Why Golden Hour Engagement Photos are Worth Scheduling
There’s a certain point in the evening when everything starts to feel a little softer. The sun sits lower in the sky, the shadows stretch across the ground, and the world seems to slow down just enough for you to notice it.
As a photographer, those are some of my favorite minutes of the day. If you’ve ever heard a photographer talk about golden hour engagement photos like they’re something sacred, there’s a reason. And when we’re planning your engagement session, it’s one of the first things I think about.
Not because beautiful photographs are impossible at any other time of day. They absolutely aren’t. But because the right light can help create the kind of atmosphere that makes a photograph feel like a memory. Read on to make the most of your golden hour engagement photos.
What exactly is golden hour?
Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset when the sun is low on the horizon. The light is often warmer, softer, and more flattering than the direct sunlight we get in the middle of the day. Instead of bright overhead light creating strong shadows, we get light that wraps around you, catches the edges of your hair, and adds warmth to everything around you.
And depending on where we’re photographing, it can look completely different.
In the West Texas landscape, that might mean sunlight stretching across the dunes at Monahans Sandhills. In a grassy field, it could mean beautiful backlighting as you walk together. In the city, it might be the last bit of sunlight slipping between buildings. It’s less about making everything look golden and more about finding light that adds something meaningful to the photograph.
Why I love photographing engagement sessions at golden hour
One of the biggest reasons I love golden hour has nothing to do with camera settings.
It’s the feeling of it.
The day is winding down. The temperature may be getting a little more comfortable. There’s nowhere else you need to be for the next hour except right there, together. Maybe you’re walking through a field, laughing because one of you said something ridiculous. Maybe you’re sitting close together, talking about absolutely nothing. Maybe you’ve forgotten I’m photographing you at all.
Those are the moments I’m looking for. Of course, I want to create beautiful golden hour engagement photos. But I also want your engagement photographs to feel like you. Not two people performing romance for a camera.
Golden hour gives us room to slow down and let those moments happen.
The light changes, and so does the story
One of my favorite things about scheduling a session around sunset is that we don’t have to create every photograph in exactly the same kind of light. We might begin while the sun is still a little higher, using the landscape and all that beautiful natural movement. As the sun drops, the light becomes warmer and softer, and we can move into quieter, closer portraits.
Then comes one of my favorite parts: the few minutes after the sun disappears.
That’s when blue hour begins. The sky takes on cooler tones, the light becomes more subdued, and suddenly the photographs have an entirely different atmosphere.
I love having both in a gallery. The warmth of the sunset, followed by those last quiet moments of evening, gives your session a natural beginning, middle, and end.
Does your entire session have to happen during golden hour?
Not at all.
In fact, I usually prefer to start a little earlier so we can explore the location, settle into the session, and take advantage of more than one lighting condition. I also don’t want you worrying about the sun every five minutes.
That’s my job.
The exact timing depends on the season, location, weather, and the photographs we’re hoping to create. Golden hour isn’t always a literal sixty minutes, and sometimes clouds give us the kind of soft, beautiful light we would have spent all evening chasing anyway. A great engagement session doesn’t fall apart just because the sunset doesn’t cooperate.
Some of my favorite golden hour engagement photos happen in overcast skies, unexpected weather, or those last few minutes when everyone else has already packed up and gone home.
The important thing is knowing how to work with the light that’s actually there.
A little advice when planning your engagement session
If there’s one thing I’d encourage you to do, it’s to give yourselves enough time to enjoy the experience.
Don’t schedule your engagement session so tightly that you’re watching the clock instead of enjoying each other. Choose a location that means something to you, wear something you feel comfortable moving around in, and trust that you don’t need to arrive knowing what to do with your hands.
We’ll figure all of that out together.
And if you happen to leave with a little sand in your shoes, wind in your hair, or the kind of laughter that makes your cheeks hurt, I’d call that a pretty successful evening.
Let’s chase a little sunshine together
Your golden hour engagement photos should be more than a collection of pretty portraits. They should remind you of this part of your lives, the excitement, the anticipation, and the ordinary little ways you love each other.
Golden hour is beautiful. But the best part of the photograph will always be the people standing in it.
If you’re planning an engagement session in Lubbock, West Texas, or somewhere a little farther from home, I’d love to help you find the perfect place and time to tell your story.