Golden Hour & Flash Photography – The Secret to Bold, Sunlit Portraits

Golden Hour is one of the most beautiful times to shoot portraits—but how do you control the light? This video breaks down the power of Golden Hour lighting and how Off-Camera Flash can help you shoot in intense sunlight.

Golden Hour is a dream time for portrait photographers, but many struggle to balance natural warmth with controlled exposure. This tutorial explores:

How top photographers like Tyler Mitchell, Jamie Hawkesworth, Nadine Ijewere, and Harley Weir use Golden Hour.
How Off-Camera Flash allows you to shoot in direct sun without losing detail.
Ewen Spencer’s approach to raw, energetic outdoor photography.
How to avoid overexposed backgrounds while keeping skin tones rich and natural.
Whether you’re shooting film or digital, Golden Hour can create cinematic, glowing portraits—but flash can be the key to controlling contrast and exposure.

By the end of this breakdown, you’ll have a better understanding of how to blend natural light with off-camera flash to create bold, atmospheric photography.

This short video gives some of the reasons why its so effective.

Then part 2 looks at the power of using Off Camera Flash to shoot in intense sunlight. A lot of photographers worry about shooting in direct sun, but with good use of Flash techniques it can be the perfect time of day to work. This short looks at the work of Brit Icon Ewen Spencer.

I was recently asked to make my TikToks available to people who don't have the app, so this is what I am doing here.

Maybe this single column format works better than the double, please let me know.

1. Golden Hour 1.28min
2. Off Camera Flash 1.41min

#GoldenHourPhotography #OffCameraFlash #PortraitLighting #PhotographyTutorial #SunlitPortraits