Golden hour calculator for engagement photos
Golden hour is the warm, low light while the sun is between 6° above and 4° below the horizon, roughly the hour before sunset. For an evening engagement session, start so you finish at sunset: in Denver on October 15, a 90-minute session starts at 4:50 pm. Search your city (504 US cities and 22 shoot spots) and pick a date below.
Evening · recommended
Start at 4:41 pm
A 90-minute session ending at sunset, 6:11 pm.
- Golden hour
- 5:33 pm – 6:28 pm (54 min)
- Sunset
- 6:11 pm
- Blue hour
- 6:28 pm – 6:38 pm
Morning · quieter locations
Start at 7:10 am
At sunrise, with golden light until 7:47 am.
- Blue hour
- 6:42 am – 6:53 am
- Sunrise
- 7:10 am
- Golden hour
- 6:53 am – 7:47 am (54 min)
Rain odds: in an average October, New York gets measurable rain on 10 of 31 days, about 31%. Book a backup date. (NOAA 1991–2020 normals)
Key facts
- Evening golden hour in 25 US cities lasts between 44 and 75 minutes, depending on the city and the time of year.
- On the June solstice, golden hour lasts 73 minutes in Seattle but 49 in Miami: the farther north, the slower the sun sets.
- In New York, golden hour is shortest in March (53 min) and longest in December (63 min).
- Seattle’s sunset moves from 4:18 pm in mid-December to 9:10 pm at the June solstice, so the same session can start almost five hours apart.
- Miami gets measurable rain on 19 days in an average August, against 7 in April (NOAA normals).
Sunset, golden hour and rain in 25 cities
Sunset and the length of evening golden hour on the 15th of June, October and December, and the driest and rainiest months of the April–October shoot season (mean days with measurable rain). The calculator above does any date.
| City | June 15 | October 15 | December 15 | Driest (Apr–Oct) | Rainiest (Apr–Oct) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 8:29 pm · 61 min | 6:15 pm · 54 min | 4:29 pm · 63 min | September (9 days) | May (12 days) |
| Los Angeles, CA | 8:06 pm · 55 min | 6:18 pm · 49 min | 4:45 pm · 55 min | August (0 days) | April (3 days) |
| Chicago, IL | 8:27 pm · 63 min | 6:08 pm · 55 min | 4:20 pm · 64 min | September (9 days) | May (13 days) |
| Dallas, TX | 8:36 pm · 54 min | 6:53 pm · 48 min | 5:22 pm · 54 min | July (4 days) | May (9 days) |
| Houston, TX | 8:23 pm · 52 min | 6:50 pm · 47 min | 5:24 pm · 52 min | April (7 days) | June (10 days) |
| Atlanta, GA | 8:49 pm · 54 min | 7:03 pm · 49 min | 5:30 pm · 55 min | October (7 days) | July (12 days) |
| Washington, DC | 8:35 pm · 59 min | 6:29 pm · 53 min | 4:47 pm · 60 min | October (8 days) | May (12 days) |
| Philadelphia, PA | 8:31 pm · 61 min | 6:21 pm · 53 min | 4:36 pm · 62 min | August (9 days) | May (11 days) |
| Phoenix, AZ | 7:39 pm · 54 min | 5:54 pm · 49 min | 5:22 pm · 55 min | June (1 days) | August (5 days) |
| Boston, MA | 8:22 pm · 64 min | 6:02 pm · 56 min | 4:12 pm · 65 min | August (9 days) | May (12 days) |
| Seattle, WA | 9:09 pm · 73 min | 6:20 pm · 61 min | 4:18 pm · 75 min | July (5 days) | April (15 days) |
| Denver, CO | 8:29 pm · 60 min | 6:20 pm · 53 min | 4:36 pm · 62 min | October (5 days) | May (10 days) |
| Nashville, TN | 8:06 pm · 57 min | 6:10 pm · 51 min | 4:33 pm · 57 min | September (8 days) | May (12 days) |
| Austin, TX | 8:34 pm · 52 min | 6:59 pm · 47 min | 5:32 pm · 53 min | August (5 days) | May (9 days) |
| San Diego, CA | 7:58 pm · 54 min | 6:15 pm · 48 min | 4:44 pm · 54 min | August (0 days) | April (4 days) |
| San Francisco, CA | 8:33 pm · 58 min | 6:31 pm · 52 min | 4:51 pm · 59 min | July (1 days) | April (7 days) |
| Miami, FL | 8:13 pm · 49 min | 6:53 pm · 45 min | 5:32 pm · 50 min | April (7 days) | August (19 days) |
| Orlando, FL | 8:24 pm · 51 min | 6:55 pm · 46 min | 5:30 pm · 51 min | April (6 days) | August (17 days) |
| New Orleans, LA | 8:02 pm · 52 min | 6:29 pm · 47 min | 5:02 pm · 52 min | October (7 days) | July (14 days) |
| Portland, OR | 9:01 pm · 69 min | 6:24 pm · 59 min | 4:27 pm · 71 min | August (4 days) | April (17 days) |
| Las Vegas, NV | 7:59 pm · 57 min | 6:04 pm · 51 min | 4:27 pm · 57 min | June (0 days) | July (3 days) |
| Charlotte, NC | 8:39 pm · 56 min | 6:48 pm · 50 min | 5:12 pm · 57 min | October (7 days) | June (11 days) |
| Minneapolis, MN | 9:01 pm · 68 min | 6:27 pm · 58 min | 4:32 pm · 70 min | September (9 days) | May (12 days) |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 9:00 pm · 62 min | 6:46 pm · 54 min | 5:00 pm · 63 min | July (4 days) | April (10 days) |
| Charleston, SC | 8:29 pm · 54 min | 6:46 pm · 48 min | 5:15 pm · 54 min | October (7 days) | July (13 days) |
Times are local, for the city centre, with a flat horizon. Rain days are for each city’s primary NOAA station (an airport for most; Central Park for New York, Camp Mabry for Austin, downtown for San Francisco).
Evening or morning?
Most engagement sessions are booked in the evening, finishing at sunset. Light, schedules and dinner afterwards all line up. A sunrise session is the better choice for busy places, such as famous viewpoints or city landmarks, which are close to empty in the first hour of the day, and in hot places in summer: Phoenix averages a 106°F high in July, and Las Vegas 104°F.
Whichever you pick, plan the start, not the sunset. The calculator gives the start time for a 60, 90 or 120-minute session. Arrive 15 minutes early to park and walk in.
Choosing a month by the weather
The usual shoot season, spring to autumn, isn’t equally dry everywhere. In Portland the rainiest stretch is winter, and July averages 4 rain days against 18 in November. Florida is the reverse: summer afternoon storms give Miami about 19 rain days in August. San Francisco is nearly dry from June to September (0.7 days in July) but often foggy, which is soft light rather than golden light.
Whatever the odds, agree on a backup date with your photographer when you book. Rain days count any day with at least 0.01 inches, so many are a passing shower rather than a washed-out evening.
How we calculate it
Sun times use the solar position equations behind NOAA’s Solar Calculator, accurate to about a minute. Golden hour is the sun between +6° and −4°, blue hour between −4° and −6°, and sunrise and sunset are when the top of the sun touches a flat horizon (−0.833°, which allows for refraction). A session ends at sunset in the evening and starts at sunrise in the morning. Rain days and temperatures are NOAA’s 1991–2020 monthly normals from each city’s nearest suitable station, a major airport within 40 km where there is one. City locations come from the US Census. Everything runs in your browser; “Use my location” never leaves your device. More on how we build these guides is on the methodology page.
Planning the rest of the shoot
Once you have a time, the engagement photo ideas guide covers settings, the pose directory covers what to do in front of the camera, and the photo permit guide covers whether you need a permit in a national park or garden.
Questions about golden hour
What time is golden hour?
Roughly the last hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise. Precisely, it is while the sun sits between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. In Denver on October 15, 2026, that is 5:43 pm to 6:37 pm, with sunset at 6:20 pm. Use the calculator for your own date and place.
How long does golden hour last?
Usually less than an hour. Across 25 US cities, evening golden hour runs 44 to 75 minutes. It is longer farther north and near the summer and winter solstices, and shortest around the March and September equinoxes.
What time should engagement photos start?
For an evening session, start so that you finish at sunset: about 90 minutes before sunset for a 90-minute session. You get the warm, low light at the end, and the blue minutes after sunset if you want them. For a morning session, start at sunrise; locations are quieter, but you will be getting ready in the dark.
What is blue hour?
The minutes after golden hour ends in the evening (or before it starts in the morning), while the sun is 4° to 6° below the horizon. The sky turns deep blue and city lights come on. It is short, often 10 to 20 minutes, and good for silhouettes and skyline shots.
Does golden hour work in mountains or valleys?
The times here assume a flat horizon. In a valley or next to a ridge, such as Yosemite Valley, the sun drops behind the terrain earlier than the calculated sunset, so start earlier or choose a spot with an open view to the west (or east, in the morning).
What if it is cloudy on the day?
Thick clouds soften the light all day, so you lose the warm glow but gain even, flattering light. The light still fades after sunset, so keep the same start time. Thin, high clouds near sunset often make the best skies.