The most important aspect of fashion photography is lighting. Experimenting with studio lighting is great but understand natural light and choosing the right time of day to shoot an editorial is crucial and this is why I chose to talk about “The Golden Hour” in this post.
Ever wonder why it is called the Golden Hour?
That magical time of the day 1 hour after sunrise or 1 hour before sunset when the light is softer then any other time of day. As the sun is low in the sky it produces a softer and most diffused light with gives you an outcome of lower contrasts, giving less shadows and less blown-out highlights.
The quality of light at this time is far more pleasing then the harsh light at midday. Suss your local sunrise and sunset times, I use an App called TPE (The Photographers Ephemeris) it covers everything you need to know about sun positioning, locations and calculates where and from what angle the sun will fall at your chosen time.
As always another tip for shooting during the Golden Hour is be prepared and organised be there early, soon as that sun rises you will be surprised how fast the 1 hour goes. Bare in mind the sun will change rapidly every second the light be a a little different so use your time wisely.
Australia has some of the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets out of all the countries I have travelled to, the wonderful natural light is out there so use it as much as you can.
GMP x
