What Is Blue Hour?

Morning blue hour usually ends as sunrise approaches. Evening blue hour starts after sunset and fades into night. The window can be short, especially in lower latitudes, so it pays to be set up early.

If you are shooting a skyline, arrive before the evening window begins. The best balance often lasts only a few minutes, when the sky still has detail and the building lights have already come on.

Blue hour is excellent for cityscapes, streets, bridges, waterfronts, architecture and travel scenes with artificial light. The sky acts like a soft fill instead of going pure black.

It is less forgiving for handheld work. Shutter speeds drop quickly, and small movements show up. A tripod or a stable surface will save more photos than a fancy preset.

Protect the highlights first. Street lamps, windows and signs clip faster than the sky. Underexpose a little if you need to, then lift the darker areas later.

White balance matters here. If everything turns orange, cool it down. If everything turns gray, let some of the blue stay. The mood of blue hour comes from that tension between warm city light and cool sky.