The Wells Point

Wellspoint refers to the term created by Professional Photographer and Educator David H. Wells to describe the best times of day for shooting photographs when the quality of light is most optimal. The "wellspoints" are those times of day when the sun is at 45° above the horizon in the morning and at 45° above the horizon in the afternoon.
Most photographers are familiar with the term "golden hour". The "golden hour" is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day when a specific photographic effect is achieved with the quality of the light during these hours.
Wells teaches that while these are optimal times for shooting they are more limited than necessary, that in fact optimal shooting times are not only the first hour of light after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. According to this model of optimal light for shooting, the primary determiner of when to photograph is from around sunrise to when the sun is 45° above the horizon and in afternoon when sun is 45° above horizon to around sunset. Those points, when the sun at 45° as it is ascending in the sky and when the sun is 45° as it is descending are the "wellspoints."

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