Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Elgin. Every time below is computed live for Elgin'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: Overcast day? A thin cloud layer at golden hour acts like a giant softbox — some of the best portrait light happens on days everyone else stays home.
In Elgin, sunset ranges from 4:21 PM in December to 8:33 PM in June. Every time on this page is calculated for Elgin's coordinates (42.0373, -88.2812) and shown in America/Chicago.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:18 AM | 4:46 PM | 4:03 PM – 4:46 PM | 43 min | 9h 28m |
| February | 6:48 AM | 5:26 PM | 4:47 PM – 5:26 PM | 39 min | 10h 37m |
| March | 7:04 AM | 6:59 PM | 6:22 PM – 6:59 PM | 37 min | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:12 AM | 7:34 PM | 6:56 PM – 7:34 PM | 38 min | 13h 22m |
| May | 5:32 AM | 8:07 PM | 7:26 PM – 8:07 PM | 41 min | 14h 35m |
| June | 5:16 AM | 8:30 PM | 7:48 PM – 8:30 PM | 42 min | 15h 14m |
| July | 5:30 AM | 8:27 PM | 7:45 PM – 8:27 PM | 42 min | 14h 56m |
| August | 6:01 AM | 7:53 PM | 7:15 PM – 7:53 PM | 38 min | 13h 52m |
| September | 6:33 AM | 7:02 PM | 6:25 PM – 7:02 PM | 37 min | 12h 29m |
| October | 7:05 AM | 6:11 PM | 5:33 PM – 6:11 PM | 38 min | 11h 06m |
| November | 6:43 AM | 4:31 PM | 3:50 PM – 4:31 PM | 41 min | 9h 49m |
| December | 7:14 AM | 4:22 PM | 3:37 PM – 4:22 PM | 45 min | 9h 08m |
Golden hour is not the same length all year in Elgin. It is longest in December at about 45 minutes and shortest in March at about 37 minutes — a difference of 8 minutes of usable warm light per evening.
Elgin gets 6h 06m more daylight on the longest day than the shortest. Sunset moves from 4:22 PM in December to 8:30 PM in June, so an evening shoot that works in summer will be shooting in the dark at the same clock time in winter.
Blue hour follows sunset and is worth planning for separately: in June it runs until about 9:05 PM, and in December until about 4:54 PM.
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.
