Photographers plan around two windows: the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Here are both for Westminster — computed live for its exact coordinates, accurate for any date you pick. With a west-facing coastline nearby, evenings are the show — the sun drops toward the Pacific and the last hour of light runs warm and long.
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 Westminster, sunset ranges from 4:43 PM in November to 8:06 PM in June. All times local to Westminster (America/Los_Angeles).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:56 AM | 5:06 PM | 4:29 PM – 5:06 PM | 37 min | 10h 10m |
| February | 6:36 AM | 5:36 PM | 5:02 PM – 5:36 PM | 34 min | 11h 00m |
| March | 7:02 AM | 6:59 PM | 6:27 PM – 6:59 PM | 32 min | 11h 58m |
| April | 6:21 AM | 7:23 PM | 6:49 PM – 7:23 PM | 34 min | 13h 02m |
| May | 5:50 AM | 7:46 PM | 7:10 PM – 7:46 PM | 36 min | 13h 55m |
| June | 5:41 AM | 8:04 PM | 7:27 PM – 8:04 PM | 37 min | 14h 23m |
| July | 5:52 AM | 8:03 PM | 7:27 PM – 8:03 PM | 36 min | 14h 11m |
| August | 6:14 AM | 7:38 PM | 7:04 PM – 7:38 PM | 34 min | 13h 24m |
| September | 6:35 AM | 6:58 PM | 6:25 PM – 6:58 PM | 33 min | 12h 23m |
| October | 6:57 AM | 6:17 PM | 5:44 PM – 6:17 PM | 33 min | 11h 21m |
| November | 6:24 AM | 4:48 PM | 4:12 PM – 4:48 PM | 36 min | 10h 25m |
| December | 6:49 AM | 4:45 PM | 4:06 PM – 4:45 PM | 39 min | 9h 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.
