Golden Hour Window Calculator
Golden hour gives the warm, soft, low light photographers prize, but its exact timing depends on your location and date. This calculator takes the local sunrise and sunset times you look up, plus the golden hour duration published for your latitude and date, and returns the start and end clock times for both the morning and the evening golden hour windows. Because sun times depend on precise location, the tool uses the figures you supply rather than estimating them.
Golden hour formula
Morning window = sunrise to (sunrise + duration)
Evening window = (sunset - duration) to sunset
Total golden light = 2 * duration
The morning golden hour begins at sunrise and lasts the duration you enter; the evening golden hour ends at sunset and begins the duration before it. All times stay in your local clock.
Worked example
Sunrise 06:15, sunset 19:45, golden hour duration 60 minutes: morning window runs 06:15 to 07:15; evening window runs 18:45 to 19:45. Total golden light = 2 * 60 = 120.00 minutes across the day.
Golden hour window: frequently asked questions
What is the golden hour?
The golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset when sunlight is warm, soft, and low-angled, producing flattering light for photography. Its length depends on latitude and season: near the equator it can be under an hour, and at high latitudes it can last much longer.
How long is the golden hour?
There is no single fixed length: it grows with latitude and varies through the year because the sun climbs and sets at different angles. Rather than assume a value, this calculator asks you to enter the golden hour duration published for your location and date, then maps it onto your sunrise and sunset times.
Why does this tool ask for sunrise and sunset rather than computing them?
Accurate sunrise, sunset, and golden hour times depend on your exact latitude, longitude, elevation, and date through a solar position model. To avoid presenting an unverified figure, this calculator takes the official local sunrise and sunset times you supply and computes the golden hour windows around them.
Sources
- US Naval Observatory: Sunrise and sunset times by location.
- The window arithmetic adds or subtracts your supplied duration from your supplied sun times; no figure is assumed.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 19 June 2026. See our methodology.