What is green time in photography? Is it different from Golden Time?

Often we only hear the "golden hour" concept in life and even in photography. The golden time frame in photography is considered to be the best light of the day. However, have you told me to hear the green hour concept now?

Blue hour is a concept that can be familiar but also strange to people taking photos. Blue hour refers to the time of day when the sky will switch to different tones, creating an eye-catching when taking photos. The photographer will not worry about the light being too harsh or shading, affecting the color of the picture. To better understand the concept of Green Hour and how to take a picture of Blue Hour, please read our article below.

1. What is green time in photography?

Blue hours can be defined as the time of day when the color of the sky ranges from blue to dark blue, followed by black sky or vice versa, depending on the time of day taking place (vase minh or sunset). Called "green hour" because the blue effect in the sky lasts about an hour. In fact it may only last about 30-40 minutes. The time of Green Hour also depends on geographical location and time of year. During this time, the sky can be switched to blue or orange, yellow, pink and purple tones.

This is a great time to take photos of landscapes, cityscape, beach scenes or scenic spots. The important thing is that the subject in the photo must have some lights or highlights to help them stand out more. However, strong bright areas will be susceptible to fire when shooting in this case.

To be able to see the blue sky, you need to select the appropriate locations, observe the sky at the two times mentioned above and plan for yourself. In addition, there is a website that can determine the exact time of a green hour based on your current location

2. How to get a beautiful photo in Green Hour?

1. Shoot in shutter speed priority mode

In the blue hour, the sky will be relatively dark because the sun is now below the horizon. You will need to use a shutter speed slow enough to make the image bright enough.

Selecting shutter speed priority (S / Tv) mode on the camera will help you to customize the shutter speed manually. Usually, the speed between 1s - 6s is enough for you to get good photos.

2. Use soft-pressing cord or shooting timer:

As mentioned above, using a slow shutter speed means that you need to use an additional tripod, or at least keep it in a solid and flat location. If you don't use it, it will be very difficult to have the best and sharpest photos.

3. Using a tripod (Tripod):

As mentioned above, using a slow shutter speed means that you need to use an additional tripod, or at least keep it in a solid and flat location. If you don't use it, it will be very difficult to have the best and sharpest photos.

4. Shooting in RAW mode:

Try taking pictures in RAW format instead of JPEG, which will give you more flexibility when retaining the details of the image, as well as being easily tweaked when processing post-production images. In the event that the photo is a bit dark or too bright, you can easily edit it with RAW image.

However, once you know what to do when shooting green time, you can still capture stunning images in JPEG format.

5. Helping images sparkle with electric lights:

When shooting in green hours, if you can add elements such as electric lights from lampposts, vehicles, buildings will make the photo more interesting and sparkling. However, if you stand too close to the light source, they can cause flare, bright light or some unclear bright spots will appear on your image.

Refer to the following articles:

1. 10 simple photography techniques for impressive photos

1. Self-study photography - Basic principles

1. 10 tips for taking beautiful photos with digital cameras

Hope this article is useful to you!