Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Champaign. Every time below is computed live for Champaign's coordinates and updates for any date.
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: Reflections double golden hour: water, glass buildings and wet pavement all pick up the sky's color in the hour around sunset.
In Champaign, sunset ranges from 4:27 PM in December to 8:26 PM in June. All times local to Champaign (America/Chicago).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:13 AM | 4:52 PM | 4:10 PM – 4:52 PM | 42 min | 9h 39m |
| February | 6:45 AM | 5:28 PM | 4:51 PM – 5:28 PM | 37 min | 10h 43m |
| March | 7:04 AM | 6:59 PM | 6:24 PM – 6:59 PM | 35 min | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:14 AM | 7:31 PM | 6:55 PM – 7:31 PM | 36 min | 13h 17m |
| May | 5:37 AM | 8:01 PM | 7:23 PM – 8:01 PM | 38 min | 14h 25m |
| June | 5:23 AM | 8:24 PM | 7:43 PM – 8:24 PM | 41 min | 15h 01m |
| July | 5:36 AM | 8:21 PM | 7:41 PM – 8:21 PM | 40 min | 14h 45m |
| August | 6:04 AM | 7:49 PM | 7:12 PM – 7:49 PM | 37 min | 13h 45m |
| September | 6:33 AM | 7:01 PM | 6:25 PM – 7:01 PM | 36 min | 12h 28m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 6:13 PM | 5:36 PM – 6:13 PM | 37 min | 11h 09m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 4:36 PM | 3:56 PM – 4:36 PM | 40 min | 9h 58m |
| December | 7:08 AM | 4:28 PM | 3:45 PM – 4:28 PM | 43 min | 9h 20m |
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.
