One of the most important ingredients for a landscape photo that makes you say "WOW" is lighting. Good lighting can make all the difference between a "meh" image and a picture that seems somehow imbued with magic.
For most people, when you're out in nature and see something cool, the first reaction is to whip out your phone or camera and take a quick pic.
Maybe you'll get lucky and it'll turn out ok (and the odds of a decent photo definitely go up if you follow some basic rules of composition or if you're just taking a pic of something that's just incredibly photogenic).
But the more common scenario is that when you're looking back through the photos you took, you'll be left feeling like somehow the magic you felt just wasn't really captured by the camera. Obviously there's no perfect substitute for actually being there and experiencing it for yourself, but by paying attention to lighting, composition, and content (what I call the "magic triangle"), you can be sure to leave with some beautiful photographs.
The Best Time of Day for Landscape Photography
Here's the thing with natural outdoor lighting: it's always changing! Clouds come and go and the sun itself rises, moves across the sky, then sets, and then the moon does the same thing. So different times of day and night have very different types of lighting. Let's go through some of the key times for photography.
In this post I'll cover these times of day/night:
- Golden hour
- Blue hour
- Twilight
- Night
- Moonrise and moonset
- Day
Golden Hour Photography: Why It Creates Magical Light
Once you've started learning a little bit about outdoor photography, this is probably the very first thing you learn about lighting timing. The time of day just before and after sunrise and sunset is known as golden hour, because the light takes on a very warm, golden hue (the reason for this has to do with the angle of the sun relative to wherever you are and the wavelengths of light that pass through the atmosphere).
This can produce some absolutely stunning light and images. If you're lucky enough to get some good clouds in the sky, this is the time of day when they can turn different colors and really take your photo to the next level (plus everyone on Instagram really, really loves colorful skies).
Since the sun is right around the horizon at this time of day, you may end up with long shadows, so be sure to keep that in mind. I'd highly recommend bracketing your exposures (and then blending in post) so that you can capture details in both the shadows and highlights. This is especially true if you're shooting with the sun in the frame.
Alpenglow in the Mountains
If you're in the mountains, the few minutes just before sunrise or right after the sun sets (depending on where the mountains are relative to the sun) can lead to some unbelievable lighting on the peaks, known as alpenglow. Assuming clouds aren't in the way, the mountains will glow a brilliant deep reddish color that never, never, never gets old. One of the most beautiful sights to see. every. single. time.
Depending on where you are, golden hour can be a great time for wildlife photography too, since many animals are most active around dawn and dusk. Just be sure to keep your distance and be respectful (as in don't go tossing apple slices to a grizzly bear to get it to make cool poses since that can easily get both you and the bear in trouble or even killed).
Despite the name, golden hour isn't actually 60 minutes. How long it is and when it starts and ends depends on where you are and when you are (what time of year it is). There are apps and websites that will tell you pretty much exactly when golden hour will start and end if you enter in a location and date.
Blue Hour Photography: Soft Light and Creative Possibilities
While golden hour gets a lot of love, don't sleep on blue hour. Blue hour comes just before golden hour (for sunrise in the morning) and just after golden hour once the sun sets in the evening. Why is it called blue hour? No real mystery here, just look around you at this time of day, and you'll notice that everything has a bluish hue to it (did you know "bluish" is the right spelling of blue-ish? you probably did, but I just discovered that...thanks spell check!).
Far fewer people (photographers included) show up or stick around for blue hour, but that's their loss. Blue hour is full of unique photographic possibilities. Since the sun is below the horizon, you won't have harsh shadows to deal with, but you will have to increase your exposure considerably to capture enough light. This can lead to dreamy looking images.
I'd recommend scouting out your composition before blue hour if possible, since the low light can make it harder to find a good spot. In general, it's a good idea to get to wherever you want to be about an hour early to allow plenty of time for the unexpected and to find a good spot and set up.
Blue Hour Camera Settings
I try to keep my ISO as low as possible (ISO 100) whenever I shoot, unless I have to raise it to compensate. So that means during blue hour (and twilight) shutter speed needs to get longer and/or aperture needs to get bigger (usually both). Be careful about depth of field though if you open up your aperture too wide.
If you plan on doing any astrophotography and shooting the Milky Way, the blue hour can be a good time to capture your foreground, since your camera will still be able to pick up enough light, but it won't look weird like it would if you shot while the sun was still up (unless that's the look you're going for).
Because the lighting is softer and dimmer during blue hour, I find water features to be great subjects. And as long as there isn't any strong wind, just about any landscape or natural feature can look unique and interesting during this brief window. But since you'll need long shutter speeds, don't expect to be able to freeze any fast motion, like from a moving animal or plants caught in the wind. Sometimes, this blurry effect can look artistic (like with a waterfall or falling snowflakes) but other times it's just annoyingly blurry.
Blue hour is rarely (if ever) actually 60 minutes. Depending on where and when you are, it typically ranges from 10-20 minutes.
Understanding Twilight in Photography
Did you know that there are actually THREE different twilights? It's true: civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight.
Civil Twilight
During civil twilight, it's rapidly getting darker out, but it may still be just bright enough to see without turning on a flashlight or the headlights of your car. If it's a clear night, you'll start to be able to see any bright objects in the night sky (planets, UFOs, that sort of thing).
Nautical Twilight
Nautical twilight is darker (the sun is lower below the horizon), and this is when you'll definitely need to turn on a light to be able to see around you, unless you happen to have the night vision of a cat. More stars will be visible in the night sky on a clear night.
Astronomical Twilight
And finally, astronomical twilight is almost totally dark. You'll be able to see most of the night sky at this point. In the evening, once astronomical twilight ends, it'll be completely dark (other than the light from the moon, stars, and any light sources around you). In the morning, this order is reversed, so it goes night-astronomical-nautical-civil, and then blue hour and so on.
For simplicity, you can think of twilight as being part of blue hour (and then it really would be more like a full hour). Typically the distinction between these phases doesn't matter a whole lot, but if you're planning on doing any astrophotography or other night photography, it can make a difference, since there will be different levels of visible light, which could significantly affect your images. For example, the best time to see the Milky Way in all its glory is during the darkest part of night. But if the moon's too bright or the timing is off, you could try shooting during astronomical twilight.
Night Landscape and Milky Way Photography
Night is pretty straightforward...or so you might think, at least at first. It's true that it's simple when it comes to how much and what kind of sun light you'll find at night - none! But don't think you can just skate by without giving a second thought to lighting at night. Really it's the opposite. You have to give a whole lot of thought to lighting at night.
The Role of the Moon in Night Photography
Let's start with the moon, which, as far as your camera is concerned, is a significant light source. Of course, the amount and direction of light and the hue (temperature) of the light all depend on the phase of the moon (full, half, crescent, new moon, etc.) and where it is in the night sky.
It's possible to take night photos that look like it's the middle of the day...
Sometimes that can be what you want to capture, especially if the lighting wasn't good during the day, or if there were too many people around, or something like that.
But more often, if you're out shooting at night, it's because you want to shoot nightscapes (a landscape at night), maybe with the stars or Milky Way visible, or maybe with some other effect like star trails.
Star Trails and Milky Way Photography
This type of night photography or astrophotography usually takes a good deal of planning, because you want to get the sky when it's as dark as possible, so that you can see as many stars as possible. On the other hand, you probably want to be able to see some of the landscape and foreground, so you'd want some ambient light, either from the moon or from your own light source (or even from blue hour/twilight). Because it's rare to get all of these conditions at the same time (dark enough to see all the stars but bright enough to see the foreground), you'll usually have to composite.
Moonrise and Moonset Photography
The light at moonrise and moonset can actually be similar to the light from sunrise and sunset, though this depends on when the moonrise and moonset are happening. If it's rising or setting in the middle of the day, you're not going to see much. But when it rises or sets at night or around dusk or dawn, you can get some really cool images of the moon itself. Here again, being prepared is key because the moon moves FAST when it's near the horizon.
Is Midday Light Bad for Photography?
And last but not least, a time of day that needs no introduction - day time! Many photographers, myself included, all too often tend to think of day time as offering limited photographic opportunities. The light is much harsher and there can be strong shadows and high dynamic range.
But the day time can also be a good time to break out the zoom lens and focus on details in the landscape: textures, patterns, tiny objects (macro), wildlife, etc.
And if there are clouds or weather present, that can open up whole new creative possibilities too.
So whatever time of day or night it is, there are opportunities for photography. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to explore.
