Photography News

Photographers Shouldn’t Confine Themselves to the Golden Hour

August 26, 2017 by Rene Anthony

It’s widely acknowledged that the golden hour is the best time of the day for photographers to be working outdoors. As photographers, particularly those focusing on portraits, we embrace and rely on the warm, soft overtones during those short moments after sunrise and before sunset. And why not? After all, the conditions add another dimension to our work.

However, this in itself should be a point of concern for portrait photographers. Sure, it’s more difficult to work in bright or sunny conditions. But why continually settle for the ‘easier’ option when you can hone your technical skills by working against the conditions? The reality is, if you’re intent on becoming a full time photographer, you will need to have a flexible schedule and work during the daytime hours. This includes those moments where the harsh sun is bearing down.

This isn’t to say you should never work during the golden hour. Nor that you should take photos without careful planning. In fact, you should take advantage of natural lighting where available. However, if you want to round out your versatility, it pays to leverage other technical aspects to shine a different light on your work. So what can photographers focus on instead?

Golden hour is all about those warm tones and soft glows caused by light diffusing through more of the atmosphere. So your overall goal is to recreate these lighting conditions. You might ask, what about harsh and unpleasant conditions during the day? To address these concerns, there are various measures you can adopt.

First, rather than having your subject face the sun, which we all know can leave a washed out visual, face them away from the light. You should now notice light falling behind them, creating depth amidst the surroundings. It may however, create a problem or two. Namely, a blown out background, or glare bouncing off the subject’s hair. In this case, you will want to add some fill light into the portrait.

One method you can achieve this is through strobe lights and softboxes. Softboxes help soften the intensity of the light via diffusion, yet unlike umbrellas they maintain some directional control. Since you’re aiming for an authentic look, positioning and angles are crucial. Generally speaking, you should place softboxes in front of the subject, at a 45 to 60 degree angle from the camera. Furthermore, they should shine downwards onto the subject’s face, best achieved from an angle of about 30 degrees.

With that said, depending on the specific visual in mind, there may be times where you can experiment by placing softboxes behind the subject, combined with reflectors to the front. By adding a daylight conversion filter, or by using gold diffusers, you can fine-tune the temperature of your colours. In effect, you can avoid the harsh results that would otherwise arise from direct flash fill, yet still be able to replicate the visual effects of the golden hour.

Alternatively, if you’re reluctant to transport softboxes, reflectors can be used with some success to reflect softer light onto the subject’s face and the depth behind them. Your choice of reflector will dictate the warmth you create, so keep this in mind when picking a colour. Nonetheless, with a more balanced spread of light you’ll find it easier to adjust ambient light exposure without detracting from the focal point.

As a photographer who loves a challenge, I encourage others to work outside the golden hours. If you’re conscious of the results, it doesn’t explicitly need to be for your paid work. But if you’re serious about improving your photography skills, don’t shy away from the challenge!

 

One Response to “Photographers Shouldn’t Confine Themselves to the Golden Hour”

  1. Never a truer word was spoken. I find that many of my commercial shoots need to be done in less than ideal light making my portable strobes a must to my business.

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