Next usable light
San Francisco
7:11 PM – 8:03 PM
Solar noonDaytime61.9° · 181° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · Los AngelesMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:21 AM – 7:12 AM52 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 6:10 AM – 6:21 AM11 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 7:11 PM – 8:03 PM52 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 8:03 PM – 8:14 PM11 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:37 AM
- Sunset
- 7:47 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr 9 min
- Solar noon
- 1:12 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 62° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 283° WNW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in San Francisco
Plan around the season: San Francisco's sampled golden window stretches to 59 min in December and compresses to 51 min by March. Sunset moves 60° along the horizon between December (241° WSW) and June (301° WNW), so a spot framed for one season can face away from the light in another. June days run 14 hr 46 min; by December they shrink to 9 hr 34 min.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:25 AM | 5:15 PM | 9 hr 50 min | 4:35 PM · 57 min | 244° WSW |
| February | 7:00 AM | 5:49 PM | 10 hr 49 min | 5:13 PM · 53 min | 255° WSW |
| March | 7:22 AM | 7:17 PM | 11 hr 56 min | 6:43 PM · 51 min | 268° W |
| April | 6:35 AM | 7:45 PM | 13 hr 10 min | 7:10 PM · 52 min | 283° WNW |
| May | 6:01 AM | 8:13 PM | 14 hr 12 min | 7:36 PM · 55 min | 295° WNW |
| June | 5:48 AM | 8:34 PM | 14 hr 46 min | 7:55 PM · 58 min | 301° WNW |
| July | 6:00 AM | 8:32 PM | 14 hr 32 min | 7:54 PM · 57 min | 298° WNW |
| August | 6:26 AM | 8:04 PM | 13 hr 38 min | 7:28 PM · 53 min | 289° WNW |
| September | 6:52 AM | 7:19 PM | 12 hr 27 min | 6:45 PM · 51 min | 274° W |
| October | 7:19 AM | 6:33 PM | 11 hr 15 min | 5:58 PM · 52 min | 260° W |
| November | 6:51 AM | 5:00 PM | 10 hr 9 min | 4:21 PM · 56 min | 247° WSW |
| December | 7:19 AM | 4:53 PM | 9 hr 34 min | 4:12 PM · 59 min | 241° WSW |
Find the months when sunset faces your spot
Pick the direction your subject faces the sky. Months whose sunset lands within ±10° light up in the table above. Disabled shortcuts have no matching row in this visible mid-month sample.
Each row samples the 15th of the month at these coordinates, so dates near a month boundary can differ from the printed row — around here day length moves up to ~2 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow America · Los Angeles, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:04 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:38 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:10 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:21 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:37 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:12 PM |
| Sunset | 7:47 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:11 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 8:03 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 8:46 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 9:19 PM |
Seven local days in San Francisco
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:21 AM – 7:12 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:47 PM | 7:11 PM – 8:03 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:22 AM – 7:13 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:45 PM | 7:10 PM – 8:02 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:23 AM – 7:14 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:44 PM | 7:09 PM – 8:00 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:23 AM – 7:15 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:42 PM | 7:07 PM – 7:59 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:24 AM – 7:16 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:41 PM | 7:06 PM – 7:57 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:25 AM – 7:16 AM | 6:42 AM | 7:39 PM | 7:04 PM – 7:56 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:26 AM – 7:17 AM | 6:42 AM | 7:38 PM | 7:03 PM – 7:54 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over San Francisco is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
They are map-search starting points, not ranked recommendations; current access, closures, permits, safety, and unobstructed views have not been verified. The selected-date sunset bearing is 283° WNW; if a composition faces elsewhere, use the bearing planner in the month table above to find sampled months that align. This mathematical bearing is a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In San Francisco, the evening golden hour window runs 52 min on the selected date and approaches from 283° WNW. Arrive 15 minutes before its start when that window occurs, then choose a position with an open view toward that bearing. Don't rely on the generic “one hour before sunset” rule here — the real window shifts with the season, so check the computed times for your date.
See the calculation method and limits before relying on the estimate in terrain-sensitive or safety-critical conditions.
Common questions
Golden hour FAQ for San Francisco
- When is golden hour in San Francisco?
- The reliable answer is an angle, not a clock time: golden hour is the span with the sun between +6° and −4° of the horizon, around sunrise and again around sunset. In San Francisco the representative monthly span is 51 minutes in March and 59 minutes in December. The panel above computes it for the exact date you pick.
- Which direction does the sun set in San Francisco?
- There is no single answer — over the year the sunset point travels 60° along San Francisco's horizon, between 241° WSW (December) and 301° WNW (June). The month table above lists the bearing for each month, and the sun-path panel computes it per date.
- How much does day length change in San Francisco?
- San Francisco's swing is 5 hr 12 min: December bottoms out around 9 hr 34 min of daylight while June peaks near 14 hr 46 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
- Does San Francisco get blue hour right after golden hour?
- Yes — they are adjacent bands of the same descent: golden hour spans +6° to −4° of solar altitude and blue hour continues from −4° to −6°. In San Francisco, the representative December golden window lasts 59 min; on ordinary dates evening blue begins when its evening side ends, while polar dates can merge or wrap overnight. The light-windows panel above computes both for any date.