When is the best time for landscape photography? Sunrise, sunset, or both?

Some photographers say sunrise is better for landscape photography because the light is better, and there are fewer people out. But I’ve always preferred the golden & blue hour hues of sunset.

I’m also not not an early riser 🙂

Then I tried capturing a composition at Bryce Canyon during sunset. (I heard Bryce was a sunrise location, but didn’t want to believe it. Up until that point, it didn’t seem to matter whether I photographed something during sunrise or sunset. Maybe I was lucky… Maybe past workshop leaders figured it out, which kept me oblivious…)

Well, my results didn’t fill me with awe. I wanted golden glows & dreamy blues, but got flat light & shadows instead. So I begrudgingly gave sunrise a try.

That’s when I took the above photo.

In that moment, I understood why photographers describe Bryce Canyon as a sunrise location. And why some places look divine during sunrise, while others are more photogenic at sunset.

So to answer the question, is sunrise or sunset better for landscape photography? It depends on your subject’s orientation in relation to the sunlight.

Bryce Canyon faces, or opens up to the east. Meaning the sunlight will illuminate the hoodoos nicely during sunrise, giving them a soft, golden glow. During sunset, almost all of the light strikes the rim, which then casts a shadow on the hoodoos.

That explains why my sunset photos of Bryce Canyon didn’t turn out, but my sunrise photos did.

In certain places the direction of sunlight, whether sunrise or sunset, varies by season. More on that in a future post.

Until next time,
K