Free photographer's tool

Golden Hour in Topeka, KS

Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Topeka. Every time below is computed live for Topeka'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.

Where to shoot it

Local tip: Golden hour moves every single day. If you're planning a shoot more than a week out, check the date itself — the window can shift by 20+ minutes.

In Topeka, sunset ranges from 5:00 PM in November to 8:52 PM in June. Every time on this page is calculated for Topeka's coordinates (39.0483, -95.678) and shown in America/Chicago.

Sunrise, sunset and golden hour in Topeka by month

MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour (evening)LengthDaylight
January7:40 AM5:24 PM4:43 PM – 5:24 PM41 min9h 45m
February7:13 AM6:00 PM5:23 PM – 6:00 PM37 min10h 46m
March7:33 AM7:29 PM6:54 PM – 7:29 PM35 min11h 56m
April6:45 AM8:00 PM7:24 PM – 8:00 PM36 min13h 14m
May6:09 AM8:28 PM7:50 PM – 8:28 PM38 min14h 19m
June5:56 AM8:50 PM8:10 PM – 8:50 PM40 min14h 54m
July6:09 AM8:47 PM8:08 PM – 8:47 PM39 min14h 38m
August6:36 AM8:17 PM7:40 PM – 8:17 PM37 min13h 41m
September7:04 AM7:30 PM6:55 PM – 7:30 PM35 min12h 27m
October7:32 AM6:43 PM6:07 PM – 6:43 PM36 min11h 11m
November7:05 AM5:08 PM4:29 PM – 5:08 PM39 min10h 03m
December7:34 AM5:01 PM4:19 PM – 5:01 PM42 min9h 27m

How the light changes through the year in Topeka

Golden hour is not the same length all year in Topeka. It is longest in December at about 42 minutes and shortest in March at about 35 minutes — a difference of 7 minutes of usable warm light per evening.

Topeka gets 5h 27m more daylight on the longest day than the shortest. Sunset moves from 5:01 PM in December to 8:50 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 9:22 PM, and in December until about 5:31 PM.

The year at a glance

  • Earliest sunset: 5:00 PM on November 30
  • Latest sunset: 8:52 PM on June 21
  • Longest day: 14h 55m on June 21
  • Shortest day: 9h 25m on December 21
  • Golden hour length: about 40 minutes in June, 42 minutes in December
  • Time zone: America/Chicago

What is golden hour?

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.

Chasing the light for a shoot?

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.