A request I get often is for sunset photos at the beach. I just love photographing families at sunset.

Sunset beach family sessions are a favorite of mine because of several factors. One of the advantages of booking a session at sunset is that you will have soft, glowy light. And usually, if there aren't many clouds in the sky, the light is warm and wraps around my clients. I love it!

But, sometimes there’s a little bit of confusion on what time is best to plan a sunset beach family session. So, when you should take sunset photos at the beach? In a nutshell: Golden hour is the best time of day!

What is the difference between sunrise and sunset beach sessions?

At sunrise, on the east coast of Florida, where I am located, the sun will rise over the ocean in the morning. This is a flattering time of day for photos because the light is still soft. The higher the sun gets in the sky, the harsher the light will be.

At sunset, the sun will set over the sand dunes. During sunset beach sessions, I like to photograph the first part of the session with the dunes in the background. Then once the sun is low enough, I will move to the water.

How many hours before sunset is best for photos?

Hands down, one hour before sunset is ideal. I would even stretch it to 45 minutes before sunset, too. Thing is, after the sun sets, there's still light in the sky and it's actually quite nice!

You may have heard photographers reference "golden hour" before. What they mean is one hour before sunset. This is when the light has a soft, golden hue that is very desirable for photos.

The only exception to this would be if it were a super overcast day. In this case, it would be ideal to photograph the session 2-3 hours before the official sunset time.

What time is sunset?

There's an amusing anecdote in the photo community that photographers also double as meteorologists. That's because we are constantly checking the weather conditions and the sunset times. This is so true!

Below is a screenshot of a sunrise and sunset time chart that I found on www.timeanddate.com. The actual chart below was found here. Notice how on March 1st, sunset was at 6:15pm…That means that golden hour would be around 5:15/5:30 that day, that would be the perfect time for a sunset session on the beach.