Magic Hour? When?

When is magic hour?

 

Thanks!

 

Kieran Mullen

It's just after happy hour.

<p>

Seriously, the term refers to the time when the sun is low in the

sky. The exact time depends on geography, time of year, and

weather conditions. It may only be a couple of minutes long, or

the good lighting conditions may stretch for several hours (in

the far northern summer, for example). There's a magic hour in

the morning, too, but not as many people are awake and out

taking pictures during that one.

It took me years to find and use the Magic Hour, but it was definitely the single biggest improvement in my photography - more important than any lens, filter, body, or whatever. Bring a tripod.

<p>

I often prefer sunrise over sunset - there's often more moisture in the air and the air is clearer.

<p>

Be sure to arrive before sunrise or stay after the sun actually sets, too - as the sky deepens in color you can capture some amazing colors.

There is also an equivalent with Moonlight (setting/rising Moon) if you are into night photography. It's harder to tell though because our eyes don't sense color as well in the extremely low light of moonlight, but it will show up on film (the warmer color of the light) Also, as mentioned, post-sunset (and pre-sunrise) offer an nice kind of light (skylight as opposed to direct sunlight) and I even discovered a few days each month where the Sun has set, but still much skylight, and the Moon is rising, so the moonlight becomes the "main" light and the residual skylight provides a nice "fill" light (fills the shadows) Now that what I call "magic hour".

Hello Kieran,

 

In a nutshell, when the term "Magic Hour" is used, it is generally referring to the 1st hour of daylight and the last hour of daylight.

 

Cheers,

 

David.

I'm not adding much but typically when the sun is low in the sky.

God's light to all

Chris<div></div>

magic hour (a.k.a. Golden hour, golden light, SILLY). There is no magic hour. That's for snapshots of your family at the Grand Cayon. <p>The "best" light for any given subect differs depending on the subject and the image you would like to capture. Sure, a lot of postcards and posters at NP gift shops are shot during the "AnyoneCanBeAGreatPhotographer hour", but that doesnt make it any better than the light at other times of the day. Unless of course you are trying to recreate the postcard you saw.<p> Think of the magic hour like the rule of thirds. It helps for beginners, but you won't often find it in "better" photography. <p>Todd Schoenbaum<br> <a href="http://www.celluloidandsilver.com">Celluloid and Silver</a>

"Magic hour" refers to the time after the sun has set(or before it rises),and has that glow.So it really should be called "magic twenty minutes".

The real "majic hour" is at the end of the day when you are lounging in a nice comfortable chair and reminiscing about the images you took earlier in the day and thinking that you may have captured a moment in time that you will be proud of. A glass or two of wine fits in nicely with this scenario also.

It generally refers to the 20-30 minutes before sunrise and 20-30 minutes after sunset.

Kieran,

 

You ask an honest question - and you deserve an answer. The magic "hour" is nothing more than sunrise or sunset, before the light gets strong and specular. Of course, Mr. Schoenbaum is right - for what he shoots it probably doesn't matter.

Say you shoot(black-and-white) wrenches hanging from your garage wall; you can use any source of light, and it's easy to modify (softbox etc). But if you shoot landscapes or cityscapes it really makes a difference. That light conveys a particular mood. Also, because the light is diffuse it allows you to photograph your subject from your angle of choice. It's, like, the great big softbox in the sky, man :)

I hope this helps a bit.

Retroman, <p>FYI, nearly all of my images are shot hundreds of miles from my home in rather out of the way places (I dont even have a garage), using nothing but good-clean natural light. No soft boxes, but on a <b>very rare</b> occasion I do bounce a little light with a reflector disc. And for many years I shot typical landscape style images and it was during this time that I reached my conclusion stated above about the <i>magic hour</i> being nonsense. The only place I see it as having much validity is in open landscapes (such as desert dunes). In more rugged terrain there is often more interesting light associated with storms and cloud foramtions, and at times of the day that are outside of the magic parameters. <p>Again, I think that the magic hour thingy is very similar to the "rule of thirds". They both help out in the beginning, but at some point better photographers move beyond such rules and sorcery. As you shoot more, you gain a better feel for the instinct of a shot and when to shoot it rather than looking up in your notes whether its time or not. <p>In conclusion, the magic hour, rule of thirds and other such guidelines are helpful in the beginning, but need to be abandoned to move on. <p>Todd Schoenbaum<br><a href="http://www.celluloidandsilver.com">Celluloid and Silver</a>

Mr. Schoenbaum,

The "magic hour", as I explained in my answer, is the name given to a certain quality of light. The fact that light - under the circumstances previously discussed - is diffuse rather than specular is not a matter that needs interpretation. It is a fact and it can be independently verified, therefore saving everyone the trouble of agreeing on it. Diffuse light has the same effect on a subject whether one shoots sand dunes, mountains, people or the inside of someone else's garage (nothing wrong with that, by the way). That's a fact, and facts are far removed from sorcery. When you say that you think it's more interesting to shoot storms and cloud formations, that's an opinion - a valid one, just like any other - but unfortunately it doesn't shed much light (pardon the pun) on what is discussed here. I was merely trying to provide a hopeful answer by defining the terms with which we were operating. It's OK to suggest that our friend should move beyond the "rules" ("magic hour" not one of them, since it was defined as a quality of light, not a compositional aid like the rule of thirds ..) but at least let's first separate facts from opinions - that way even the people who ask a question will gain from the discussion.

And one more thing about abandoning the rule of thirds: I have heard it mentioned very often, but I have seen it very seldom in good photographs. It seems like the cool thing to say - except that if one were to ask: "OK, let's move beyond it ... now what ? " no one can come up with a satisfactory answer! Advanced photo students find that when they try to ignore the rule of thirds they end up with stuff that looks like their mother's photo album. This is because we seem to be hard-wired to perceive a thing that "happens" or "exists" in certain places in a photograph as more interesting than if the same thing were placed elsewhere (dead center, along the edge etc). I submit to you that the overwhelming majority of great photographs, if we were to study them carefully, would reveal that the rules of good composition were followed rather than ignored.