Golden hour…. It is as flippin gorgeous as it sounds. Its hard to not look good doused with that glowing, sun-kissed light. I basically only book my photoshoots at this time, whether its golden hour at sunrise or sunset, both are just as beautiful as each other, but for different reasons. SO, the question is- what window do you choose? To help narrow it down, I’ve put together a little guide about the pros and cons of shooting at sunrise and sunset!

Sunrise

PROS:

Less people: Lets face it, more people are going to be out and about for a sunset rather than a sunrise, especially during the summer months when the sun is rising in the very early hours of the morning! If you want stunning shots in a beautiful location without worrying about lots of people spoiling the scene- or even if you are a little shy and just want some more privacy when striking a pose, get yourself up early for a sunrise shoot. The thought of it may seem a little exhausting, but when you actually see the finished photos, it’ll be COMPLETELY worth it.

The light: Similar to sunset, you’re ideally going to get that romantic golden or salmon coloured light (depending on the weather of course). As the shoot goes on, the lighting will change and become more harsh, so ideally you want to be ready to rock as soon as the sun starts to rise above the horizon.    

If you are looking for a beach session, the sunrises over the water on the East Coast of Australia, and it is bloody magic

Your day is freed up: The silver lining to hauling yourself up out of your beds early is that when the shoot is finished, you have the rest of your day to yourself. There’s no waiting around all day for the shoot, so you’ll have plenty of time to be productive during the rest of your day, and the feeling of seeing the sun rise should give you plenty of energy to want to do that!  Tip: After a gorgeous sunrise session, reward yourself by packing a breaky picnic or going out to breaky and getting a BIG coffee, its a beautiful way to make more memories and relive all the fun details of your session.

Family time: If you have small children or family members who wake up like roosters at the crack of dawn, then a sunrise shoot will logically make more sense for you. Often kids are at the freshest early in the morning. (if you are not morning people read on!)

CONS:

It’s damn early: During the summer months, sunrise can be very early in some places, even as soon as 5am. This means you have to be there well before this time so you can get organised and make use of its potential, which means you have to factor in the time spent getting ready beforehand, time spent travelling, and so on. Depending on your location, you may well end up waking in the middle of the night for this!

Cosmetics: If you are looking to book hair or makeup, it could be a challenge for a sunrise shoot. Your best bet is contacting an accommodating hair and makeup artist and asking them very nicely to come to your home early on (this may be better done in the winter months when sunrise is as late as it can be).

Sunset

PROS:

Colours, the colours: While sunrises are usually softer and calmer, the sunset skies are usually more dramatic and even more vivid. The light tends to flood the landscape, and if you’re lucky enough to get a pink or red glow then you’ll have lighting for your shoot that you simply couldn’t recreate on photoshop or any post-processing app. 

No early mornings: Whether it’s in the summer or the winter, a sunset shoot guarantees that you won’t need to be up early. If you’re more of a late riser or are just busy during the day, then sunset shoots are definitely the answer.

CONS:

Summer sunsets: Nothing’s more beautiful than a warm, chilled out sunset on a beach in summer, but at that time of year this is usually very late in the day (as late as 8pm)- this can be problem if you have younger children. If staying up late is going to be a problem for your family- the sunsets early during Autumn and Winter so potentially look at booking a session in these seasons. The weather is also milder in the Autumn and Spring, so something to consider if you have any weather sensitive or sweaty family members.

Busy busy: No matter where you go or what time of year you shoot, a location is always going to be busier during sunset than it would be at sunrise. Having some people around isn’t always a no go, I can generally work around a small amount of people, but if you’re shooting on a beach then these places can get very crowded to the point of being unusable, especially during the summer holiday months.

Some other tidbits:

You can’t control the weather. Unluckily for us, a sunset or sunrise is usually entirely dependable on the weather and the clouds. You can book a session weeks or months in advance only to find that on the day, it is overcast. Unfortunately this is the risk you take with these kinds of shoots, so sometimes you may need to temper your expectations! Overcast sessions are beautiful for another whole set of reasons. The main ones being- it is the most flattering light you can shoot in, you dont have to worry about your kids squinting, and colours are more vibrant on cloudy days.

I hope that list of pros and cons helps you with your decision. If you’d like to book a session or ask me any questions, please don’t be afraid to leave a comment or get in touch! Thank you!