Time of day – shooting a creek at noon and at dusk

Left:  3.2 second exposure at noon    Right:  5 second exposure at 8:00 pm

Photography is the art of capturing light, and the nature of that light is very important in how the resulting image will appear.  Time of day affects the process because of the angle and intensity of the sun.  A cloudy day may make the difference somewhat moot, but there are still differences, although significantly subdued.

The above two images were shot from the same point of view and focal length, but the one on the left was photographed over eight hours earlier than the one on the right.  The sun was clearly in a different position relative to the scene.  Close to noon, the first one has significant shadows and highlights.  In fact, I had to use a graduated filter to diminish the brightness coming from the far bank, which was exposed to full sun.  That part of the scene was dodged by a full two stops, receiving only 25% of the light the rest of the image did.  Even then, it is still a titch on the bright side.  Conclusion:  midday exposures in full sun suffer from intense contrast and vast differences in shadow and highlights.  Early and late day photos are much less intense this way and do not require as much in the way of burning, dodging, or filling with flash.

There is a second difference.  The second photo was taken near 8:00 in the evening.  An aperture of f/10 was used with a shutter speed of five seconds; I needed to use a three-stop neutral density filter to take it from 0.4 seconds to 5 seconds to blur the moving water the way I wanted.  The noon photo was at f/11 with a shutter speed of 3.2 seconds.  However, it required a six-stop neutral density filter to achieve a proper exposure.  There are about four stops difference between the amount of light falling on the image in shade at noon and at 8:00 at night.  More if you consider the full sun exposure (about 7 stops).  Full sun shots are great for fast shutter speeds but lousy when wanting to use low ones.  Conclusion:  if you are wanting longer shutter speeds, consider shooting early morning or late afternoon.  If you do not have a neutral density filter, earlier or later is better.

There are subtle differences in white balance, water flow, and human activity as well.  These factors may play an important part in the final product, depending on the circumstances.  In general, I like to shoot early in the morning for a number of reasons.  Good light without harsh shadows, few people mulling about to get in the way, and my energy level is better.  If you can plan when you are going to shoot, you will end up with better pictures.