The Cycle of Light
Written by Abin Alex and Anu Joseph.
Abstract
A practical guide to the cycle of natural light: parts of the day, twilight, golden hour, midday, the exposure clock, the seasons, weather and artificial light, with three diagrams and three tables.
Keywords: cycle of light, golden hour, twilight, civil twilight, midday light, seasons and the sun, solstice, light in fog and rain, sunny 16
How does light change through the day?
Short answer. The colour, contrast and direction of the sun change in a predictable cycle from dawn to dusk.
- Begin by observing the cycle of light and noting its colour and shadow. Natural light comes from the sun, and it can still be present indoors by shining through windows, doors and skylights, where it can be used to light a subject creatively (Marr, 2004, p. 11).
- The day has 24 hours, divided into daytime and night. Daytime runs from sunrise at about 6 am to sunset at about 6 pm. AM means before noon and starts just after midnight, and PM means after noon and starts just after midday.
- Figure 1 shows the parts of a clear day. Table 1 gives the contrast, colour and sun direction for each.
- Daylight is a mix of two sources: warm direct sunlight, which makes the highlights and shadows, and cool skylight, which fills the whole scene. Without skylight the shadows would be black (Child and Galer, 2008, p. 12).
| Time of day | Contrast | Colour | Sun direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midday | Highest | Neutral white | Near vertical |
| Morning and evening | High | Slightly warm | Mid to low |
| Golden hour, sunrise and sunset | Medium | Warm to fiery | Near horizontal |
| Twilight, dawn and dusk | Low | Cool pastel | Below the horizon |
Table 1. Time of day compared.
Photograph the same view at dawn, midday and dusk. Compare the colour and shadows.
A shooting schedule is built around these phases, because each gives a different look.
Cham tipNote the time on every frame.
Cham taskShoot one subject at four times of day and write the colour, contrast and direction of each.
Check yourself: When is contrast highest?
At midday.
What are dawn, dusk and the three twilights?
Short answer. Twilight is the glow from the sky when the sun is below the horizon. It has civil, nautical and astronomical stages.
- Twilight is the period before sunrise or after sunset when all or part of the sky is lit by reflected sunlight, although the sun itself is not above the horizon. Sunrise is the moment the disc of the sun first appears above the eastern horizon because of the rotation of the earth. Sunset is the moment it completely disappears below the western horizon.
- Technically dusk is the twilight between complete darkness and sunrise or sunset. In common use, dawn means the morning and dusk means only the evening twilight.
- Dawn light is clean and cold, almost bluish, with no shadows cast. The world is nearly black and white, colours are muted and flat, and their intensity grows as the sun rises. Artificial lights can appear as accents. Few people are about, so it is ideal for pictures without crowds.
- There are three kinds of twilight, set by how far the sun is below the horizon (Table 2).
| Twilight | Sun below horizon | What it is like |
|---|---|---|
| Civil | Less than 6 degrees | The brightest stage, until sunrise in the morning and from sunset in the evening |
| Nautical | 6 to 12 degrees | Less bright, artificial light is generally needed outdoors, most stars visible |
| Astronomical | 12 to 18 degrees | Almost dark, the sky is completely dark when it ends |
Table 2. The three twilights.
Watch the sky for an hour before sunrise and note when you could first read a book outdoors.
Night scenes are often shot in twilight, when the sky still has colour and the lights are on.
Cham tipShoot the first stage of twilight for colour in the sky.
Cham taskRecord the sunrise and sunset time for your city and mark the end of civil twilight.
Check yourself: In which twilight is the sun 12 to 18 degrees below the horizon?
Astronomical twilight.
What is the light like at each time of day?
Short answer. Warm and long-shadowed at the ends of the day, white and harsh at midday.
- Sunrise often has a warm colour with long shadows that add interest, especially in black and white. The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset are the golden hours, also called magic hours (Siskin, 2011, p. 10).
- As soon as the sun comes up the light changes dramatically. A low sun must pass through a thick layer of atmosphere, so the light that reaches you is much warmer than later in the day. Shadows can look blue, because they receive the blue of the overhead sky (Child and Galer, 2008, p. 21). By mid-morning the light loses its warmth and looks clear and white. Light after sunrise is ideal for landscapes until about mid-morning.
- The higher the sun climbs, the greater the contrast between colours. At noon the light is white, colours stand out strongly, shadows are black and deep, and subjects can look like three dimensional cut-outs. Midday is probably the worst time for outdoor portraits. With no light falling from the side, shadows are dark and the eyes of a portrait often turn completely black (Siskin, 2011, p. 10). If you must shoot at midday, hope for a blue sky with interesting clouds, or shoot just after rain.
- As the sun drops, the light warms up again, gradually. Look for an increase in red. Shadows lengthen and turn bluer, surfaces take strong texture, and more detail is revealed as the sun gets lower. This light, like sunrise, does not last long.
- Sunsets suit silhouettes. Place the subject directly in front of the sun and take the light reading from the sky. After sunset the light is soft, and contrast and shadow are at a minimum. Warm colours linger in the landscape, and purple light appears as blue light falls from the overhead sky. Long exposures on a tripod capture richer colour than the eye sees, which is why many of the best night shots are made at dusk and why dusk suits cityscapes.
- At night the world is seen by artificial light and by light reflected from the moon. The light is generally harsh and contrast is extreme. Long exposures at high ISO on a tripod, a brace or a very steady hand are normal.
Stand at one place from sunrise to mid-morning and photograph the same wall every fifteen minutes.
Golden hour is the most requested light on a film set, and it lasts only a short time.
Cham tipFor portraits, avoid the hours around noon.
Cham taskPhotograph a portrait at 8 am, 12 noon and 5 pm and write which you would keep.
Check yourself: Why is sunrise light warmer than noon light?
A low sun passes through more atmosphere.
How much light is there through a sunny day?
Short answer. The exposure value rises from EV 10 in early morning to EV 15 or 16 at noon and falls again.
- On a sunny day the light follows a clock (Figure 2). At 7 am it is EV 10 and it rises by one each hour to EV 14 at 11 am, reaches EV 15 or 16 at noon, and falls to EV 10 at 6 pm.
- As a rule of thumb, if your ISO is 100 your shutter speed will be 1/100 second. The sunny 16 rule gives f/16, and in Indian sun we find f/22 works well at midday. The EV changes with the direction of the sun and with the season.
Meter a gray card each hour on a clear day and note the settings.
A light meter reading through the day tells a camera crew when to add ND filters or fill.
Cham tipISO 100, shutter 1/100 and f/16 or f/22 at noon.
Cham taskRecord the exposure settings each hour for one clear day.
Check yourself: What is the shutter speed rule at ISO 100?
1/100 second.
How do the seasons change the light?
Short answer. The tilt of the earth by 23.5 degrees changes the height of the sun, the length of the day and the length of shadows.
- The earth orbits the sun once every 365 days. It does not do this standing straight up. It is tilted on its axis, the invisible line it spins around, by 23.5 degrees. The tilt and the orbit together give the yearly pattern we call the seasons.
- For part of the year one hemisphere leans toward the sun and the other leans away. When the sun is at the summer solstice, it shines over the northern hemisphere, which gets more sunlight and becomes hotter, while it is winter in the southern hemisphere.
- An equinox is when the plane of the earth equator passes through the centre of the sun. There are two each year, the vernal equinox on 20 or 21 March and the autumnal equinox on 22 or 23 September. A solstice is when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator. The summer solstice is on 21 or 22 June and the winter solstice is on 21 or 22 December.
- At the summer solstice the sun rises at its northernmost point, and at the winter solstice at its southernmost point (Figure 3). That is why summer has long daylight and short shadows and winter has the opposite. The shadow is longest on the winter solstice and shortest on the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.
- The position of the sun depends on the time of year and on your place relative to the equator, which has a great impact on both the quality and the quantity of the light.
Photograph the shadow of one post at noon on the same day each month and compare the lengths.
A long project plans scenes around the season, because the same place looks different in each.
Cham tipThe same hour gives a different light in each season.
Cham taskChart the noon shadow of one pole on the first of each month for a year.
Check yourself: When is the noon shadow longest in the northern hemisphere?
At the winter solstice.
How does weather change the light?
Short answer. Fog, rain, snow and cloud scatter light, soften contrast and change the exposure you need.
- Weather is a light modifier. Table 3 gives the main effects and the exposure advice.
- Fog and mist diffuse the light and give nearly monochrome compositions that lean cool. A distinct foreground subject stands out against the muted background, much as in a shallow depth of field. Shafts of sunlight look good in mist. If the scene looks too flat, raise the contrast.
- Rain mutes colour and contrast but brings reflections into play. Include a warm accent to add depth. The faster the shutter speed, the more distinct the drops. Below 1/60 second the drops blur, and a long exposure makes them disappear. Protect the camera with a plastic bag with a hole for the lens. The light just after rain is very good, and greens look more saturated.
- Snow reflects whatever colour is around it, usually blue in daylight. Bright snow fools a meter, which sees more light than there is, and underexposes. Open up one to two stops from the meter reading to keep the snow white, and bracket. Low sun brings out the texture of snow.
- On an overcast day the light is flat with few shadows (Grey, 2004, pp. 12-13). It is consistent, but even light does not guarantee a flattering portrait. It can make a hotspot on the forehead and nose and shadows under the eyes. No studio photographer places a large softbox directly over the head of a model and expects flattering light.
| Weather | Light | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Fog and mist | Diffuse, cool, muted | Meter a hand in similar light, add half to one stop, raise contrast if flat |
| Rain | Muted colour and contrast, reflections | Add a warm accent, use 1/60 second or faster to show drops, protect the camera |
| Snow | Reflects the colour around it, fools the meter | Add one to two stops, set white balance, bracket |
| Overcast and shade | Flat, even, consistent | Watch for hotspots on the face, find direction near a window or edge of shade |
Table 3. Weather and exposure.
Photograph the same scene in clear sun, in cloud and in mist if you can. Compare the contrast.
Rain and fog scenes are often made on a set with water trucks and smoke, because they give a strong mood.
Cham tipAdd exposure for snow and fog. Meters are fooled by bright scenes.
Cham taskPhotograph a scene in two kinds of weather and describe the exposure change.
Check yourself: What does snow do to a meter?
It underexposes the scene.
What is the difference between continuous and flash light?
Short answer. Continuous light is always on and lets you see the effect. Flash gives a burst of light.
- Light powered by electricity is artificial light. The two common kinds are continuous light and flash. A flash closely matches the light quality of the sun but is still artificially generated.
- A continuous light, such as a bulb or a fluorescent tube, is always there when switched on. You can see its intensity and shadow positions and adjust in real time, which makes it easier. A flash gives a burst of direct light and needs different techniques. A model light, a continuous light on the flash head, is used to judge shadows before the flash fires (Grey, 2004, p. 15).
Light a subject first with a continuous lamp and then with a flash. Note how you judge the shadow.
Film and video sets use continuous light, so the result is visible on the monitor as you adjust.
Cham tipUse the model light to place the shadows before the flash fires.
Cham taskLight one subject with a desk lamp and with a flash and compare the setup process.
Check yourself: Which light can you judge in real time?
Continuous light.
Questions beginners ask
What is the golden hour?
The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, when the light is warm and shadows are long.
Why is midday light bad for portraits?
The sun is overhead, so shadows are deep and the eyes turn dark.
What are the three twilights?
Civil, nautical and astronomical twilight, set by how far the sun is below the horizon.
How do seasons change the light?
The tilt of the earth by 23.5 degrees changes the height of the sun, the length of the day and the length of shadows.
How much should you overexpose snow?
About one to two stops so the snow stays white.
References
- Child, J. and Galer, M. (2008) Photographic lighting: essential skills. 4th edn. Oxford: Focal Press.
- Grey, C. (2004) Master lighting guide for portrait photographers. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media.
- Marr, D. (2004) Beginner's guide to photographic lighting: techniques for success in the studio or on location. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media.
- Siskin, J. (2011) Understanding and controlling strobe lighting: a guide for digital photographers. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media.
Further reading
- Hirsch, R. (2008) Light and lens: photography in the digital age. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.
- Langford, M. and Bilissi, E. (2011) Langford's advanced photography. 8th edn. Oxford: Focal Press.
How to cite this guide. Alex, A., & Joseph, A. (2026). The cycle of light: A guide for photographers and cinematographers. Creative Hut Academy. https://creativehut.org/library/the-cycle-of-light/
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