Best Time to Photograph Christmas Lights

What is the best time to photograph Christmas lights?

Shoot during blue hour, the stretch after sunset when the sun is between 4° and 8° below the horizon. The sky is still a deep blue, bright enough to show rooftops and trees, but dark enough that the lights glow. In mid-December in New York or Chicago that's roughly 20 to 44 minutes after sunset, about 24 minutes of blue; in Miami it starts sooner and in London later, worked out on this page.

The 4° to 8° range comes from timeanddate's blue hour guide, which says the deep blue sky against artificial lights makes it "an ideal time for urban photography," and that a wide aperture can make lights "such as street lamps or fairy lights, soft and magical." Full dark is the other option, but the sky turns black and the house disappears around the lights.

Shoot Christmas lights while the sky is still blue: full dark leaves you with bright dots on black.

Tonight's light, minute by minute

This follows the city and date at the top. Times are worked out on this page for a flat horizon; you can cross-check them with NOAA's Solar Calculator.

Christmas lights at sunset, blue hour and full dark

At sunsetLights barely show against a bright sky.

Blue hourSky and lights balance. House still visible.

Full darkBright dots on black. The house is gone.

Shot	When	Why
Whole house or street	Blue hour	The sky separates the roofline from the lights.
Downtown tree or skyline	Blue hour	Building lights and sky are close in brightness.
Close-up of a wreath or ornament	Any time after dark	The sky isn't in the frame.
Bokeh (blurred lights)	Full dark is fine	A wide aperture turns lights into soft circles.
Family in front of lights	Early blue hour	Faces still have some light from the sky.

Wide scenes need the blue; close-ups don't care.

Christmas light photos on a phone: 4 settings that help

Steady the phone. Light is low, so lean on a wall, a car roof or use a small tripod. Blur from shaky hands is the most common failure.
Tap to focus on the lights, then drag exposure down a little. Phones tend to brighten the scene until the bulbs blow out to white.
Turn off the flash. It lights the nearest bush and flattens everything else.
Shoot a burst through the window. Take a few frames every five minutes across blue hour, then pick the one where sky and lights match best.

The neighborhood lights walk

An illustration, not a real evening.

4:10 p.m., mid-December. Sunset's at 4:30. You check the window: blue hour runs about 4:50 to 5:13.

4:40 p.m. You're on the corner with the best-lit house. It looks underwhelming; the sky is still too bright.

5:05 p.m. The sky goes deep blue and the house suddenly glows. You take a dozen frames.

5:35 p.m. Black sky. The next house's photos look like a spray of dots. You save it for tomorrow, earlier.

Plan blue hour with Asterfold

Asterfold is our sunset planner, and blue hour is built in. Plan a session for golden hour, sunset or blue hour, add a reminder and a short checklist, and open the spot in Maps when it's time to go. The Tonight screen shows golden hour, blue hour, the Moon and planets, plus Sunset, Stars and Sunrise ratings with plain-English reasons.

Asterfold Plan a session screen with viewpoint, date, light window and timing — Pick the light window.

Asterfold Tonight screen counting down to full darkness — Countdown to full darkness.

Asterfold saved viewpoint screen with Plan a session and Open in Maps buttons — Save it, open in Maps.

Christmas light photo questions

How long after sunset should I photograph Christmas lights?

Start about 20 minutes after sunset and keep shooting for 20 to 30 minutes, while the sun is 4° to 8° below the horizon. The exact minutes depend on your city and date; the tool at the top of this page works them out.

Is it better to photograph Christmas lights at night?

For close-ups and blurred-light shots, full dark is fine. For a whole house, street or tree in its setting, blue hour is better because the sky still shows the shape of things around the lights.

Does cloud ruin blue hour for Christmas lights?

Not usually. Overcast skies go a flatter grey-blue, but they still balance the lights well. Clear skies give a deeper blue.

Is Asterfold free?

Yes. Free includes the Light Path Studio, aiming and plans for 2 viewpoints, the journal, tonight's ratings and the next 3 evenings. Asterfold Plus is an optional subscription or one-time Lifetime purchase for unlimited viewpoints, sky alerts and the full 10-day outlook.

Honest limits

We gave the window as a range of sun angles, not a fixed "20 minutes after sunset," because the length changes with latitude and season. Times assume a flat horizon; Asterfold makes the same assumption, and its listing says hills, buildings and trees are not modelled. Neither this page nor the app knows when your neighbors switch their lights on. Who should pick something else: if you just need a reminder to go out at dusk, your phone's clock app can do that. Asterfold is for planning the light itself.

Catch the blue. Then the lights do the rest.

Plans with a blue hour window, reminders and tonight's ratings are free in Asterfold.

Open Asterfold in the App Store · Free on iPhone