The difference between a flat photo and a glowing one in Waco 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 Waco'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: Reflections double golden hour: water, glass buildings and wet pavement all pick up the sky's color in the hour around sunset.
In Waco, sunset ranges from 5:24 PM in December to 8:37 PM in June. All times local to Waco (America/Chicago).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:28 AM | 5:48 PM | 5:12 PM – 5:48 PM | 36 min | 10h 20m |
| February | 7:10 AM | 6:15 PM | 5:42 PM – 6:15 PM | 33 min | 11h 06m |
| March | 7:38 AM | 7:36 PM | 7:04 PM – 7:36 PM | 32 min | 11h 58m |
| April | 7:00 AM | 7:57 PM | 7:24 PM – 7:57 PM | 33 min | 12h 57m |
| May | 6:32 AM | 8:18 PM | 7:43 PM – 8:18 PM | 35 min | 13h 46m |
| June | 6:23 AM | 8:35 PM | 7:59 PM – 8:35 PM | 36 min | 14h 12m |
| July | 6:34 AM | 8:34 PM | 7:59 PM – 8:34 PM | 35 min | 14h 00m |
| August | 6:53 AM | 8:11 PM | 7:38 PM – 8:11 PM | 33 min | 13h 18m |
| September | 7:12 AM | 7:34 PM | 7:02 PM – 7:34 PM | 32 min | 12h 21m |
| October | 7:31 AM | 6:56 PM | 6:23 PM – 6:56 PM | 33 min | 11h 25m |
| November | 6:56 AM | 5:29 PM | 4:54 PM – 5:29 PM | 35 min | 10h 33m |
| December | 7:20 AM | 5:27 PM | 4:50 PM – 5:27 PM | 37 min | 10h 06m |
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.
