Photographers plan around two windows: the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Here are both for Cedar Rapids — computed live for its exact coordinates, accurate for any date you pick.
The month-by-month table below is in this city's own local time. The live times above follow your device's timezone. Mountains, ridgelines and buildings can shorten the usable window — scout your horizon.
Local tip: Find an open west-facing view for sunset and an east-facing one for sunrise — buildings and hills eat the last 15 minutes of light in most city centers.
In Cedar Rapids, sunset ranges from 4:34 PM in December to 8:46 PM in June. All times local to Cedar Rapids (America/Chicago).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:32 AM | 5:00 PM | 4:17 PM – 5:00 PM | 43 min | 9h 28m |
| February | 7:02 AM | 5:39 PM | 5:00 PM – 5:39 PM | 39 min | 10h 37m |
| March | 7:18 AM | 7:13 PM | 6:36 PM – 7:13 PM | 37 min | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:25 AM | 7:47 PM | 7:10 PM – 7:47 PM | 37 min | 13h 22m |
| May | 5:45 AM | 8:20 PM | 7:40 PM – 8:20 PM | 40 min | 14h 35m |
| June | 5:30 AM | 8:44 PM | 8:01 PM – 8:44 PM | 43 min | 15h 14m |
| July | 5:44 AM | 8:40 PM | 7:59 PM – 8:40 PM | 41 min | 14h 56m |
| August | 6:14 AM | 8:06 PM | 7:28 PM – 8:06 PM | 38 min | 13h 52m |
| September | 6:46 AM | 7:15 PM | 6:39 PM – 7:15 PM | 36 min | 12h 29m |
| October | 7:19 AM | 6:24 PM | 5:46 PM – 6:24 PM | 38 min | 11h 06m |
| November | 6:56 AM | 4:45 PM | 4:03 PM – 4:45 PM | 42 min | 9h 49m |
| December | 7:27 AM | 4:35 PM | 3:50 PM – 4:35 PM | 45 min | 9h 08m |
Golden hour is the stretch just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the low sun turns hard daylight into soft, warm, directional light — the most flattering natural light for portraits, real estate, product and landscape photography. Blue hour follows sunset (and precedes sunrise): a short window of deep, even blue that's ideal for twilight real estate shots and skylines. Both windows change with latitude and season, which is why this page computes them live instead of guessing.
Kanyon Studio is a San Diego photography and video studio — golden hour is our home field. Brand shoots, products, real estate and portraits, planned around exactly this light.
