Low light beach shots

[Submariner]

Dear All,

A newbie here from London in the UK who would appreciate some advice on the following:-

This enquiry is a bit of a 'one off'.

On 23 March 2013, I am getting married in Phuket, Thailand. The following website suggests that on 23 March that the sunset is around 18:43:-
Sunrise and Sunset for Thailand – Phuket – March 2013

I have no understanding of how 'slowly' or 'quickly' the sunsets in the area of Phuket and I would therefore appreciate any guidance someone can provide on how 'slowly' or 'quickly' it will set. For example, could I expect normal ambient light conditions to remain until say 10 mins before sunset, 20 mins before sunset, an hour before etc?

Any information someone can provide would be greatly appreciated indeed as I am trying to get an understanding on how long light will be around for when taking photos on the beach.

The beach photographs will be undertaken by a professional photographer. I would ask them for a response to the above but do not have access to them at the moment.

Many Thanks





Submariner

 

[MLeeK]

I like to WORK sunsets about 1/2 to 45 minutes before the sun actually sets. That means being on location about an hour to hour and 15 minutes before sunset.

 

[Designer]

I think the lighting conditions will have a lot to do with the current weather conditions. Let's hope for the best. Good luck!

 

[KmH]

Yep! Weather, particularly cloud cover and how much moisture and particulate matter are in the air, will be a big factor. Of course for sunset shots you'll want a west facing beach. You would shoot at sunrise on an east facing beach. Phuket looks to have some north and south facing beaches too.

The quality of sunlight changes throughout the day. The first and last hours of daylight are known as the Golden hours because the atmosphere scatters/absorbs more and more blue light making the light much less blue.
I always planned shooting during a Golden hour into 6, 10 minute segments because the light quality and angle changes that fast.

The Sun sets at the same speed just about everywhere on the planet, except as you get close to or above the Arctic Circle in the north or the Antarctic Circle in the south.