Golden Hour Calculator
Tap once and you get today's four soft-light windows for your exact spot — morning golden hour (sunrise until the sun climbs too high), evening golden hour (the run-up to sunset), and the two blue hours either side — plus a 7-day table so you can plan a shoot, not just react to one. Computed on your device from your coordinates; works for any searched place too.
- Blue hour
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- Golden hour
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- Golden hour
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- Blue hour
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| Date | Morning golden hour | Evening golden hour |
|---|
Times assume a flat horizon — a ridge or tall skyline shifts the visible window by a few minutes. Full sunrise, sunset & moon times
What counts as golden hour (and blue hour)
Golden hour is the stretch when the sun sits low — from the horizon up to about 6° — and its light travels through enough atmosphere to turn warm, soft and directional: long shadows, glowing skin tones, no squinting highlights. It happens twice a day, after sunrise and before sunset, and rarely lasts a literal hour — near the equator it can be 40 minutes; at high latitudes in winter it can stretch all afternoon. Blue hour is the civil-twilight band just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the sun sits below the horizon and the sky goes deep, even blue — the window for skylines and city lights.
Using the windows well
Arrive before the window opens: evening golden light is best at its end and vanishes fast. Blue hour is shorter than it looks — 20–30 minutes at mid-latitudes — so set up during golden hour and stay through the handover. The 7-day table shifts a few minutes daily (more near the solstices); for precise sunrise/sunset, solar noon, day length and moon times, the sun & moon page has the full picture for any date.