BEFORE | AFTER
Deep teal shadows and warm practical lights, with skin held back from the teal.
Golden Hour Portrait
This one adds the light you get in the last hour before sunset: warm, slightly golden highlights, with the shadows kept a touch cool so the picture doesn't turn into one flat orange wash. Greens and blues are pulled down a little, which is what makes a face stand out against a garden or a sky.
BeforeAfter
Photo: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Use it on
Portraits shot in open shade or on a grey afternoon, when the light came out flat and a bit cold. It also works on window-lit indoor footage and on dogs and cats photographed outside.
Skip it on
Anything that is already orange: real sunsets, bulbs at home, stage lights. The warmth adds up and white shirts turn cream. Balance the white first and the look will sit much better.
Good to know
At full strength it reads as a deliberate golden look. For something closer to natural, try 50 to 70%.
Similar looks
BEFORE | AFTER
BEFORE | AFTER
Lifted blacks, quiet color and a cool cast in the shadows, for grey-day travel and calm food shots.