Planning light for San Francisco, United States
Morning blue hour
What is LightWindow
Plan your shoot around the light, before you leave the house
LightWindow tells you when the good light happens and where it comes from. Pick a city and it lays out the day in order: morning blue hour, sunrise, golden hour, solar noon, then the same windows in reverse as the sun goes down. Every time is shown in the local clock, so you know exactly when to be in position.
The cards above also carry a compass direction for sunrise, sunset and each golden and blue hour window. That tells you which way the light will fall, so you can scout an angle or a backdrop ahead of time instead of guessing once you arrive.
Tools for San Francisco
Shooting the light in San Francisco
San Francisco’s light is ruled less by season than by the marine layer. From June through August, mornings often start under a gray sheet of fog that burns off by midday and pours back over Twin Peaks and the Golden Gate in the evening - which is exactly when it becomes a subject rather than a nuisance.
September and October are the reliably clear months, with warm evenings and clean horizons over the Pacific. Because the ocean sits due west, the city gets true over-water sunsets year-round, while sunrise light comes across the bay and lights the waterfront first.
Where photographers go
Marin Headlands (Battery Spencer)
The Golden Gate Bridge with the city behind it; evening light warms the towers and the fog, when it comes, arrives here first.
Baker Beach
The bridge from sea level at sunset; low tide leaves reflective sand in the foreground.
Twin Peaks
Blue hour over the Market Street corridor - the grid of lights switches on while the sky still holds color.
The Embarcadero
Sunrise over the East Bay backlights the Bay Bridge; the ferry building catches the first warm light.
