Golden Hour Calculator
Find the exact golden hour and blue hour windows for any city and date — everything computed live in your browser using real astronomical formulas. Built for photographers and videographers planning outdoor shoots, no location data ever leaves your device.
FreeNo sign-upRuns in your browserUtilitiesApplication
Use Cases
Scouting sunrise and sunset shoot windows before traveling to a new city
Planning a wedding or portrait session around soft, flattering golden hour light
Timing drone and landscape videography for the most cinematic sky color
Coordinating a multi-day location shoot using the 7-day golden hour outlook
Scheduling blue hour cityscape or architecture photography sessions
How to find golden hour times for your location
1
Search or use your location
Type a city name to search 370+ major world cities, or tap "Use my location" to let your browser detect your coordinates.
2
Pick your shoot date
Use the date picker to select today or any future date — golden hour times shift by a few minutes each day.
3
Read the golden & blue hour windows
Instantly see AM/PM golden hour, AM/PM blue hour, sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and day length for that location and date.
4
Check the 7-day outlook
Scan the next-7-days table to plan multiple shoot days at once, or use the sun timeline to visualize the light at a glance.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are my location or search inputs uploaded anywhere?
- No. Golden Hour Calculator runs entirely in your browser — your searched city, your device's GPS coordinates (if you use "Use my location"), and your selected date are never sent to a server. All astronomical math happens locally using open sun-position formulas.
- What is golden hour?
- Golden hour is the period shortly after sunrise and before sunset when sunlight is warm, soft, and low in the sky — prized by photographers and videographers for flattering, low-contrast light.
- What is blue hour?
- Blue hour is the twilight window just before sunrise and just after sunset, when the sun is below the horizon but the sky still holds a deep blue glow — popular for cityscape and architectural photography.
- Are the displayed times in my local time zone or the location's?
- Times are shown in the selected location's own local time zone — not your browser's — so a search for "Tokyo" shows real Tokyo clock times even if you're browsing from New York. When you use "Use my location," your coordinates are your real current location, so your browser's time zone is used and is accurate for that case too.
- How accurate are the golden hour and blue hour times?
- Times are computed using the open-source SunCalc library, based on standard solar position astronomy. They're accurate to within a minute or two for most locations, though local terrain, elevation, and atmospheric conditions can shift the visible light slightly.
- Can I plan multiple days ahead?
- Yes. The next-7-days table shows AM and PM golden hour windows for a full week from your selected date, so you can plan multi-day shoots without recalculating each time.