The best time of day for family photos honestly depends on the style you’re looking for! Most of my clients prefer the golden hour look of sunset photos, but there is no right or wrong answer.

What Time of Day Gives the Best Lighting for Family Photos?

Photoshoot Time	Lighting & Look
Sunrise	Soft, dreamy lighting that feels crisp yet hazy
Sunset	Warm, radiant, glowy lighting
Mid-day	Bright sun with the trending “flash” look

Want soft, dreamy lighting that feels crisp yet hazy? You might want a sunrise photoshoot!

Hoping for the warm, radiant, glowy look? You’ll want to schedule a sunset photo session!

Love the bright sun with that trending “flash” look? You might want to talk to your photographer about setting up a mid-day photoshoot!

Does the Location Change the Best Time for Family Photos?

Location Type	Best Time to Schedule	Why
Woods / heavily wooded areas	Earlier than typical sunset time	The sun needs to be higher to shine through the trees.
Mountaintops / high elevation	Later in the evening	Higher elevation usually keeps the available light longer.
Valleys / waterfalls surrounded by trees	Earlier	Lower areas with tree coverage lose direct light sooner.
Open fields / open scenery	Later	Open landscapes allow more light to reach the area as the sun gets lower.
Locations with tall buildings or trees	Usually earlier	Tall objects can block the sun before the actual sunset time.

The time of day you want to schedule your photoshoot varies between locations. If you plan to be in the woods, you might want to plan for a little earlier than the typical sunset time because you’ll want that sun nice and high to shine through the trees.

You can book your session much later in the evening if you’ll be doing your photos on a mountaintop. The higher you are in elevation, the later you can schedule your photoshoot for. Also consider if there is anything tall-standing in the background as that plays a part (think buildings or trees).

The lower on the ground and covered by trees (think waterfalls tucked in a valley), the earlier you’ll want to schedule your session for.

The more your scenery opens up like a field and higher up in landscape you go, the later you can schedule your session.

This is why it’s so important to work with a photographer that truly understands lighting and scoping locations. They should be able to plan the perfect time for your photoshoot to produce the results you desire!

What Time Should I Schedule Sunset Family Photos?

Location	Start Time Before Sunset
Beach or mountaintop	About 1 hour before sunset
Open field with distant trees	About 2 hours before sunset
Low valley or waterfall basin	About 3 hours before sunset
Forest or heavily wooded area	About 4 hours before sunset

If you’re going to be in an open field with some trees in the distance, I like to shoot for about 2 hours before sunset.
If you’re going to be in a low valley or waterfall basin, I prefer to start around 3 hours before sunset.
If you’re going to be in the forest or a heavily wooded area, I aim to begin around 4 hours before sunset.
If you’re going to be at the beach or on a mountaintop, you can start as late as 1 hour before sunset for a 1 hour photoshoot.