The Magic of Blue Hour Photography

Most photographers are familiar with the golden hour, the time of day just after sunrise and just before sunset, but a lesser-known time of day is the blue hour. This great video explores the blue hour and the sort of landscape images you can create during this time.

Coming to you from Nigel Danson, this excellent video discusses the blue hour in the context of landscape images. Most photographers know the golden hour, when the sun is just above the horizon and tends to produce warmer and softer light than midday hours. On the other hand, blue hour is when the sun is significantly below the horizon, producing indirect light with stronger blue hues across the sky (typically strongest when the sun is between four and eight degrees below the horizon). Though it is not as commonly discussed as its golden cousin, it can provide a very tranquil and beautiful look for your images; check out the video above for the full rundown from Danson.

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi," which is currently on sale, along with the rest of the Fstoppers library of tutorials! 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

I shoot mostly architectural and real estate and the blue hour is something I am very familiar with. I call it a twilight shoot. And the images you get are quite striking.

I wish I shot more blue hour. So many of my favorite photographers shoot a ton of their work in blue hour and I've always struggled to get the results I want when I try.