The difference between a flat photo and a glowing one in Lafayette is usually forty-five minutes. The calculator below shows exactly which forty-five minutes — today's sunset, sunrise, golden and blue hour, live. Note the times below account for Lafayette's latitude — golden hour runs longer in winter and shorter at midsummer than most charts assume.
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: Shoot with the sun behind your subject during golden hour and expose for the face — the rim light does the rest.
In Lafayette, sunset ranges from 5:07 PM in November to 8:13 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 35 minutes at the summer solstice and 36 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Lafayette (America/Chicago).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:05 AM | 5:30 PM | 4:54 PM – 5:30 PM | 36 min | 10h 25m |
| February | 6:48 AM | 5:56 PM | 5:23 PM – 5:56 PM | 33 min | 11h 09m |
| March | 7:17 AM | 7:16 PM | 6:44 PM – 7:16 PM | 32 min | 11h 59m |
| April | 6:40 AM | 7:35 PM | 7:03 PM – 7:35 PM | 32 min | 12h 55m |
| May | 6:14 AM | 7:55 PM | 7:21 PM – 7:55 PM | 34 min | 13h 41m |
| June | 6:06 AM | 8:11 PM | 7:36 PM – 8:11 PM | 35 min | 14h 05m |
| July | 6:16 AM | 8:11 PM | 7:36 PM – 8:11 PM | 35 min | 13h 54m |
| August | 6:35 AM | 7:49 PM | 7:16 PM – 7:49 PM | 33 min | 13h 14m |
| September | 6:52 AM | 7:13 PM | 6:41 PM – 7:13 PM | 32 min | 12h 21m |
| October | 7:10 AM | 6:36 PM | 6:04 PM – 6:36 PM | 32 min | 11h 27m |
| November | 6:33 AM | 5:11 PM | 4:37 PM – 5:11 PM | 34 min | 10h 38m |
| December | 6:56 AM | 5:09 PM | 4:33 PM – 5:09 PM | 36 min | 10h 13m |
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.
