Golden Hour Now
Search a city or place name, or enter decimal coordinates as latitude, longitude.
Plan for
Select your location by searching for a city, place name, or coordinates above; click the Use my location button; or click anywhere on the map to choose a custom location. Once selected, simply scroll down below the map to view your golden and blue hour times and other light‑planning details.
At a glance
TodayLos Angeles Light
Updated for the selected coordinates and local time. Move the pin for your exact shooting viewpoint.
Selected Location
Coordinates
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Local Time
Current time: —
Daylight Planner
Plan your shoot around blue hour, golden hour, sunrise, sunset, and daylight.
Photography Weather
Forecast conditions around the selected evening golden-hour window.
Select a location and date to view the forecast.
7-Day Photography Forecast
Compare the next seven upcoming evening golden-hour opportunities at this location.
Select a location to compare the week ahead.
Forecasts can change as each day approaches. Click any day to load its full daylight, sun-direction, weather, cloud, and quality details.
Los Angeles photography guide
Photographing Golden Hour in Los Angeles
Los Angeles combines a west-facing coastline, a broad urban basin, mountain backdrops and elevated city viewpoints. The same evening can produce very different light at the beach, Downtown and in the hills. The planner begins at a central reference point; move the pin or choose a featured viewpoint below for an exact shoot plan.
Coastal marine clouds can remain concentrated near the ocean while inland skies are clearer, and basin haze can soften distant skyline detail even when rain is unlikely. Check exact coordinates, sunset azimuth, visibility and cloud cover rather than treating a citywide forecast as identical everywhere.
What Photographers Should Know
Golden Hour Photography Locations in Los Angeles
Griffith Observatory
Elevated city views- Best for
- Skyline, basin and mountain compositions
- Light
- Evening golden hour into blue hour
Its elevation gives photographers several possible orientations. Check the sun-direction ray before choosing the overlook.
Venice Beach
Open coastal horizon- Best for
- Silhouettes, reflections and wide sunset scenes
- Light
- Evening golden hour and sunset
The western horizon makes seasonal sunset direction easy to visualize. Coastal clouds can differ from inland Los Angeles.
Echo Park Lake
Water + skyline layers- Best for
- Reflections, fountain, palms and urban layers
- Light
- Golden-to-blue-hour transitions
Water and skyline elements keep working after direct golden light fades, making blue hour especially useful.
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
Skyline viewpoint- Best for
- Elevated skyline and city-basin compositions
- Light
- Late afternoon through sunset
Use seasonal azimuth to understand where the sun falls relative to the skyline. Visibility is especially important here.
Downtown Los Angeles
Urban light & shadows- Best for
- Architecture, street geometry and reflected light
- Light
- Late golden hour into city blue hour
Low-angle sunlight creates long shadows and bright building edges. Exact pin placement helps account for street orientation.
Where Does the Sun Set in Los Angeles?
The sunset bearing changes throughout the year rather than remaining exactly west. The Sun Direction overlay shows true azimuth for the selected date and coordinates so you can preview where sunset falls relative to a composition.
Planning for Different Seasons
Seasonal changes affect light-window duration and sunrise/sunset bearings. Coastal cloud cover, marine influence, basin haze and visibility can make evenings with similar sunset times photograph very differently.
Los Angeles Golden Hour Workflow
- Choose Today, Tomorrow or your planned date.
- Move the pin—or use Plan this location—to set the viewpoint.
- Check golden-hour timing and sunset azimuth.
- Review cloud cover, precipitation, visibility and Quality Score.
- Compare the 7-day forecast if your date is flexible.
- Arrive early enough to scout before the light begins.
How to Read the Photography Forecast
The Golden Hour Quality Score combines forecast cloud cover, precipitation probability, visibility, humidity and wind into a planning estimate. It is not a guarantee of dramatic color: terrain, smoke, haze and cloud-layer placement can still change the scene.
Forecast confidence generally improves as the selected date approaches. See the GoldenHourNow methodology for calculation details.
Nearby Southern California Destinations
Dedicated pages will be linked here as the library expands. Until then, use the worldwide map or search to plan Malibu, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, Joshua Tree or any exact coordinates.