Exploring natural light
/Light, the single most important ingredient in photography, in-fact it is everything in photography. Therefore understanding light becomes crucial in photography and better quality of light should translate to better the photos. Perhaps you have even tried to reproduce a great photo you seen for yourself but just can’t seem to get the same mood? Probably it is because it was shot under different light conditions.
Knowing when and what type of light you will encounter, especially when talking about natural light, whether it be an urban environment, landscape or portraiture will help you get the picture you want using the available light to your advantage.
The table below lists the different light phases when the centre of the sun reaches the elevation described in the table below, where the horizon represents 0°.
| Phase | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Day | above 6° | above 6° |
| Golden hour | -4° to 6° | 6° to -4° |
| Blue hour | -6° to -4° | -4° to -6° |
| Civil twilight | -6° to 0° | 0° to -6° |
| Nautical twilight | -12° to -6° | -6° to -12° |
| Astronomical twilight | -18° to -12° | -12° to -18° |
| Night | below -18° | below -18° |
A representation of the different light phases
Did you know the word “photography” literally means “drawing with light”?
It is based on the Greek φῶς (phos), (genitive: phōtós) meaning "light", and γραφή (graphê), meaning "drawing, writing”.
It is widely accepted that the best light for photography happens in the early morning and late in the evening during the so called magic hours, so let us journey on and explore natural light.
Daytime & Nighttime
Lets kick this off by discussing the two light phases everyone on planet earth should be familiar with, daytime and nighttime. The light is plentiful during the day and completely absent during the night. This type of light, or lack thereof during night, occur when the centre of the sun is at the elevation described in the table below.
| Phase | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Day light | above 6° | above 6° |
| Night | below -18° | below -18° |
A representation of day and night light phase
Daytime
Commonly agreed within the photography community to be the worst possible light you can get. As the sun rises higher in the sky it washes out vibrant colours, creates a dull uninteresting sky along with harsh unforgiving contrast. This type of light, is considered so bad, that it is shunned by many photographers who won’t even think of wasting a single frame on it.
So what can we do with this apparent horrible light or should we all just stop shooting?
Like many other photographers I spend this time scouting new locations for future shoots to come back to when the light is better, especially when it comes to landscape photography. But I also find that this light works very well for street photography and high contrast black and whites.
On overcast days, clouds will act as a huge diffuser creating soft light ideal for portraiture photography. You can also soften light using a diffuser or moving your subject in under shadow to get a softer light, or introduce artificial light using a flash to balance out the difference in exposure.
Night
This is the period of time between evening and morning of astronomical twilight. While most put their camera away and go to bed, for the night shooters we are just getting started. You can probably guess what type of photography is done during the night, and if you guessed Milky Way, auroras and night sky imagery like stars and star trails you are correct.
When light subsides and you photograph the night sky the foreground goes really dark, so light-painting becomes a part of night photography to blend in foreground elements with the overall photo using LED panels, flashlights or flashguns as well as natural light coming off the moon when it is out.
If you are trying to capture the Milky Way and other planetary bodies it becomes vital to know when astronomical twilight ends and night begins. You also want to try this in locations with little to no light pollution and when the moon phase is new.
Twilights
Twilights happen between when daylight ends and before nighttime starts, before sunrise and after sunset. During this time there is still light in the sky that bounces off the atmosphere. There are three distinct twilights that starts, and ends, when the centre of the sun reaches the elevationlisted in the table below.
| Phase | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Civil twilight | -6° to 0° | 0° to -6° |
| Nautical twilight | -12° to -6° | -6° to -12° |
| Astronomical twilight | -18° to -12° | -12° to -18° |
A representation of the different twilights.
Civil twilight
During this time there is still plenty of light around to see with our eyes and the horizon is easy to distinguish. The sky is still bright and where there is clouds that catch the light can display several colours from red, orange and yellow to blue and magenta. The colour of the sky will change rapidly at the start of civil twilight after sunset. Clouds near the sun in the west gets illuminated by orange-red light, while clouds to the east will remain a blue and indigo colour tone.
In the evening, as we come close to the end of civil twilight street lights start to turn on and drivers turn on the headlights of their cars. Some larger stars and planets start to be come visible. Towards the end of civil twilight the sky becomes a deep blue. In the morning hours the opposite happens, at the beginning of civil twilight, headlights and street lights are turned off and stars and planets fade away as the sun reaches the horizon.
This period, along with the Golden Hour, is probably the best quality light ideal for portraiture, landscape and city photography. This light also gives you the possibility to blend artificial light, (street lights, building lights etc), with the natural light directly in-camera without additional tools such as filters or post-process blending. This is also the only time you can get the rising moon and landscape in one exposure. We may still need to use neutral density (ND) filters to get the desired exposure time during the early stages of civil twilight. Because of the lack of light, as the camera sees it, tripods become essential to get sharp photos with the increased exposure times.
In general civil twilight lasts for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on season and where you are located.
Nautical twilight
As we enter nautical twilight the sky darkens considerably turning into a dark blue, the horizon line can still be distinguish and more stars become visible. Some sunlight, although very dim, allows for longer exposure times without the use of neutral density (ND) filters. Taking advantage of the dark blue sky and mixing this with city lights makes urban photography a great choice. Landscape photography remains a good choice due to the soft and diffused light.
Capturing the moon in a single exposure is no longer possible and have to be done in two exposures and blended in post. However, using the moon to create silhouettes of buildings or other structures and even people as it rises or sets can be achieved quite easily during this phase.
Astronomical twilight
During astronomical twilight the sky becomes even darker and a large number of constellations become visible. We will however have a difficult time to see galaxies and nebulas.
Landscape and urban photography is still a possibility using long exposures. You can start shooting stars and star trails. Sunlight is replaced by moonlight and depending on the moon phase and weather conditions the moon can be used to light the landscape.
Magic hours
Magic hours is more of a concept than a mathematical definition like the previous. As we can see on the table and the graphic representation below, both golden hour and blue hour overlaps with the civil twilight phase. Both the golden hour and blue hour are considered by and large as the primetime to take pictures especially when it comes to landscape, portrait and urban photography.
| Phase | Morning | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Golden hour | -4° to 6° | 6° to -4° |
| Blue hour | -6° to -4° | -4° to -6° |
A representation of the magic hours.
Golden hour
This period of time gives you golden warm tones of light, the sky usually gets a red-orange to yellow colour, the light itself is soft and diffused creating a beautiful soft contrast, the light is well balanced making it easy to achieve correct exposed photos. Due the sun’s low position relative to the horizon this produces long gorgeous soft shadows. Colours appear more vibrant and warmer because blue light passes into space.
This time is ideal for landscape photography and because golden hour overlaps with both daylight and civil twilight we can shoot handheld at the start of golden hour as there is plenty of light to go around and later during civil twilight we may need to bring out the tripod to get those sharp shots. As the sun is low golden hour is a great time to shoot into the sun which can create some stunning imagery.
The term ‘hour’ in golden hour is used figuratively and doesn’t refer to an actual hour of time. As a general rule of thumb we say that the golden hour starts one hour before sunset and lasts up to one hour after sunset and this is probably true for most locations between the equator and the north-pole. For places closer to the equator the golden hour lasts for less than an hour. For locations further north from the equator golden hour can last for 12 hours depending on season.
There is no guarantee the Golden hour light will happen every day even with the perfect weather forecast so you may just need to revisit a location until it happens, but when it does there is no better feeling.
Blue hour
Taken from the French l'heure bleue, is a period of time, typically about 40 minutes in length where blue light is scattered in the atmosphere and reaches the earth’s surface. Blue hour coincides with the end of civil twilights as the golden hour ends (evening), the sky takes on a deep saturated blue colour. In the morning hours the blue hour coincides with the start of civil twilight and ends just before golden hour starts.
In the evening (beginning) and in the morning (end), a gradient of colours from blue to orange can be seen in the sky. Blue hour is very much suited for moon photography because it occurs during civil twilight.
Urban photography is ideal for blue hour where you can mix natural light with the lights of the city in a single exposure quite easily, and lets not forget landscape photography where you can also take advantage of the colour gradients in the sky.
When does it happen?
Great now we know what type of light we can get and when they happen based on the sun’s elevation. But it doesn’t really tell us the actual time it happens in the specific location we happen to be in. So how do we get around that?
For this you will need some sort of calculation, and as I am not a mathematical genius I can’t give you that, but luckily there are other’s who are, and these people have created tools for the less math-savvy people like myself.
I use PhotoPills which I personally think is the best photo planning app on the market today. It has everything I could ever wish for and more. It makes it very easy to plan my shoots ahead of time when the desired light condition will happen anywhere on earth. There are other options as well, sites such as Golden Hour allows you to calculate magic hours and twilights as do apps such as Sun Seeker choose what works for you and off you go.
The takeaway
So is there really something like bad light? If you are someone that loves shooting high contrast photos the harsh daytime light is going to be your best friend, and soft golden hour light your worst enemy. I would say there is bad light depending on what type of mood you try to convey with your photography and there is obviously certain light conditions that is better suited for certain types of photography.
One thing to keep in mind is that all the light phases discussed in this article is subject to weather conditions and particles in the atmosphere reflecting the light. Just because you are out shooting during golden hour doesn’t mean you will get golden light. During the Icelandic volcano eruption we experienced an intense red evening sky here in Ireland that I have never seen since, all due to the particles produced by the eruption hanging around in the atmosphere.
I leave you with this; photography is the art of drawing with light. Understanding light and how to apply it to a situation is crucial in taking better pictures and becoming a better photographer. Remember that it is not the quantity of light, but rather the quality of light that matters.
Thanks for reading and keep shooting in great light 🔆
