why golden hour makes the best wedding portraits
If I could change one thing to make your portraits better, it wouldn't be the pose or the location. It would be the light. And the best light of the day, almost always, is the last hour before sunset.
why the last hour matters
As the sun drops, the light turns low, warm and soft. It comes in from the side instead of straight down, so skin glows, nobody squints, and the background lights up behind you instead of blowing out. That hug in the field above was taken with the sun just over the treeline, and the whole frame goes gold.
Midday sun is the hardest light to photograph people in: harsh shadows under the eyes, bright hot spots, and everyone looking away from the glare.
Late-day light is also great indoors. When it streams through a window it wraps around you the same way, like it did in that wood-paneled room at Evermore.
what to know about your date
- Look up the sunset time for your wedding day. It changes a lot through the year.
- About 20 minutes of portraits is plenty. The light changes fast, and so does the feeling.
- If you can step away from the party for a few minutes around sunset, those tend to be the pictures couples frame.
For an October wedding, sunset can be as early as 6:00 pm. In June it can be after 8:00 pm.
what if it's cloudy?
Then you get something just as good. Overcast light is soft and even, like a giant softbox over the whole sky. Colors get richer, too: that lavender session was shot under a flat gray sky, and the purple has never looked better.
and if it rains?
We move under a porch, a doorway or an umbrella, and keep going. Tierney and Conor had a full nor'easter, and some of my favorite portraits of the year came out of it, including one last kiss in the rain after dark.
