Golden hour
Also known as: magic hour, sunset light, sunrise light
The period shortly after sunrise and before sunset when the sun is low, giving warm, soft, directional light that flatters landscapes, riders and faces.
Updated
What it means
When the sun sits low on the horizon, its light travels through more atmosphere. Blue light scatters away, leaving warm orange and gold tones, and the low angle creates long shadows that reveal texture in terrain, snow and water. Contrast is lower than at midday, which suits small action camera sensors with limited dynamic range.
The exact length depends on season and latitude. Near the equator it is short, while in northern summers it can last a long time. Apps and weather services show the times for your location.
Filmmakers plan important shots around it because the light does much of the work that grading would otherwise need to do.
How it works in practice
For drones, golden hour gives long shadows across fields, glowing water and warm mountain faces. For riders, backlight through dust, spray or snow creates rim light around the silhouette. Side light shows the shape of terrain and the body much better than flat midday sun.
Set white balance manually or to a daylight value, because auto white balance may neutralize the warmth you came for. Expose for the bright sky and let the foreground fall a little darker.
The light changes quickly, so plan shots in advance and keep moving. After sunset, blue hour gives a second, cooler window.
What to watch out for
The low sun shines straight into the lens on many angles, causing flare and haze. A clean lens cover and slight angle changes help.
Light drops fast near the end, and cameras raise ISO, adding noise. Lower the frame rate or accept a darker look rather than pushing gain too high.
Mixing golden hour clips with midday clips in one edit creates obvious color jumps. Group them by time in the edit or warm up the midday shots slightly to match. Telling the story in daylight order, from morning to sunset, also feels natural to viewers.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip uses your clips as recorded and keeps their natural colors. Golden hour footage often makes the strongest shots, and the AI combines them with the rest of your day into one highlight.