Golden hour

Golden hour is a photographer's term that architects borrowed for good reason. With the sun close to the horizon, light travels through more atmosphere, so it arrives warmer and softer, and shadows run long across the ground. Long shadows pick out depth on a facade: reveals, fins, balconies and brick coursing all read clearly, while harsh midday contrast disappears. That is why so many competition images and marketing renders are set in this light. The exact timing depends on latitude and season, so the "hour" can be shorter or longer than sixty minutes.

Getting it right

• Check the real orientation of the building. A facade facing east will only catch warm low light in the morning, so a sunset image of it is a choice the client may question.
• Keep interior lights on but subtle. Warm windows against a cooling sky are part of the look, but they should not overpower the daylight.
• Watch the shadow side. In low sun one face of the building can fall into deep shade, which may hide the material you want to show.
• Use it with restraint across a set. If every image is golden, the series starts to feel staged; mixing in an overcast or midday view helps.
• For accurate sun positions on a real site, a sun angle calculator gives the altitude and direction for a date and time.

In Rendair

You can move an existing render into golden hour with Change Time of Day instead of rendering again, which keeps the design and only changes the light. It works on photorealistic results and on any render you have already made, so you can compare a midday and an evening version side by side on a board.