Sun & light planner

Golden hour in New York

In mid-June golden hour in New York starts at 19:48 and lasts 41 minutes; in mid-December it starts at 15:47 and lasts 44. The tool is set to New York — pick your shoot date.

In New York the evening golden hour starts at 19:48 in mid-June (41 min) and at 15:47 in mid-December (44 min). Pick a date for the exact day.
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Or drag across the day chart.
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A row of buildings or a hill: about 5° for a four-storey block 100 m away.
Exact coordinates

America/New_York

  • golden (sun 6° to −0.8°)
  • dusk (−0.8° to −4°)
  • blue (−4° to −6°)
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Golden hour, evening
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Blue hour, evening
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Golden hour, morning
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Shadow of a 1.80 m person
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© OpenStreetMap · dashed: sunrise · solid: sunset · yellow: sun now · dark: shadow
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Golden hour in New York, month by month

The evening window in New York is longest in December (44 minutes) and shortest in March (36 minutes). Values for the 15th of each month, local time, daylight saving included.

New York, 2026: sun times on the 15th (America/New_York)
MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour, eveningLengthBlue hour untilDaylight
January07:1916:5316:11–16:5342 min17:249 h 35 min
February06:5117:3116:53–17:3138 min17:5910 h 40 min
March07:0919:0318:27–19:0336 min19:3011 h 54 min
April06:1819:3518:59–19:3537 min20:0413 h 17 min
May05:4020:0719:27–20:0739 min20:3814 h 27 min
June05:2520:3019:48–20:3041 min21:0315 h 04 min
July05:3820:2719:47–20:2740 min20:5914 h 49 min
August06:0719:5619:18–19:5638 min20:2513 h 49 min
September06:3719:0718:31–19:0736 min19:3412 h 30 min
October07:0818:1717:40–18:1737 min18:4511 h 10 min
November06:4416:3915:59–16:3941 min17:099 h 56 min
December07:1416:3015:47–16:3044 min17:019 h 17 min

Where the sun goes down

Around the June solstice the sun sets in New York at 302° (WNW), around the December solstice at 238° (WSW) — 64° apart. A façade that gets backlight at the end of a summer day is lit from the side in winter, and a street that frames the sunset in July may not see it at all in January.

The highest sun of the year stands at 73° at noon, the lowest at 26°. Below about 15° the light turns warm and the shadows long enough to shape a face; the day chart in the tool shows when the sun crosses that line on your date.

Clock changes

America/New_York changes the clocks on 8 March and 1 November 2026. On those dates every time in the table jumps by an hour overnight — a schedule copied from the week before the change puts the exterior an hour into the dark (or an hour too early).

Filming in New York: permits

Shoots on public ground in New York need a permit from the local authority (listed source: nyc.gov/film). If a golden-hour setup sits on public space, apply for a weather cover day at the same time — the light will not wait for the paperwork.

As of 2026-08

Frequently asked

When does golden hour start in New York today?

The tool above opens on today’s date for New York. As a guide: in mid-June it starts at 19:48, in mid-December at 15:47.

How long is golden hour in New York?

Between 36 minutes (March) and 44 minutes (December) in the evening, measured from 6° sun altitude to sunset.

Does a building to the west change this?

Yes. Set the obstruction slider to its angle: a four-storey building 100 m away is about 5° and ends direct sun noticeably before sunset. The tool shows how many minutes you lose.