photos with the sun directly overhead- at the very least, it’s not flattering.

By contrast, softer light is very flattering- if it is a cloudy/foggy day or you are in full shade, the light has less direction and it spreads more evenly.

The color of the light is also important. I’m sure you’ve heard of the magic of Golden Hour- the hour before sunset when the light has a golden hue. Equally beautiful is Blue Hour, which is more like “Blue Quarter Hour,” as it lasts for only about 15 minutes immediately after sunset. In both golden & blue hour the sunlight comes in from the side- not directly above- and also has beautiful color.

The light isn’t just beautiful at sunset, though. It is equally beautiful around sunrise- so both sunrise and sunset have a golden & blue hour.

There are more factors than light to consider when planning your photoshoot, obviously (and having time to get ready ahead of time is an important one) but I promise you that, if your photographer is recommending getting up at dawn for your photoshoot, it isn’t because they love getting up early- it is because they want you to have phenomenal photographs and are willing to sacrifice their sleep to make sure you have exactly that.