The difference between a flat photo and a glowing one in Columbus is usually forty-five minutes. The calculator below shows exactly which forty-five minutes — today's sunset, sunrise, golden and blue hour, live. On this side of the country, sunrise is the underrated window — the sun comes up over the Atlantic side and morning golden hour is quieter than the evening one.
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: Arrive 30 minutes before the golden hour window opens. Setup always takes longer than planned, and the first ten minutes of good light are often the best.
In Columbus, sunset ranges from 5:34 PM in November to 8:51 PM in June. All times local to Columbus (America/New_York).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:41 AM | 5:57 PM | 5:21 PM – 5:57 PM | 36 min | 10h 16m |
| February | 7:22 AM | 6:25 PM | 5:52 PM – 6:25 PM | 33 min | 11h 03m |
| March | 7:50 AM | 7:48 PM | 7:15 PM – 7:48 PM | 33 min | 11h 58m |
| April | 7:10 AM | 8:09 PM | 7:36 PM – 8:09 PM | 33 min | 12h 59m |
| May | 6:41 AM | 8:31 PM | 7:56 PM – 8:31 PM | 35 min | 13h 50m |
| June | 6:32 AM | 8:48 PM | 8:12 PM – 8:48 PM | 36 min | 14h 16m |
| July | 6:43 AM | 8:48 PM | 8:12 PM – 8:48 PM | 36 min | 14h 05m |
| August | 7:03 AM | 8:24 PM | 7:50 PM – 8:24 PM | 34 min | 13h 20m |
| September | 7:23 AM | 7:45 PM | 7:13 PM – 7:45 PM | 32 min | 12h 22m |
| October | 7:43 AM | 7:07 PM | 6:33 PM – 7:07 PM | 34 min | 11h 23m |
| November | 7:09 AM | 5:39 PM | 5:03 PM – 5:39 PM | 36 min | 10h 30m |
| December | 7:34 AM | 5:36 PM | 4:58 PM – 5:36 PM | 38 min | 10h 02m |
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.
