Tips to take incredible Blue hour portraits

How to take amazing portraits during blue hour

In this video tutorial, Kevin from Easy Tiger Creative shows his behind the scenes blue hour portrait photoshoot and shares his tips for getting beautiful cinematic photos. Top tips to take blue hour portraits that look amazing!

Taking blue hour portraits – top tips!

For this photoshoot and tutorial, Kevin is using a Sony A7IV camera with a Tamron 35-150mm lens.

What is blue hour?

Blue hour is a time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon. Blue hour is typically the time just before sunrise or just after the sun has set. 

This position of the sun during blue hour creates a beautiful soft blue and orange hue to the sky and the natural lighting. Blue use hour photos, compared to golden hour, will be darker and have less light to use.

The time of blue hour in the day depends on where you are located on the earth as well as what time of the year it is where you are.

Tip 1 for blue hour portraits: Use Backlighting during blue hour

For these portrait shots, set the light source or horizon behind the subject, and see the beautiful silhouette effect of the photo. 

The blue light will surround the subject nicely as the subject is more shadowed in the foreground. The light will reflect off of the silhouette in a cool way.

Backlighting is a technique to get creative shots with light shining around the subject which makes the front look dark and shadowy.

Tip 2 to take blue hour portraits: Use other natural elements in the photo

Using the natural light is elevated when taking photos with other natural elements.

Use the scenery around you, like water sources, rocks, trees to elevate the images. 

The unique blue hour light will reflect off the different natural surfaces and create a more visually appealing image.

Tip 3 for taking blue hour portraits: Mix light sources

The natural light from the horizon in blue hour provides a unique lighting. 

If you are near other light sources, such as street lamps or headlights, position the subject or the scene nearby to get the effect of both light sources. 

Other lights will be illuminated by the blue hour effect, and the subject will be lit both from the blue hour lighting and the other light sources.

Tip 4 to take blue hour portraits: Act fast! Blue hour is not long

It’s called blue hour, but it really only lasts more like 20-30 minutes depending on the season of year you are in. 

So make sure you research when the sun is setting or rising, and get to your location with plenty of time to set up gear and pose your subject.

Try to visit the location ahead of time to scope out the best spots for your shots so you don’t waste precious blue hour time later!

Using blue hour light for beautiful portraits can be super easy with these tips!

Use this unique time of day natural lighting to get incredible photos.

Improve your photography skills using this comprehensive guide!

Which of these tips will you use the next time you take photos in blue hour?

Comment below!