Free photographer's tool

Golden Hour in Troy, MI

Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Troy. Every time below is computed live for Troy'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 Troy, sunset ranges from 4:59 PM in December to 9:14 PM in June. Every time on this page is calculated for Troy's coordinates (42.6056, -83.1499) and shown in America/Detroit.

Sunrise, sunset and golden hour in Troy by month

MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour (evening)LengthDaylight
January7:59 AM5:24 PM4:40 PM – 5:24 PM44 min9h 25m
February7:29 AM6:04 PM5:25 PM – 6:04 PM39 min10h 35m
March7:44 AM7:39 PM7:01 PM – 7:39 PM38 min11h 55m
April6:51 AM8:14 PM7:36 PM – 8:14 PM38 min13h 24m
May6:10 AM8:48 PM8:07 PM – 8:48 PM41 min14h 38m
June5:54 AM9:12 PM8:29 PM – 9:12 PM43 min15h 18m
July6:08 AM9:08 PM8:26 PM – 9:08 PM42 min15h 00m
August6:39 AM8:33 PM7:55 PM – 8:33 PM38 min13h 55m
September7:12 AM7:42 PM7:05 PM – 7:42 PM37 min12h 30m
October7:45 AM6:50 PM6:11 PM – 6:50 PM39 min11h 04m
November7:24 AM5:09 PM4:27 PM – 5:09 PM42 min9h 46m
December7:55 AM4:59 PM4:14 PM – 4:59 PM45 min9h 04m

How the light changes through the year in Troy

Golden hour is not the same length all year in Troy. It is longest in December at about 45 minutes and shortest in September at about 37 minutes — a difference of 8 minutes of usable warm light per evening.

Troy gets 6h 14m more daylight on the longest day than the shortest. Sunset moves from 4:59 PM in December to 9:12 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 9:47 PM, and in December until about 5:32 PM.

The year at a glance

  • Earliest sunset: 4:59 PM on December 2
  • Latest sunset: 9:14 PM on June 22
  • Longest day: 15h 19m on June 21
  • Shortest day: 9h 03m on December 21
  • Golden hour length: about 43 minutes in June, 45 minutes in December
  • Time zone: America/Detroit

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.