If you are just starting out with landscape photography you are probably thinking that the best time to shoot is on a sunny day and to head out around midday when there is the most light, but this is not always the case. In this blog we are going to be looking at the different times of day and weather conditions to shoot in.
The blue hour
This is the hour before sunrise and the hour after sunset. During these hours the light is changing quickly which means you need to be ready. Head to your location at least 15 minutes before the blue hour starts. Work out your composition and get your camera set up on a tripod. Then just wait and watch as the light changes. Shoot a few photos of the same scene as the light changes.
The light you are getting is generally a soft blue tone, but you can get some beautiful orange, yellow, pink, and purple tones in the sky, which can really bring your scene to life. Streetlights, car lights and lights in buildings are also starting to turn on during this time so try to include them in your scene to add that human element.
The golden hour
This is the hour just after sunrise and just before sunset. Again, the light is changing quickly during this time. The light is getting softer as the sun gets closer to the horizon. This produces gentle long shadows which flow naturally in your scene. The colour of the light at this time of day is generally warm and can enhance happy or joyful scenes.
Experiment with different angles to make the most of the light. If you have the sun behind, you then you will get beautiful soft golden light in your scene. But if you turn around and shoot towards the sun you can get some interesting silhouettes, sun flare, backlighting and rim lighting effects.
The rest of the day
As the sun gets higher in the sky the light gets brighter and harsher. Your shadows get shorter, darker, and more defined. There will be more contrast in your scene overall. It can be much harder to shoot at this time of the day as balancing the exposure in the highlights and shadows can be tricky. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get great results with a bit of practice and patients.
Although this is not the ideal time of day to shoot, sometimes it is the only option you have. Learn to look at the light and see where it is falling. Move around to change the position of the shadows, it is generally good to have the sun behind you and slightly to the side. This way the shadows will be going away from you in the scene, helping to draw your viewer into the image.
Nighttime
Ok so the natural light that we tend to use in landscape photography is obviously a lot less at nighttime, but that doesn’t mean we can’t shoot landscapes at night. You WILL need a tripod though. Even though the sun has gone down there is still some ambient light from the moon or electrical lights.
When choosing your scene try to include a reasonable amount of sky in the image. This is where most of the light will be and you can get some interesting effects with the clouds, stars, and the moon in the scene. You may also want to include streetlights, car lights and building lights in your image to give that human feel.
The weather
Weather has an immense effect on your landscape photos. On sunny days you will get harsher light, darker and more defined shadows, and brighter highlights. On cloudy days the light will be much softer, your shadows will fade into the scene and there will be very little contrast.
Whatever the weather you can still take great photos, but you must work with the light. Capturing a storm coming in can create a very moody image, whilst the bright sunny days can clearly show off the contrast between a blue sky and the green grass.
The time of year
The final time you need to think about is the time of year. No matter where in the world you live, there are always different seasons which bring different types of weather. In winter your trees may be bare and there could be snow on the ground. In spring there are signs of new growth. In summer everything feels a bit warmer, and in Autumn the leaves are changing colour. If you live in the tropics, you probably just have a wet and a dry season.
If you have a great idea for a landscape shot, you want to take in the snow for example you won’t be able to do that in summer so may have to wait until the snow starts to fall.
Conclusion
So, to answer the question of this blog, there is no best time to shoot a landscape photo. You will just get different results at different times. If you are planning a specific shoot think about what time of day will give you the right light for your vision, and pay attention to the weather forecast.
If you want to learn more about any of the techniques I have mentioned in the blog, please let me know in the comments, and also let me know what is your favourite time to shoot landscapes?
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