“Golden Hour” Pet Photography in St. Louis, Missouri (and What it Means)

The above image was captured in direct mid-day sunlight. Quite gorgeous, yes? Exactly! This article is in no way intended to dissuade clients of Top Breed Pet Photography from scheduling photoshoots during the day (or times other than “golden hour”), but rather to demonstrate how the time of day can influence the mood of a final picture. If you prefer capturing your beloved pet in the glory/intensity of full sunlight as you know they enjoy and you’d like to preserve, then perhaps such a setting is for you! That said, there exists fine reasoning behind considering golden hour as well. Let’s explore!

What Exactly is “Golden Hour?”

Golden hour refers to the period shortly after sunrise or just before sunset when the sun is low in the sky, casting a soft, warm light. During this time, sunlight travels through more of the Earth’s atmosphere, which naturally diffuses it-reducing harsh shadows and muting overly bright highlights. The result is a flattering, even glow that can beautifully enhance the color, texture, and depth of your pet’s features without the need for artificial lighting or heavy editing.

The mood golden hour creates is often described as dreamy, peaceful, or even magical! In pet photography, the golden tones can enhance the natural colors in your pet’s coat and surroundings/background. This has the potential to give the image a storybook feel, with uniquely artistic light.

Let’s See an Example!

What you’re about to be presented with is an unedited photo, taken during mid-day/harsh sunlight. Notice how bright the sun is and how it can nearly blow some colors out (especially the whites in this German Shepherd’s fur)? The grass is also intensely bright. Still a fun image… but can it be improved in post-processing to show more of the dog’s natural beauty? Absolutely!

Here is what we are starting with. This is actually my boy! He’s having a great time running around with his favorite ball and I absolutely adore seeing him sprint toward me with love in his eyes. Let’s see what we can do to give him the look that he deserves after some editing!

Here we are! Notice how, through proper exposure and editing of “raw” photo files, it’s possible to bring detail back from this good boy’s arm/shoulder, fluffy neck/mane, and even tone the grass down in a way that allows him to become the obvious subject of the picture? Feel free to switch between the two above images and see what else you can notice!

Shadows can Work Towards Our Advantage as well…

Here is an image which was also taken during mid-day sun, but in the slight shadow of a tree. You can see the intense impact of the sun on background features such as the parking lot, but the tasteful shade affords us the ability to still capture a gorgeous photo!

Here are a couple more pictures which demonstrate this same concept…

This is a “Keeshond” breed of dog… absolutely eye-catching! I love how this image shows the dog near his home, going about a walk so common that his owner’s wanted to capture it and have it be preserved forever as to always keep a memory of it into the future. Notice how our fluffy friend is in shadow, letting the intense sunlight be present in the background but not disturbing his beauty?

and finally… here is a new friend showcasing the same technique of using shadow when there is powerful natural lighting.

Given all of this info, let’s now look at images which were taken during golden hour and see the differences!

Golden Hour Photos by Top Breed Pet Photography:

As is made evident through my previous blog article describing my favorite park for pet photography in St. Louis, I totally adore this girl right here (her name is Kiwi)! Here she is, embracing the drama and ambience of golden hour… letting it wrap around her as she stares deeply into it. There’s more where this comes from!

Look at that! See how the sunlight blankets the entirety of Kiwi’s surroundings and even brings out the brindle coloration in her fur? This is simply an impressive image!

Saint Louis Specifics…

I do hope that you enjoyed having this visual tour of natural lighting and how it can influence the final image that you receive as a client of Top Breed Pet Photography! Now, I’d like to provide you with a guide to keep in mind if you would like to schedule a golden hour photoshoot of your own! Of course, the times of sunrise and sunset change throughout the year… so here’s a general plan for golden hour depending on which month that you find yourself reading this article.

January- Sunrise occurs at about 7:15am. Sunset occurs at about 5:15pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 8:15am-9:15am and in the evening, it would be around 4:15pm-5:15pm.

February- Sunrise occurs at about 7:05am. Sunset occurs at about 5:35pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 8:05am-9:05am and in the evening, it would be around 4:35pm-5:35pm.

March- Sunrise occurs at about 6:30am. Sunset occurs at about 6:00pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:30am-8:30am and in the evening, it would be around 5:00pm-6:00pm.

April- Sunrise occurs at about 6:45am. Sunset occurs at about 7:25pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:45am-8:45am and in the evening, it would be around 6:25pm-7:25pm.

May- Sunrise occurs at about 6:00pm. Sunset occurs at about 8:00pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:00am-8:00am and in the evening, it would be around 7:00pm-8:00pm.

June- Sunrise occurs at about 5:38am. Sunset occurs at about 8:28pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 6:38am-7:38am and in the evening, it would be around 7:28pm-8:28pm.

July- Sunrise occurs at about 5:48am. Sunset occurs at about 8:25pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 6:48am-7:48am and in the evening, it would be around 7:25pm-8:25pm.

August- Sunrise occurs at about 6:03am. Sunset occurs at about 8:10pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:03am-8:03am and in the evening, it would be around 7:10pm-8:10pm.

September- Sunrise occurs at about 6:31am. Sunset occurs at about 7:30pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:31am-8:31am and in the evening, it would be around 6:30pm-7:30pm.

October- Sunrise occurs at about 6:58am. Sunset occurs at about 6:45pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 7:58am-8:58am and in the evening, it would be around 5:45pm-6:45pm.

November- Sunrise occurs at about 7:28am. Sunset occurs at about 5:59pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 8:28am-9:28am and in the evening, it would be around 4:59pm-5:59pm.

December- Sunrise occurs at about 7:00am. Sunset occurs at about 4:40pm. Golden hour in the morning would be around 8:00am-9:00am and in the evening, it would be around 3:40pm-4:40pm.

Thanks again! Be sure to contact me to schedule your photoshoot (whether outdoors or indoors with my portable studio setup) HERE