Golden hour (photography)

In photography, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky.

For a location sufficiently far from the equator, the sun may not reach an altitude of 10°, and the golden hour lasts for the entire day in certain seasons.

In the middle of the day, the bright overhead sun can create strong highlights and dark shadows.

The degree to which overexposure can occur varies because different types of film and digital cameras have different dynamic ranges.

In landscape photography, the warm color of the low sun is often considered desirable to enhance the colours of the scene.

Comparison of daylight versus the golden hour at Newbury Racecourse
The color temperature of daylight varies with the time of day. It tends to be around 2,000 K shortly after sunrise or before sunset , around 3,500 K during "golden hour", and around 5,500 K at midday . The color temperature can also change significantly with altitude , latitude , season, and weather conditions.
Near the equinoxes in Chicago the sunsets occur in the middle of east-west streets (an event known as Chicagohenge), creating intriguing golden hour photography opportunities like this diffraction spike in an urban canyon . Similar phenomenon (such as Manhattanhenge ) occur in other parts of the world at various times of the year.