Golden Hour Calculator
FreeFind golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, and sunset times for any location and date. Essential for photography planning. Free, no signup.
What's next
Settings guide
Twilight stages and their photographic uses:
| Stage | Sun angle | Light quality | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden hour (morning) | 0° to 6° above | Warm, directional, long shadows | Portraits, landscapes |
| Golden hour (evening) | 0° to 6° above | Same as morning — warmer palette | Same |
| Blue hour (evening) | 0° to 6° below | Cool blue, soft, even | Cityscapes, architecture |
| Blue hour (morning) | 0° to 6° below | Same as evening blue hour | Same |
| Civil twilight | 0° to 6° below | Enough light for outdoor activity | Outdoor scenes with ambient sky |
| Nautical twilight | 6° to 12° below | Horizon still visible at sea | Long exposure |
| Astronomical twilight | 12° to 18° below | Near full dark | Astrophotography prep |
Location entry: Enter your city name or coordinates. The times automatically adjust for your local time zone.
Planning multiple sessions: To find the best light for a specific landscape, compare the golden hour times across seasons. The duration and angle of golden hour light changes significantly — winter golden hours are longer and lower; summer golden hours are shorter.
Format comparison
vs a phone app (PhotoPills, The Photographer's Ephemeris): PhotoPills and TPE are dedicated photography planning apps with 3D AR previews, sun position on maps, and moon data. They are the professional standard for serious location scouting. A browser-based golden hour calculator gives you the essential times (golden hour start/end, blue hour, civil twilight) without an app installation — adequate for most planning without the advanced features.
vs asking Google ("golden hour in [city] today"): Google shows a rough golden hour time for the current day and location. A calculator gives precise times for any date, any location, and all twilight stages — more useful when planning in advance or comparing dates.
How it works
Enter your location
Type a city name or coordinates. The calculator geolocates the point and determines the time zone automatically.
Select the date
Choose any date. The times update immediately for that date — useful for planning shoots days or weeks in advance.
Read the times
All golden hour, blue hour, and twilight times display for both morning and evening. The duration of golden hour is also shown.
About this format
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon, producing warm, directional light with long shadows and a soft, flattering quality. It is the most sought-after light in landscape photography, portrait photography, and cinematography.
Golden hour is not exactly one hour. It varies by location, season, and how strictly you define it. The most common definition is the hour immediately after sunrise and the hour before sunset. A more precise photographic definition is the period when the sun is between 0° and 6° above the horizon — which can be shorter (20–30 minutes) at high latitudes in summer, or longer (90+ minutes) near the equator.
Blue hour is the period just before sunrise and just after sunset when the sun is between 4° and 6° below the horizon. The sky takes on a deep blue tone with a subtle orange gradient at the horizon — the light is soft, cool, and even, ideal for cityscapes and long-exposure landscape photography.
This calculator gives exact times for golden hour, blue hour, civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight for any location and date. Planning a sunrise shoot? Enter tomorrow's date and your location. Comparing light conditions across seasons? Enter the same location for different months and compare.