As a photographer I get asked this all the time.
To put it simply, the closer to sunset the better. To get that golden hour magic for your wedding portraits, we want to be shooting for that last hour before the sun dips over the horizon.
Natural wedding photos take time so make sure you give allow enough time before the sun goes down to get your photos. Allow around half an hour for photos with your wedding party then an hour with only the newlyweds. It may not sound important but soft lighting is key for getting organic, romantic portraits.
For the best results, find out what time the sun will be setting on your wedding day using a website like timeanddate.com, consider the surrounding areas of where we are taking the photos (if the location is in a valley, make it earlier), and work your wedding day timeline back from this.
If shooting for an hour and a half at that time doesn't work for you, we can always do your portraits earlier and sneak out during your reception for 20 minutes of golden hour magic.
I provide guidance and a recommended run sheet for all my couples. Feel free to get in touch with me to request a sample wedding timeline to help you with planning your day. Being a southwest wedding photographer, I’m familiar with how most locations look in different seasons at different times of the day, so I’m more than happy to help you create the perfect runsheet to get those banging portraits.
