Golden Hour Portraits: Build the Hair for the Last Hour

Portraits are the last thing that happens and the first thing brides forget to plan for. The ceremony is over, the light is going, the photographer says let us grab ten minutes, and you have been in the same style for seven hours. Here is how to make that ten minutes count.

Golden hour in Palm Beach County runs about an hour, and in the cooler months it is short and sudden. I plan the day so that the portrait window falls before the sun is gone, and I build the style so that it is at its best at that hour rather than at eleven in the morning.

Practically that means two things. First, I do not over-set the style in the morning. A style that is crisp at nine will look brittle at six. Second, I build a specific portrait touch-up into the timeline, which is fifteen minutes with the bride before the sun drops, not a full restyle.

What that touch-up involves: resetting the front section, replacing any pins that have shifted, smoothing the crown, and adding back a small amount of the original texture at the ends. Fifteen minutes and the style looks like it did at noon.

The light itself is doing most of the work. Golden hour flatters warm tones and softens edges, so I lean toward finishes with a slight warmth rather than anything cool or ashy. A cool-toned, high-gloss finish goes grey in low sun.

If you have a waterfront portrait location, note that the sun sets behind the water and you will be lit from behind. That is beautiful and it means the front of your hair needs to read as a silhouette. A defined part and a clean shape silhouette well. Frizz does not.

I build this into every wedding morning. If you want the version where the last photograph is as good as the first, inquire. Rates and what is included are on the investment page.