There is something undeniably magical about the golden hour. That period as the sun slowly sets over the horizon, bathing the world in hues of soft, warm golden light is deeply romantic and gorgeous for any skintone. Golden hour, or the magic hour, is a bit of a misleading title. It lasts roughly 25 minutes, making it difficult to schedule into a shoot. 

But there is another period right after golden hour that is just as beautiful and deserves your attention. 

Blue hour, or civil twilight, is the time of day right before the sun rises or goes down when the sky is reflecting a great blue light onto the landscape. Similar to golden hour, blue hour only lasts for about 20 minutes, so you have a limited amount of time to get the shots you want.

Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens has a few tips to help you utilize that limited time to get gorgeous shots that can only be achieved in the blue hour.

  1. Set your white balance to auto.Your camera will neutralize skin tones by inserting more blue into the image. While this isn’t ideal for golden hour, this auto white balance will benefit you during blue hour, helping you capture the perfect shot. 

  2. Plan ahead. Like golden hour, blue hour doesn’t last forever. This means that if you have a complicated scene to shoot, then you’ll want to give your cast and crew enough time to plan and rehearse the scene. This will ease the tension on the set and allow you to fully utilize the limited amount of time you have the blue light.

  3. Use a key light.You don’t really need any lights during blue hour because of the natural exposure of the hour, but Morgan suggests using a warm key light to highlight your subject. The approaching darkness can make you lose the subject in the shadows. By using a warm light, you can highlight your subject in a contrasting light against the blue light of the background. 

  4. Adjust your shutter as the light fades. Since the exposure of the blue hour changes as the sky loses more and more light, it’s important that you adjust your shutter length. Adjust your shutter to find the perfect exposure with the blue sky and city lights to capture the perfect shot. 

Do you have any tips for shooting during blue hour? Share your advice in the comments below!

Source: The Slanted Lens

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Cinematography & Cameras