Photo Tip
When is the "golden time" to photograph
June 2010 |
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Great subject matter photographed in bad light produces suboptimal pictures. Whereas even ordinary subjects photographed in good light can produce outstanding results. Lesson learned - try to photograph when the light is good. When is that, you ask? When photographing outdoors you'll get beautiful, warm and low-contrast lighting around dawn and dusk. When planning your shoot it's important to know "civil twilight" times as well as sunrise and sunset times. According to sunrisesunset.com civil twilight is defined as "when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon. This is the limit at which twilight illumination is sufficient, under good weather conditions, for terrestrial objects to be clearly distinguished; at the beginning of morning civil twilight, or end of evening civil twilight, the horizon is clearly defined and the brightest stars are visible under good atmospheric conditions in the absence of moonlight or other illumination. In the morning before the beginning of civil twilight and in the evening after the end of civil twilight, artificial illumination is normally required to carry on ordinary outdoor activities." As a nature photographer, the significance of civil twilight for me is that it's the time when we can start photographing in the morning and when we can stop photographing in the evening. Why civil twilight and not just sunrise / sunset? Well, some of the most attractive light in the sky occurs before the sun rises and after the sun sets. During civil twlight the sun is close enough to the horizon that it can light the sky. So in the morning I generally plan my trips so I will be on location ready to shoot from civil twilight to about 1 hour after sunrise. In the evening I plan on being on location and ready to shoot from about 1 hour before sunset to evening civil twilight. Photographers call these times the "golden time" to photograph. Whether you are photographing landscapes or people this is a good time to be out and increase your chances of getting a really lovely shot. |
