For today's {Teach It Tuesday} I want to talk about "Time of Day" as it pertains to photos...either in my own CT PhotoMemories sessions OR with your own family!

Let me assure you...there IS a difference...HOWEVER, how much of a difference and what you do to compensate for little challenges is completely up to you!

Let me begin by saying this...you CAN photograph at ANY time of day...it would be silly to try to take pictures of your kiddos in a pool (because you wanted to capture their playfulness and part of that "story" for a vacation or what have you) at 6:30 in the morning or 8:30 at night...neither of those are conducive to non-crankie kids due to cold water, sleepiness, or "I'm hungry" (I understand that there are some exceptions to this, but just bear with me)

My point is this...as a MOM (or DAD), who KNOWS her/his camera, you ARE able to take photographs in any type of lighting situation...you CAN capture the moments regardless of whether you have perfect "lighting" or not...and if you don't, you truly need to attend a Snapshop Workshop with yours truly!!!

Now, that said, let's talk about a more "staged" or "scheduled" photo session...What is the big difference in the "time of day" in which you shoot?

MORNING:
Morning light is a term I use rather loosely...REAL morning light is when the sun is first coming up...when it's just peeking over the horizon...everything has a shimmer of the dew still on the green.  The sun is strong and bright and the rays bring a white light to the surroundings...

In terms of my own photography with clients, our "morning" is well before the noon hour and while we can still filter the light through the trees to avoid squinting.  However, the color of the light is brighter and more white/yellow than it is later in the day.  It gives me a feeling of bright, happy, breezy, curiosity and happy! Early morning light would be even easier to shoot in, which is why, as we head into fall, morning shoots are some of my faves due to the coolness of the morning and the light just peeking over the horizon...

 


LATE AFTERNOON/EVENING:
This is another time of day that seems to work well with families for the types of sessions that I offer...it's well before crankies set in for bedtime, but the sun is low enough in the sky that it's starting to lose it's yellow and have more of an orangey glow.  This is also the time of day where shadows dance and the sun can be almost on your face but it's so low in the sky that it works more as a reflector instead of needing to squint due to the brightness.




GOLDEN HOUR:
This is a "magical" time of day, and it goes rather quickly...it's the last moments before the sun is completely gone. It can also be explained like this: the times the angle between the sun and the earth’s surface is small which allows for the sunlight to flow over the landscape in a way that intensifies the colours of nature and also creates spectacular shadows
For example, sunset on August 4th is set for 8:45, according to the latitude/longitude times, golden hour will begin at 8:07  For me, images captured at these times produce a unique, moody, emotional depth in pictures...




There may be certain circumstances that constitute a specific time of day...but, more often than not, I just want to understand how the light is moving, coming up or setting...the color and amount of filters/shaded areas I have to work with...my goal is to produce a personal STORY using whatever elements I have on hand at the moment the story is taking place...

Some other resources about Lighting:

Understanding Hours & Light
Golden Hour Calculator