Golden hour is the stretch of soft, warm light just after sunrise and just before sunset, and photographers plan whole days around it. Today in São Paulo it runs from 05:45 to 06:15 in the morning and from 17:36 to 18:06 in the evening, followed by blue hour, from 18:20 to 18:37. Below you will find the times for all 27 Brazilian capitals and the main countries, plus a plain explanation of how it works and how to use it.
Golden hour and blue hour in the Brazilian capitals
| Place | Morning golden hour | Evening golden hour | Morning blue hour | Evening blue hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aracaju (SE) | 05:11 – 05:39 | 16:56 – 17:23 | 04:42 – 04:58 | 17:36 – 17:53 |
| Belém (PA) | 05:59 – 06:27 | 17:39 – 18:06 | 05:30 – 05:46 | 18:19 – 18:35 |
| Belo Horizonte (MG) | 05:36 – 06:05 | 17:25 – 17:54 | 05:05 – 05:22 | 18:07 – 18:24 |
| Boa Vista (RR) | 05:49 – 06:16 | 17:27 – 17:54 | 05:20 – 05:36 | 18:07 – 18:23 |
| Brasília (DF) | 05:53 – 06:21 | 17:40 – 18:08 | 05:23 – 05:40 | 18:22 – 18:38 |
| Campo Grande (MS) | 05:18 – 05:47 | 17:07 – 17:37 | 04:48 – 05:05 | 17:50 – 18:07 |
| Cuiabá (MT) | 05:26 – 05:54 | 17:13 – 17:41 | 04:56 – 05:12 | 17:54 – 18:11 |
| Curitiba (PR) | 05:55 – 06:26 | 17:47 – 18:17 | 05:23 – 05:41 | 18:31 – 18:49 |
| Florianópolis (SC) | 05:52 – 06:22 | 17:44 – 18:15 | 05:19 – 05:37 | 18:29 – 18:47 |
| Fortaleza (CE) | 05:19 – 05:46 | 17:00 – 17:27 | 04:50 – 05:06 | 17:40 – 17:56 |
| Goiânia (GO) | 05:58 – 06:27 | 17:45 – 18:14 | 05:28 – 05:45 | 18:27 – 18:44 |
| João Pessoa (PB) | 05:03 – 05:31 | 16:46 – 17:13 | 04:34 – 04:50 | 17:26 – 17:43 |
| Macapá (AP) | 06:10 – 06:37 | 17:49 – 18:16 | 05:41 – 05:57 | 18:29 – 18:45 |
| Maceió (AL) | 05:06 – 05:34 | 16:50 – 17:18 | 04:37 – 04:53 | 17:31 – 17:47 |
| Manaus (AM) | 05:45 – 06:12 | 17:26 – 17:53 | 05:16 – 05:32 | 18:06 – 18:22 |
| Natal (RN) | 05:05 – 05:32 | 16:47 – 17:14 | 04:36 – 04:52 | 17:27 – 17:43 |
| Palmas (TO) | 05:56 – 06:24 | 17:40 – 18:08 | 05:27 – 05:43 | 18:21 – 18:38 |
| Porto Alegre (RS) | 06:01 – 06:33 | 17:55 – 18:26 | 05:28 – 05:47 | 18:41 – 19:00 |
| Porto Velho (RO) | 05:59 – 06:26 | 17:42 – 18:10 | 05:30 – 05:46 | 18:23 – 18:39 |
| Recife (PE) | 05:03 – 05:31 | 16:46 – 17:14 | 04:34 – 04:50 | 17:27 – 17:43 |
| Rio Branco (AC) | 05:14 – 05:42 | 16:58 – 17:26 | 04:45 – 05:01 | 17:39 – 17:55 |
| Rio de Janeiro (RJ) | 05:32 – 06:01 | 17:22 – 17:52 | 05:00 – 05:18 | 18:05 – 18:23 |
| Salvador (BA) | 05:16 – 05:44 | 17:02 – 17:30 | 04:47 – 05:03 | 17:43 – 17:59 |
| São Luís (MA) | 05:42 – 06:09 | 17:23 – 17:50 | 05:13 – 05:29 | 18:03 – 18:19 |
| São Paulo (SP) | 05:45 – 06:15 | 17:36 – 18:06 | 05:14 – 05:31 | 18:20 – 18:37 |
| Teresina (PI) | 05:35 – 06:03 | 17:17 – 17:45 | 05:07 – 05:23 | 17:57 – 18:14 |
| Vitória (ES) | 05:21 – 05:50 | 17:10 – 17:39 | 04:51 – 05:08 | 17:53 – 18:10 |
Golden hour in the main countries
| Place | Morning golden hour | Evening golden hour | Morning blue hour | Evening blue hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 07:05 – 07:40 | 18:13 – 18:49 | 06:28 – 06:48 | 19:05 – 19:26 |
| Portugal | 07:34 – 08:09 | 18:41 – 19:16 | 06:57 – 07:17 | 19:32 – 19:53 |
| United Kingdom | 07:04 – 07:48 | 17:49 – 18:33 | 06:18 – 06:43 | 18:54 – 19:19 |
| France | 07:52 – 08:34 | 18:43 – 19:25 | 07:09 – 07:33 | 19:44 – 20:09 |
| Germany | 07:10 – 07:56 | 17:53 – 18:39 | 06:23 – 06:49 | 19:00 – 19:26 |
| Italy | 07:08 – 07:45 | 18:11 – 18:48 | 06:30 – 06:51 | 19:05 – 19:27 |
| Spain | 08:13 – 08:49 | 19:17 – 19:53 | 07:35 – 07:56 | 20:10 – 20:31 |
| Japan | 05:37 – 06:11 | 16:49 – 17:22 | 05:01 – 05:21 | 17:38 – 17:58 |
| China | 06:12 – 06:48 | 17:18 – 17:54 | 05:34 – 05:55 | 18:10 – 18:31 |
| Argentina | 06:28 – 07:01 | 18:24 – 18:57 | 05:53 – 06:13 | 19:13 – 19:32 |
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What is golden hour
When the Sun is low in the sky, its light has to cross a much thicker layer of atmosphere before reaching you. The shorter blue wavelengths are scattered away and what remains is warm, orange-tinted and diffuse. Because the light comes in at a shallow angle, shadows are long and soft, contrast is gentle and surfaces glow. That is golden hour.
There is no official definition, but this page uses the most common one: the morning golden hour goes from sunrise until the Sun is 6° above the horizon, and the evening golden hour starts when the Sun drops to 6° and ends at sunset. Some photographers start counting a little earlier or finish a little later, so treat the windows as a guide and not a hard limit. The light does not switch on at the start of the window; it changes gradually, and the best minutes are usually the ones close to sunrise and sunset.
What is blue hour
After the Sun sets, the sky does not go black at once. During civil twilight the Sun is still just below the horizon and its light reaches the upper atmosphere, which turns the sky a deep, saturated blue. This page marks blue hour as the period when the Sun is between 4° and 8° below the horizon, which is when sky colour and the first artificial lights of a city balance each other best. It happens twice a day, before sunrise and after sunset, and it usually lasts 20 to 40 minutes depending on latitude and season. Right after the golden hour of the evening comes the blue hour, so you can shoot both without moving.
How long golden hour lasts
The duration depends on how steeply the Sun climbs. On the equator it rises almost vertically, at about 15° per hour, so reaching 6° takes under half an hour. The farther you go from the equator, the more slanted its path becomes relative to the horizon, and the longer the soft light lasts. Today the evening golden hour lasts 27 min in Macapá (AP) (practically on the equator), 30 min in São Paulo (SP) and 32 min in Porto Alegre (RS). It is also longer in winter than in summer at the same place, and in polar regions it can stretch for hours. Each place page shows a month-by-month table.
Photography tips for golden hour
- Plan the shot, not just the time. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before the window opens, check where the Sun will be and decide your framing before the light gets good.
- Portraits: put the Sun behind or beside your subject for a soft glow in the hair and flattering skin tones. Use a reflector, a white wall or the fill flash of your phone to lift the shadows on the face.
- Landscapes and architecture: side light brings out texture and depth. Facades and hills facing the Sun turn warm while the sky behind them stays blue.
- Exposure: in backlit scenes, expose for the highlights (lower the exposure compensation a little) so the sky keeps its colour, and recover the shadows later. Shoot RAW if you can.
- White balance: leave it on "daylight" or "cloudy" to keep the warm tone. Auto white balance tends to neutralise the colour that makes golden hour special.
- Blue hour: use a tripod or lean the camera on something steady, since the light drops fast. Lower the ISO, use longer exposures and keep an eye on city lights, which look best when the sky still has some blue.
- Phones: tap the screen on the brightest part of the sky and slide the brightness down. HDR mode helps with high-contrast sunsets.
- Stay after sunset. The sky often gets more colourful 10 to 20 minutes after the Sun has gone, especially when there are high clouds.
Why the times change every day and from place to place
The windows move with sunrise and sunset, which shift by a minute or two every day and by about 4 minutes for each degree of longitude. Clocks add one more layer: Brazil has four time zones, from UTC-2 to UTC-5, so the evening golden hour is not at the same clock time in Rio Branco and in São Paulo. All times on this page are in the local time of each place and are calculated astronomically for the capital or reference city. For the cloud cover and weather, you will still need a forecast, as clouds can mute or enhance the effect. For the Moon, which also matters for night and blue-hour photography, see the moon phase page.