Next usable light
Seattle
7:18 PM – 8:19 PM
Solar noonDaytime52.0° · 180° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · Los AngelesMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:04 AM – 7:05 AM1 hr 1 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 5:51 AM – 6:04 AM13 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 7:18 PM – 8:19 PM1 hr 1 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 8:19 PM – 8:32 PM13 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:24 AM
- Sunset
- 8:00 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr 36 min
- Solar noon
- 1:12 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 52° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 286° WNW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Seattle
December is the generous sample in Seattle — 1 hr 15 min of golden light — while March tightens the window to about 1 hr. Between December and June the sunset point migrates 72° — from 235° SW to 307° NW — which is enough to put a fixed foreground in or out of the light depending on the season. Between December and June the day itself stretches from 8 hr 27 min to 15 hr 58 min, dragging every window with it.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:53 AM | 4:45 PM | 8 hr 52 min | 3:55 PM · 1 hr 12 min | 239° WSW |
| February | 7:16 AM | 5:33 PM | 10 hr 17 min | 4:49 PM · 1 hr 3 min | 252° WSW |
| March | 7:23 AM | 7:15 PM | 11 hr 52 min | 6:34 PM · 1 hr | 268° W |
| April | 6:21 AM | 7:59 PM | 13 hr 38 min | 7:17 PM · 1 hr 1 min | 286° WNW |
| May | 5:33 AM | 8:40 PM | 15 hr 8 min | 7:55 PM · 1 hr 7 min | 300° WNW |
| June | 5:12 AM | 9:10 PM | 15 hr 58 min | 8:21 PM · 1 hr 13 min | 307° NW |
| July | 5:28 AM | 9:04 PM | 15 hr 36 min | 8:17 PM · 1 hr 10 min | 304° NW |
| August | 6:06 AM | 8:23 PM | 14 hr 17 min | 7:41 PM · 1 hr 3 min | 292° WNW |
| September | 6:48 AM | 7:23 PM | 12 hr 36 min | 6:43 PM · 1 hr | 275° W |
| October | 7:29 AM | 6:23 PM | 10 hr 54 min | 5:41 PM · 1 hr 1 min | 258° WSW |
| November | 7:15 AM | 4:34 PM | 9 hr 19 min | 3:47 PM · 1 hr 8 min | 243° WSW |
| December | 7:52 AM | 4:19 PM | 8 hr 27 min | 3:26 PM · 1 hr 15 min | 235° SW |
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 ~4 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 | 4:29 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:12 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 5:51 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:04 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:24 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:12 PM |
| Sunset | 8:00 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:18 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 8:19 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 9:11 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 9:54 PM |
Seven local days in Seattle
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:04 AM – 7:05 AM | 6:24 AM | 8:00 PM | 7:18 PM – 8:19 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:05 AM – 7:06 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:58 PM | 7:16 PM – 8:17 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:07 AM – 7:07 AM | 6:26 AM | 7:56 PM | 7:14 PM – 8:15 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:08 AM – 7:09 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:54 PM | 7:13 PM – 8:13 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:09 AM – 7:10 AM | 6:29 AM | 7:52 PM | 7:11 PM – 8:11 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:11 AM – 7:11 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:50 PM | 7:09 PM – 8:09 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:12 AM – 7:13 AM | 6:32 AM | 7:48 PM | 7:07 PM – 8:07 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Seattle is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
The list supplies map-search starting points, not ranked recommendations. Confirm access, closures, permits, safety, and horizon obstructions yourself before setting out. For the selected date, the mathematical sunset bearing is 286° WNW. If the composition faces differently, use the bearing planner in the month table above to identify sampled months; the result remains a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In Seattle, the evening golden hour window runs 1 hr 1 min on the selected date and approaches from 286° 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 Seattle
- When is golden hour in Seattle?
- Whenever the sun is between +6° above and −4° below the horizon — a band that wraps around both sunrise and sunset. For Seattle, the representative monthly window is 60 minutes in March and 75 minutes in December; separate morning and evening crossings merge or wrap overnight near the poles. Pick a date above for the minute-exact times.
- Which direction does the sun set in Seattle?
- In Seattle it depends on the month: 235° SW in December, moving to 307° NW by June — a 72° annual swing. Use the sun-path panel above to read the exact bearing for your shoot date.
- How much does day length change in Seattle?
- Seattle's swing is 7 hr 31 min: December bottoms out around 8 hr 27 min of daylight while June peaks near 15 hr 58 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
- Does Seattle get blue hour right after golden hour?
- Yes, with no gap: blue hour is simply the next slice of the same sunset, defined by the sun dropping from −4° to −6° after the golden band (+6° to −4°) closes. Planning a December shoot in Seattle? Budget 1 hr 15 min of gold, then the blue window follows immediately — both computed per date in the light-windows panel.