Hey mama! Do you ever wonder the best (and worst) times of day to photograph your kids are? I thought it would be helpful to show you some examples of good and bad lighting, and why time of day DOES matter when you are photographing your kids! To do so, I photographed my toddler in the same spot throughout the day. She was actually excited to model because she got to pick her outfit and I picked out a basket for her to sit on!
The below photos were taken in Arizona in April, and currently the sun rises at 6:15 a.m. and the sun sets at 6:45 p.m. Since sun rises and sets differently throughout each day and throughout the world, when checking out these examples below, pay attention to the “Hours since Sunrise” / “Hours until Sunset” instead of the time of day. If I am planning to take photos of my kiddos, I without a doubt schedule it for “Golden Hour”, 1-2 hours before sunset (or after sunrise) when the light is soft and warm. You can see why in the examples below! If you want to geek out on sunset with me, use this website to check out when the sun rises and sets in your city.
9:45 a.m. — 3.5 Hours since Sunrise
Around here, we are almost always up and out enjoying the world at 9:30 a.m. But with sunrise over 3 hours prior, the sun is already pretty high in the sky this time of day, and as you can see there are harsh shadows on my daughter’s face. Her eyes are also very dark and hard to see. We want light to reflect into them and have them sparkle. Since I am photographing her in the same spot throughout the day, she is facing the sun. For an example of what she would look like if the sun was behind her, check out “2:45 p.m.” below, which yields a much better result!
Of course if you are at a baseball game or the park and enjoying your family time, TAKE YOUR PHOTO! Just be aware shadows are there this time of day. As you can see at “2:45”, with the sun behind her, the shadows are much better, so adjust your kiddo and tell your story!
12:00 p.m. — 6 Hours since Sunrise
No matter what month it is, mid-day will always have the harshest shadows. The sun is directly overhead and there is no angle you can turn where to sun will be behind you! You can see the shadows all over her face, and they are not flattering at all!
If you are looking to get a photo of your child this time of day, moving into the shade is your best option. The three images below are taken in a patch of shade, which was made by a tall tree behind my daughter. When using a patch of shade, you want to make sure sun isn’t peeking through some branches, or again you will have patches of shadows in those areas.
The two images below are full shade. While they lack any visual excitement, there are no crazy shadows and you can see on the image on the left her eyes are starting to sparkle because she is turned up to face the sky. That is definitely better than the images from 9:45 a.m., when you can barely see her eyes!
2:45 p.m. — 4 Hours until Sunset
The sun is just starting to move from overhead, to the behind my daughter. In the two images below, you can see the shadows are definitely better than mid-day. Her eyes are beginning to sparkle, and her (crazy post-nap) hair is also starting to have a pretty glow. Unfortunately since the sun is still a mostly overhead, the top of her hair is “blown-out” (ie: the white area, with no detail).
We are 4 hours from Sunset, and we are getting close to the optimal time for a photo session! If you are photographing this time of day you want to keep the sun BEHIND your subject, just as I did below. If your subject is facing the sun, your results will be similar to the “9:45 a.m.” images, where the shadows are much more intense.
4:00 p.m. — 2.75 Hours until Sunset
We are approaching “Golden Hour”, and the shadows are finally gone from my daughter’s face! Her big sister wanted to hop in for a few photos after school, and you can see, they are both well lit. I would definitely recommend photographing this time of day—no weird shadows on their faces or clothing, their eyes can be seen and their is a nice glow behind them. Really, the only difference between 4:00 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. is that some details on the top of my daughter’s head are still missing at 4:00 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. But overall, nice images can be obtained this time of day with the sun behind your subject.
5:15 p.m. — 1.5 Hours until Sunset
Similar to 4:00 p.m., this is a great time for photos of your kiddos. There is a bit of detail missing on the top of my daughter’s head, but not enough to ruin the image!
6:00 p.m. — .75 Hours until Sunset
We are less than 1 hour until sunset and the sun is mostly behind my daughter. During “Golden Hour” you will notice a lot of red, and well, golden tones in your photos. Your images can also become a bit hazy because of all the sun entering into the camera. I like this, but it is personal preference, and something to be aware of! The soft light gives a warm glow and even if my daughter was facing the sun, it would not be casting shadows on her face. This is a nice time of day to photograph for that reason—kids to love and explore and you don’t have to worry about the sun always being behind them (like other times of the day) to achieve a nice image.
To wrap up…
• 3-4 Hours since Sunrise / until Sunset = keep the sun BEHIND your subject to avoid shadows
• Mid-day = very harsh shadows; stay in the shade if you are photographing during this time of day; having your subject glance up will produce a nice sparkle in the eyes
• 1-2 Hours since Sunrise / until Sunset = soft sunlight with warm golden hues; the closer you are to sunrise/sunset the more detail you will see on the top of your subject’s head; sun behind the subject creates a “glow”, sun can also be in front of the subject this time of day without worrying about shadows
I would love to see how you photograph your kiddos at different times of the day! Use #MyStoryInPhotos on Instagram to show me your results!
