Understanding and mastering the blue hour

Understanding and mastering the blue hour(18)

The blue hour is one of the best times of day for photography. It blends beautiful natural light from the sky with artificial lights from cities and towns. It even gives us the ability to capture elements that can't be seen during the day.

The blue hour is the period just after sunset and just before sunrise when there's still enough ambient light in the sky to produce a shade of blue. Sometimes blue hour photography is confused with night photography, but they are far from the same thing. Since there's still blue in the sky, it means that enough ambient light remains to softly illuminate the landscape as well.

With night photography, the sky is pitch dark, and since there is no light left in the sky, all illumination must come from the moon or artificial lights. 

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Just like the labeling of the golden hour, the blue hour isn't necessarily an hour long. Near the equator, we like to call it the blue flash because the transition between sunset and complete darkness can only last a few minutes. On the contrary, if you're shooting exceptionally north or south on the globe, the blue hour is dramatically stretched out.

In some locations during certain times of the year, it technically never gets dark at all. That's why it's best to understand the different phases of the blue hour to know what to expect when shooting on location. 

Phases of the blue hour

The primary underlying purpose of shooting during the blue hour — aside from the fact that it looks fantastic — is to find a harmony between the ambient light from the sky and the artificial light in the landscape or scene. Choosing the right phase of the blue hour can make a dramatic difference in the final image. Let's break them down. 

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Civil Twilight

There's still enough natural light to see and distinguish objects around you during the early portion of the blue hour (called civil twilight). Since the sun has just finished setting, there's still a good amount of light on the horizon, and there can even be some beautiful colors in the clouds and sky.

We can start to see the effect of artificial lights and maybe just start to see a few of the brightest stars in the sky. In the morning, the timeframe is reversed, and civil twilight is observed before the sun begins to rise. 

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Nautical Twilight

Nautical twilight is where the true magic of the blue hour really starts to happen. Though it's most likely that the orange, yellow and magenta colors have mostly faded from the clouds, the sky has turned into a deep indigo shade. Though it's becoming faint, there's still enough ambient light remaining to softly illuminate the landscape. Stars are becoming much more visible, and the illumination from artificial light becomes very apparent.

As a photographer, this is my happy place. It's where I can find a true harmony of both natural and artificial light. It's also a point of time that fades quickly, and it can be easy to miss. 

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Astronomical Twilight

During astronomical twilight, the sky becomes a dark shade of blue while stars and some constellations become visible to the naked eye. It's by far the most dramatic time you can capture the blue hour, but while it indeed emphasizes the stars, it makes artificial lights more dominant as well.

In pure landscape environments, astronomical twilight can render the scene very dark. When planning to shoot the late blue hour, take special note of the moon position and phase. The moon will have the most dramatic influence over this time of day, especially when the blue hour ends and full dark begins. The PhotoPills application has many options for understanding the position and influence of the moon.

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Planning ahead and tips for shooting the blue hour

Depending on the geographic location, the duration of the blue hour will vary dramatically. Just like planning for sunrise or sunset, it's essential to understand the natural elements that have the most significant influence on the blue hour. It's also good to understand what equipment is needed to come away with the highest quality results possible. 

Sun position

Sometimes, it's easy to overlook the fact that the sun's position is still relevant even though it has already set. If the sun has set in your frame, then the blue hour phases take much more time to manifest due to the proximity of ambient light from the sun. Reverse it and have the sunset behind your frame, and the light falls off much more rapidly and evenly.

I recommend using PhotoPills to not only show the sun position but also accurately calculate the timing of the blue hour phases. 

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Moon phase and position

Is the moon rising or setting just after sunset? Is there going to be a full moon to illuminate this landscape at night? It's during the blue hour where we can photograph the moon and to also see its influence on the landscape.

Before any blue hour shooting session, I always make myself aware of both the moon phase and position. Applications like PhotoPills makes this incredibly simple. 

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Use stable camera gear

When the light fades, camera settings start to dramatically change as well. If shooting with an aperture around f/8 and ISO set to 100, it's common for exposures to be in the 10-15 second range for nautical twilight, and upwards of 30 seconds for astronomical twilight. A steady tripod isn't just recommended for high-quality shots — it's critical since shooting handheld becomes next to impossible.  

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Remove camera filters

I often use solid neutral density filters to create long exposure images by dragging the shutter. Since the blue hour is a low light environment, it's best to remove these filters since a long exposure can be achieved with 100% in-camera settings. 

Filters can also cause unwanted artifacts and diffraction when shooting night time cities that contain a lot of artificial light. Make sure to remove any protective neutral clear UV filters before shooting the blue hour. 

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Beyond the blue hour

For night photographers, the blue hour is only the beginning of the evening. As astronomical twilight starts to fade, we're able to capture the night sky in epic detail. When the skies are clear and there's little influence of the moon, the astrophotographers are out to play. 

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