As your Perth Family Photographer, I am here to tell you that the time of your photoshoot MATTERS. If you see those glowing, golden images or pink and purple sunset skies and want to achieve them for your family photos, you are going to need to time it just right.

Let’s take a look at three different times for your photoshoot.

1. Golden Hour

Golden hour is the hour before sunset or the hour after sunrise and gets its name from the golden glow it creates. This is one of the most popular times to take images. The best time to start your Perth photoshoot changes depending on the season. Sunset times vary as below:

Spring (Sept- Nov): approx. 6pm – 7:30pm

Summer (Dec – Feb): approx. 7:30pm – 8pm

Autumn (March – May): approx. 6:30pm – 7pm

Winter (Jun – Aug): 5:30pm – 6:15pm

If you are after a golden hour session, choosing a month that allows for an optimal time that works for your family is a good way to get the session off to a happy start. Happy kids, happy photos!

2. Blue Hour

Yes, I LOVE golden hour, but my time as a Perth Family Photographer has shown me that blue hour is probably my next favourite. This is the ‘hour’ after the sun has set. I say the ‘hour’ but I find the first 15 minutes to be absolutely gorgeous and then it just gets a bit too dark for my taste.

But those 15 minutes…the skies take on all sorts of different colours and if luck is on your side and you get a good night, the sky can be all sorts of shades of golden, blue, purple and pink. It is truly gorgeous and I feel we are so incredibly blessed to witness the natural beauty in Perth.

3. During daylight hours

Most photographers will advise against daylight photos. I am in two minds. If you want that dreamy golden or romantic atmospheric vibe you see from golden or blue hour, then I’m sorry to say you just won’t get that during daylight hours.

That said, daylight photoshoots can be stunning if done right. Using the right techniques learnt as a Perth Photographer, I can point you in the right direction of where to stand and where to face so that you are staring into the sun squinting and having harsh shadows fall on your face.

I can also advise on Perth photoshoot locations that work beautifully during daylight hours, especially with trees and bushes that allow light to seeping between the branches, creating gorgeous golden sunlight and light flares.

Typically, I love to schedule my sessions as a mix between golden and blue hours. Say for a one hour session, I’d schedule it to start 45 minutes before sunset so we have 45 minutes of golden hour and 15 minutes of blue hour.

I want your gallery to have the best of both worlds and variety as well as giving your family a chance to sit back, enjoy and be present for the sunset. We live in a gorgeous part of the world and sometimes we need to just take a minute between all the school runs, work hours, traffic and just general business of life and enjoy a sunset and quality family time.

If you are due for a sunset and want to capture your family memories, get in touch and let’s make magic happen.