How long a photo shoot takes when you hire one: 36 minutes of camera time

How long does a photo shoot take: the median is 36 minutes of shooting (EXIF, 6 productions). 2 of the 6 ran longer than the longest light window of the year.

If you are hiring a shoot and want to know how long a photo shoot takes so you can decide how much of the afternoon to block, the measured figure is this: 36 minutes of camera time. It comes from the EXIF of 6 of my own productions, first frame to last, and the full table is published in the guide to usable light per day. The range runs from 18 to 119 minutes.

And here is what does not square with that number: nobody books 36 minutes. You book the afternoon. Both things are true at once, and this piece explains why.

How many shoots fit inside the light window?

A day's usable light, golden hour plus blue hour, is between 45 and 55 minutes depending on the month: lowest in March and September (45-47), highest in December and June (53-55). The 36-minute median fits any window of the year. That is what the guide says. What the guide does not do is look shoot by shoot.

The 6 measured shoots against the light window:
Fit the shortest window of the year (45 min): 3 of 6.
Fit the longest (55 min), not the shortest: 1 of 6.
Run longer than the longest window of the year (55 min): 2 of 6.

The two that overflow are Urban Stardust, 73 minutes, and Big City, 119. The second runs more than twice the longest window of the year.

For whoever is hiring, the reading is short: the median shoot fits inside a window; the actual shoot may not. And you do not know which one you get until it is done.

Why do you book the afternoon and not the hour?

Five of the six started in the afternoon. Between 17:57 and 20:48; a single one at 10:00. Booking the afternoon is what the archive shows. Booking “the sunset” is not: of the two shoots with a known city, neither fell inside golden hour; both finished before it began. Both are published, and golden hour lasts between 35 and 43 minutes depending on the month.

The 36 minutes run from the first frame to the last. They do not include travel, setup or teardown, and none of those three has a measured figure. There is a stretch with a number, 36 for the shoot and 45-55 for the window, and a stretch without one. The afternoon gets booked because of the stretch without a number.

Between golden and blue hour there are about 20 minutes that serve neither. They are explained in the blue hour guide. If the shoot spans both windows, that gap is booked time too: you change location or look, you do not shoot.

What do you ask for in the quote?

A start time, not a duration. Comparing two quotes by minutes of camera time is comparing 36 with 36: the median is the same and says nothing about the shoot you are about to do. What you can ask for is that the quote states from what time the afternoon is blocked and from which light the shooting starts. That time is set by the month, and it is worked out month by month in the usable light guide.

Frequently asked questions

How much time should I set aside for a photo shoot?

The median shoot is 36 minutes of camera time, but 2 of the 6 measured went past 55 and travel, setup and teardown have no figure. You book the afternoon, not the hour.

Does a photo shoot fit inside golden hour?

The median does: 36 minutes against a golden hour of 35-43. Shoot by shoot, 2 of the 6 measured ran longer than golden and blue hour combined, and of the two with a known city neither fell inside.

What time of day is a photo shoot done?

Of the 6 measured, 5 started in the afternoon, between 17:57 and 20:48. One started at 10:00. The start time is decided by the month's light, not by the clock.

Do the 36 minutes include setting up the gear?

No. They run from the first frame to the last according to the EXIF. Travel, setup and teardown are outside the figure and unmeasured; that is why the number cannot be used to work out the afternoon.