What time of day is best for your Family Portraits

Golden hour is something you’ll hear photographers talk about a lot. It’s that hour before sunset when the light in the sky is all warm and golden and magical. There’s a lot of photographers who will ONLY shoot during golden hour, and I can understand why, it gives your images this warm golden glow which is stunning.

I am not one of those photographers

This image was taken during Golden Hour

Don’t get me wrong, I love a sunset and golden hour and I am all for scheduling your shoot during golden hour, especially in winter when sunset is so early in the day, IF (and this is a big if) your child is not a feral, tired, cranky gremlin at that time of day. I would much rather schedule a portrait shoot when your child is happy than when the light is “golden”. I can shoot at any time of day - provided there is light in the sky still - what I can’t do is pull a 4 year old back from over exhaustion no matter how fun I am!

This image was taken at 11am

So when I’m asked what the best time of day is best for family portraits, I like to work around your schedule. I find mornings are better for little ones up to about the age of 8-10. If you have a nap schedule I want to work around that, normally about 45 minutes to an hour after your little one normally wakes, which gives them time to wake up properly and have a snack. if you’ve got older children (or fur children) maybe afternoons are the better option, we can schedule shoots for after school/work and in summertime when we have those glorious long days anytime up to 9pm is fair game!

This image was taken at 2pm

If you’d like to have a chat about your own family portraits you can book an obligation free consult here