A Photographers Guide to Blue Hour

Light is all important in photography, so choosing the right time of day to take your photos is a must for getting the best results. For portrait photography that can mean shooting during the hour before sunset, the “golden hour.” In landscape photography, and especially with cityscapes, the favored time to shoot is the hour after sunset. The hour after sunset is known as the “blue hour” for the rich blue color you get in the sky at that time of day.

Why shoot at blue hour?

Shooting cityscapes at blue hour allows you the chance to shoot the city lights on buildings, while still offering enough ambient light to bring out the details from the rest of the scene, giving you the best of both worlds. If you really want, you can also take an early blue hour photo, and then perhaps 20 minutes later, take a late blue hour photo so you can merge the images using Photoshop for an even more dramatic scene.

Shooting in blue hour does not have to be limited to cityscapes, though, as this type of light can also work well along the coast, where a combination of long exposures and blue hour lights can produce some dramatic results. I have also often wondered why so many people leave the viewpoints at Suncheon Bay straight after sunset, when some of the best photos I have taken there have been only 30 minutes later, during the blue hour.

Where to shoot during blue hour?

Hills and rooftops of buildings are also great locations to shoot during blue hour. Anywhere with an unobstructed view over the city has potential. If you can find a striking building to include in your shots,, all the better; but waiting for the right light as it changes quickly during the blue hour is the most important thing to consider.

The coastline can also provide images with nice, moving water, as waves crashing against the shoreline will always look nice if taken with longer exposures. That might mean you will need to get out onto the rocks themselves or right down to the shore line of a beach, so you can get the best angle to go with the blue hour light. But it is worth it.