Golden hour does not reach 45 minutes in Mallorca, Ibiza or Madrid

Golden hour does not last an hour. In Mallorca, Ibiza and Madrid the window runs from 35 to 43 minutes depending on the month, and it is longer in December than in September.

The name is misleading. What people call golden hour is the band between the sun sitting six degrees above the horizon and sunset: below that height the light comes in low and warm, above it the sun goes hard again. That band never reaches three quarters of an hour in any of the three cities, in any month of the year.

When it starts and when it ends, month by month

Local time on the 15th of each month. Starts is the moment the sun drops below six degrees; ends, when it touches the horizon.

What almost nobody accounts for

The longest window is December's, not summer's. In winter the sun drops at a steeper angle to the horizon and takes longer to cross those six degrees: in Madrid that is 43 minutes in December against 36 in September. You shoot with fewer daylight hours, but the good light lasts longer.

Madrid runs about twenty minutes behind Palma all year round, and it is not a time-zone difference: it sits further west inside the same zone. Ibiza falls in between. If the crew travels between cities, the call time travels with it.

Build the call sheet backwards from the start of the window, not from sunset. If the first frame happens when the sun is already touching the horizon, half the window went into setting up.

When the sun goes, the shoot is not over: a different window starts, shorter and another colour. It is in blue hour.

Frequently asked questions

How long does golden hour last in Mallorca?

Between 35 and 43 minutes, never an hour. In Palma the shortest window is September's, at 35 minutes, and the longest is December's, at 43.

What time do you have to start shooting to use it?

At the start of the window, not at sunset. If the session begins when the sun is already touching the horizon, half the good light is gone. Build the call sheet backwards from the start time, not from sunset.

Is it the same time in Mallorca, Ibiza and Madrid?

No. Madrid runs about twenty minutes behind Palma all year, because it sits further west inside the same time zone. Ibiza falls in between, some four minutes behind Palma.

Can a whole campaign be shot in golden hour?

Not in a single day. Forty minutes is enough for one or two situations done properly. A campaign with several pieces is planned across several days or solved with rigged light, which is a budget decision and has to be taken before the shoot, not during it.