The difference between a flat photo and a glowing one in Harlem 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 Harlem, sunset ranges from 4:27 PM in December to 8:31 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 42 minutes at the summer solstice and 43 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Harlem (America/New_York).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:17 AM | 4:52 PM | 4:10 PM – 4:52 PM | 42 min | 9h 35m |
| February | 6:49 AM | 5:30 PM | 4:52 PM – 5:30 PM | 38 min | 10h 41m |
| March | 7:07 AM | 7:02 PM | 6:26 PM – 7:02 PM | 36 min | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:16 AM | 7:35 PM | 6:58 PM – 7:35 PM | 37 min | 13h 19m |
| May | 5:38 AM | 8:06 PM | 7:27 PM – 8:06 PM | 39 min | 14h 28m |
| June | 5:23 AM | 8:29 PM | 7:47 PM – 8:29 PM | 42 min | 15h 05m |
| July | 5:37 AM | 8:25 PM | 7:45 PM – 8:25 PM | 40 min | 14h 49m |
| August | 6:06 AM | 7:53 PM | 7:16 PM – 7:53 PM | 37 min | 13h 48m |
| September | 6:36 AM | 7:04 PM | 6:28 PM – 7:04 PM | 36 min | 12h 28m |
| October | 7:07 AM | 6:15 PM | 5:38 PM – 6:15 PM | 37 min | 11h 08m |
| November | 6:42 AM | 4:37 PM | 3:56 PM – 4:37 PM | 41 min | 9h 55m |
| December | 7:13 AM | 4:28 PM | 3:45 PM – 4:28 PM | 43 min | 9h 16m |
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.
