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Golden hour is always a time most photographers look toward taking the best landscape photos. That is usually the time when the sky is very dramatic and lots of colours display on the skies. Golden hour is the time difference between sunrise just before sunset where the light is more colourful and saturated- it’s a time frame that is very advantageous to photographers, especially landscape photographers. Golden hour is also called the magic hour by cinematographers. Below, I have shared tips on how to capture the best and most dramatic golden hour shots.
- Right Timing: This will require you to be conscious of the exact hour of sunrise and sunset. The sun can sometimes dwindle and when it does, you will be forced to shoot at high ISOs. Getting the right timing will capture the beauty of nature.
- Find Contrast In Your Frame: Always look out for that contrast in your frame because it will always present itself in your frame. You will definitely find the balance between your highlights and shadow with equally bright highlights and dark shadows.
- Choose The Best Camera Settings: Golden hour landscape is best shot in manual mode, this will allow for the lighting and adjustment of exposure. You can also shoot on Aperture priority setting mode where you can increase your ISO when the sun goes down for landscape photography.
- Avoid Unwanted Shadows: The shadow can cause unpleasant distractions on your subject. For portrait, the light dropping vertically on your subjects face can cause the face to look ugly and flattened. The light comes from a low angle, illuminating the model’s face from the side, not from top. once you’re able to deal with the shadow you won’t have to put yourself through stress during the post processing.
- Create A Silhouettes: The golden hour always presents itself to photographer to create a stunning silhouette. A silhouette can be created when the image or the subject with a recognized shape is blackened out and the background is well exposed. You need to adjust your exposure settings so that the brightest part of the image will be at optimal exposure.
