Not every beautiful scene looks really beautiful all the time. Moreover, as a rule, we have to put a lot of effort, patience and observation to show the subject at its best.
In a studio shoot, when you are in full control of the situation, you can afford to take pictures at any time that is convenient for you or your models. When you go outdoors, however, you have to reckon with the ambient light, which changes dramatically in the course of a single day.
Time of day
Noon is not the best time to take pictures. The sky overhead is faded, pale blue, and near the horizon is almost white, which is especially noticeable if there is a lot of dust in the air. The blinding sunlight produces flat, unexpressive colors, bright highlights, and black shadows devoid of detail. The contrast is so great that people’s faces turn into whitish masks with black holes in their eye sockets. About two hours before sunset, the air tends to become more transparent, the sky becomes a deep blue, the sunlight takes on a warmer hue, the contrast softens, and the colors look more intense and vibrant. At this time, and an hour or two after sunrise, the landscapes in your photos will look exactly the way you want them to look in clear, sunny weather.
The last hour before sunset is called the Golden Hour. In the morning, it corresponds to about half an hour after sunrise. This is the best time to shoot landscapes, architecture, portraits, and anything else you can shoot outdoors. Contrast is relatively soft, colors are rich and saturated, shadows are long, emphasizing relief and texture, but not so dark as to fall into blackness. The old barn looks like a palace, being illuminated by these magical golden rays. Take a picture of a vacant lot with rusty trash cans and people looking at your photos will want to settle there.
Crane Lake. Golden Hour.
It’s relatively simple with sunset or sunrise. If the sunset is beautiful, which is not as often as we would like it to be, you shoot it, but if not, you wait to see what happens next. Sunset or sunrise, if conditions are favorable, are the peak of color, and their beauty is obvious. It’s much more important not to oversleep the sunrise or eat the sunset, as most people do. If you’re expecting beautiful colors, make adjustments to your schedule. Pay attention to the clouds. If the sky is perfectly clear, you will probably see a sunset, but in all likelihood it will be dreary. If the weather is overcast you probably won’t see the sunset, but if the clouds part in the west and let the sunlight in, you will get a great dramatic picture. The most colorful and breathtaking sunsets require skies that are not clear, but not cloudy either – you need a combination of light transparent clouds and the torn gaps between them.