Time of Light and Mood

Position of the Sun and Time of Day

The height of the sun completely changes the length of shadows and the color of light (color temperature).

Golden hour, the golden light at sunrise or sunset, warm light that makes people look the most beautiful

Blue hour, the bluish and calm early morning/early evening light right after sunset and just before it becomes completely dark

Sunrise/dawn, a clear and hopeful feeling of the beginning of the day, with a bit of mist and soft light

Sunset/dusk, dramatic and sentimental light with mixed red and purple tones, long shadows

High noon, strong white light beating down from directly overhead, very short shadows and extremely high contrast

Twilight, a mysterious and dreamy purple sky as darkness begins to fall after sunset

Midnight, deep night in pitch-black darkness, relying on moonlight or artificial lighting

Clouds and humidity determine how light is diffused.

Overcast, clouds act as a huge softbox, creating soft and calm light with no shadows

Stormy, a dark and threatening sky filled with storm clouds, with a sense of tension as if lightning might strike

Fog/mist, light scatters to create a hazy and mysterious feeling, the background is obscured so the subject stands out

Hazy, a dull and languid feeling as if covered in haze, like on a hot summer day or in a dreamlike atmosphere

Rainy day, overall dim, but light reflecting off the wet ground creates an emotional mood

Snowy day, the snow on the ground acts as a reflector, creating very bright and radiant (high key) light overall

Sunbeams, holy shafts of light pouring through clouds or between leaves

Sets the color and temperature of light in situations without natural light.

Candlelight, very low illumination, warm, flickering orange light, intimate and romantic

Campfire/fireplace, strong, intense warm-colored light, deep shadows cast on the face

Tungsten/incandescent, cozy indoor light with a warm yellow tint like household bulbs

Fluorescent, cold and pale light with a slight greenish tint, the bleak feeling of offices/hospitals/convenience stores

Neon ambience, artificial purple/pink/blue lighting like in cyberpunk scenes or bars

Darkroom, a special red tone as if only a red safe light is on

Screen glow, a modern sense of loneliness where only the light from a smartphone or monitor illuminates the face in a dark room

Lighting situations that are unrealistic or extremely rare.

Moonlight, cold and pale silver light, shadows rendered with a bluish tint

Starlight, a faint feeling under a very dark night sky with almost no light source

Bioluminescence, mysterious self-luminous light sources like glowworms, fireflies, or a forest like in Avatar

Eclipse, strange and surreal red or dark light when the sun is obscured

Aurora, a fantastical curtain of green/purple waves across the night sky

Chromatic, the effect of rainbow light formed on the subject after passing through a prism