Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Rochester. Every time below is computed live for Rochester'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: For skylines and wide shots, the 15 minutes after sunset usually beats the sunset itself: the sky holds color while buildings and streetlights come up.
In Rochester, sunset ranges from 4:31 PM in December to 8:57 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 44 minutes at the summer solstice and 48 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Rochester (America/Chicago).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:41 AM | 4:57 PM | 4:12 PM – 4:57 PM | 45 min | 9h 16m |
| February | 7:08 AM | 5:39 PM | 4:59 PM – 5:39 PM | 40 min | 10h 31m |
| March | 7:21 AM | 7:16 PM | 6:38 PM – 7:16 PM | 38 min | 11h 54m |
| April | 6:26 AM | 7:54 PM | 7:15 PM – 7:54 PM | 39 min | 13h 28m |
| May | 5:43 AM | 8:29 PM | 7:47 PM – 8:29 PM | 42 min | 14h 46m |
| June | 5:26 AM | 8:54 PM | 8:10 PM – 8:54 PM | 44 min | 15h 28m |
| July | 5:41 AM | 8:50 PM | 8:07 PM – 8:50 PM | 43 min | 15h 09m |
| August | 6:13 AM | 8:14 PM | 7:34 PM – 8:14 PM | 40 min | 14h 00m |
| September | 6:49 AM | 7:20 PM | 6:42 PM – 7:20 PM | 38 min | 12h 31m |
| October | 7:24 AM | 6:25 PM | 5:46 PM – 6:25 PM | 39 min | 11h 01m |
| November | 7:05 AM | 4:43 PM | 3:59 PM – 4:43 PM | 44 min | 9h 38m |
| December | 7:37 AM | 4:32 PM | 3:44 PM – 4:32 PM | 48 min | 8h 55m |
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.
