Lighting Aesthetics
Lighting Aesthetics
• Warm colors: sunlight is in the orange and yellow range of the color
spectrum during the golden hour, which is why it’s called that.
• Low angle of the sun: this is what defines the golden hour. A low
angle creates softer light and longer shadows.
• Diffused light: when the sun is close to the horizon, light has to travel
further than when it’s high in the sky. The atmosphere acts like a light
diffuser, which makes the light less intense and ‘softer’. It reduces
harsh contrast, which makes it easier to capture an evenly exposed
image. It also filters out blue light to give mainly warm colors.
Predicting the natural light
• These allow you to accurately predict the position of the sun for any
time or date, but you still need to keep an eye on the weather to
know whether it will be clear or cloudy.
Choosing whether to shoot into the light or with the light behind you
will make a huge difference to the results that you are able to achieve
The lovely warm colors and
strong side light of this shot
taken just after sunrise produce
far more striking results than the
much cooler light in the same
shot taken just 30 minutes later.