The Blue Hour is a wonderful time to step out, experience the enigmatic beauty of nature and click some breathtaking pictures!
Understanding Blue Hour in Photography
The Blue Hour occurs before sunrise and after sunset. Though it’s called Blue Hour, it actually lasts between 20 – 40 mins before sunrise and between 20 – 40 mins after sunset before it gets too dark. Sometimes, you may also see orange, yellow, pink colours near the horizon.
Take a look at some of the reasons why you should capture photographs during the Blue Hour (along with DSLR Settings):
To Evoke a Feeling of Tranquillity/of Faith: Ganga Aarti at Triveni Ghat, Rishikesh (Uttarakhand)
This was photographed after sunset; sunset timing: 6:10 pm, photo was taken at 6:33 pm.
DSLR Settings – Aperture: f/4, Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec, ISO 800.
To Capture Beautiful Colours of Nature: Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
An after sunset picture; sunset timing: 6:10 pm, photo was taken at 6:35 pm.
DSLR Settings – Aperture: f/5.6, Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec, ISO 3200.
To Enhance your Pic with a Mix of Natural & Artificial Light: Kala Ghoda Festival, Mumbai
This was photographed after sunset; sunset timing: 6:36 pm, photo was taken at 6:55 pm.
DSLR Settings: Aperture: f/4, Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec, ISO 800.
To Avoid Crowd & Get a Good View of the Place: Dawki, Meghalaya
In this picture – you can see the moon as well, it was clicked before sunrise.
Sunrise timing: 05:19 am, photo was taken at 05:10 am.
To give a 3D Feel to the photograph, Foreground Composition was used (Rocks & Stationed Boats serve as Foreground).
DSLR Settings: Aperture: f/5, Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec, ISO 3200.
To Appreciate the Beauty of Nature in Solitude: Kutch, Gujarat
Picture was clicked before sunrise; sunrise: 07:28 am, photo was taken at 07:07 am.
You will notice Rule of Thirds Composition was also used in this image.
DSLR Settings: Aperture: f/3.5, Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec, ISO 400.
Protip:
Since, it will be dark during the Blue Hour, you will need a slow shutter speed so that more light enters the camera sensor. So, use a tripod to avoid a blur image.
We bring you ‘Jo & His Camera’ Comic Strips wherein a Magical Camera gives DSLR photography tutorials to Jo.
Click on the below Image to see the Comic wherein the Camera explains Jo, the concept of Blue Hour with the help of practical examples.
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