“When it comes to capturing a portrait during this time of day, it might be hard to fill shadows on your subject’s face,” the Athens-based photographer Bill Thanopoulos, who favours blue hour, tells us. I think the habit of holding my breath and trying to stay immobile might have helped me to stay focused in the moment my body and my mind just adapted to the challenge.” 11. I started shooting at night by holding my breath! I sometimes got blurred pictures, but I tried to play with that. “It’s best to have a tripod, but it’s not always necessary.

“It might sound obvious, but if you want to shoot in low light, it’s really important not to move,” Anaïs adds. Several of the photographers we interviewed stressed the importance of using a tripod, an essential tool if you’re shooting at slower shutter speeds. Think about what you feel and about what drives you to a particular place during a particular time of day.” Anaïs Duvert 10. We are all expressing our own inner worlds. If I can create only one image that underlines my thoughts in the moment, I consider it a success.

Here, the challenge then becomes dealing with squinting eyes, so it’s best to turn your subjects to the side so they aren’t looking straight into the light.” “Often, your subject needs to be in the direct sun rather than backlit. “Golden or magic hour can sometimes cast dappled light, so if you’re shooting portraits, make sure the shadows hit the right spot on a person’s face,” the Melbourne-based photographer Abigail Varney advises. Decreasing your white balance setting will add blue, and increasing it will add orange. You can use a preset like Tungsten or Shade, or you can enter it manually in degrees Kelvin. In auto, your camera will work to neutralize those cooler or warmer tones, so set your white balance yourself. On digital cameras, auto white balance will serve you well in most situations, but it’s not ideal for the blue hour or golden hour. There’s a real peace as the sun goes down.” Lena Jeanne 5. It feels very special to be out at this time when all the plants and animals start to breathe more deeply. The colours have this soft but deep glow, and all the smells of nature permeate the air. For me, that’s when nature really comes alive. These are obstacles that will always be there, and you just have to adapt to them, but scouting always helps.” “Shooting during these two times of day can be difficult because the sun moves quickly, so if you aren’t in the right place at the right time and fully focused, then you might miss what you came for. “I often come across a scene that I know has potential, but I’m seeing it in the middle of the day and can’t find an interesting way to shoot it, so I will plan to come back to it at a certain time of day. “I suggest planning ahead and scouting any locations you’d like to come back to during the golden hour or blue hour,” the Los Angeles-based photographer Nick Rufo tells us. We asked eight golden hour, blue hour, and twilight photographers to divulge their secrets for making the most of these enchanting moments. While each time evokes different emotions, both result in an ethereal, sometimes otherworldly atmosphere, and they also require many of the same methods.

Despite their fleeting nature, these dazzling times of day have served as muse and inspiration to countless artists over the years.

Golden hour time photos