Golden hour is the most important hour!

If you have ever booked a session outside with any photographer, that photographer has probably mentioned golden hour. Ever wonder why we say that? Golden hour is the hour before the sun is about to go down. This is the prefect time to shoot a session outside in my opinion.The sunlight is nice and even.

Photographing outside offers a variety of backgrounds and a variety of issues. When shooting outside a photographer needs to do so many technical things to make your photograph the best it can possibly be. From poses to the direction of light to camera settings a lot of things come into play. Please think about that next time you hire a professional family photographer like me! Let’s talk about a few things!

Lighting is very important to a photograph. It can make or break that photo. If your lighting is too harsh, it gives your clients red looking eyes almost to the point of using a flash. It also leaves very dark and harsh shadows too. Eww. By having that nice even lighting you don’t have to worry about the harsh light, and how to get around it.

Posing is very important as well. I pose my subjects with the sun to their back. This way the harsh sunlight isn’t in their eyes causing them to squint. There are some cases when I change it up and pose front facing. I do this just before the sun will go down or if I am shooting in the shade. Shooting in the shade is always great. This makes posing easier as most of the time the lighting is great and soft.

Camera settings are very important. They can make the photos or break the photos as well. Believe or not, it is easy to mess up your settings. This is why hiring a professional photographer is always best. They know the light. They know their camera and which settings to use in each situation. Each situation is completely different, we do more than push a button.

Sunsets are always beautiful in photos. Shooting in golden hour, you usually get those amazing sunsets. You can also get the warm glow in the background of the photo that the sun provides. You also can get some amazing sun rays or light leaks too.

All these things help to make the perfect photograph that you see. Next time your photographer suggests golden hour photos, you will know that photographer wants you to have the best images possible for your family.