Field Photography · PhotoPills · Lesson 3 Planning Sun Light
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Field Photography · PhotoPills
Planning Sun Light
Golden hour, blue hour, twilight — the words photographers use for "what the light looks like." PhotoPills tells you exactly when each one starts and ends, for any date and any spot on Earth.
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Golden Hour
Warm, soft light right after sunrise or before sunset.
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Blue Hour
Cool, even light just before sunrise or after sunset.
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Twilight
Civil, nautical, astronomical — three shades of "not quite dark yet."

PhotoPills gives you two ways to check this: the Planner's Top Panels (for a specific spot on the map) and the standalone Sun Pill (for a fast daily look, even offline). This lesson covers both.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
Two Ways To Check The Light
Planner Top Panels
Sun Pill
Tied to the Red Pin's exact spot on the map
Tied to your current location by default
Shows light drawn right on the map
Shows light as a simple daily timeline
Best for planning a specific shot
Best for a fast check, works offline
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Use both
Quick "what's the light like today" → Sun Pill. Serious planning for a specific spot weeks out → Planner.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Planner Panel 3: Sun/Moon Position
Planner top panel showing Sun and Moon azimuth and elevation, with colored lines on the map
Orange line = Sun position now. Blue line = Moon position now.

This panel gives you the azimuth (compass direction) and elevation (height above the horizon) of the Sun and Moon for the Red Pin's location, at the date and time set on the Time Bar.

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Why elevation matters
Light depends on how high the Sun is. Low elevation = golden/blue hour or twilight. High elevation = harsh midday light.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Planner Panel 4: Rise & Set Times
Planner top panel showing sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset times and azimuths
Thick lines on the map mark sunrise (yellow), sunset (orange), moonrise and moonset

Swipe to this panel for the exact time and direction the Sun and Moon rise and set at the Red Pin, on the selected date. Useful for lining up a shot with the horizon in a specific direction.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
Panels 5 & 6: Twilight, Golden & Blue Hour
Planner top panel showing golden hour and blue hour time ranges
Panel 6 — golden hour and blue hour windows for the selected date
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    Panel 5: Twilights
    Civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight time ranges — each one a little darker than the last.
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    Panel 6: Golden hour & blue hour
    The two windows most landscape and portrait photographers plan around.
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See it on the map, too
Turn on the Twilight map layer and the whole map tints to show you the light everywhere at once, not just at the Red Pin.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Sun Pill: Today's Light At A Glance
Sun pill Info screen showing a timeline of day time, golden hour, sunset, blue hour, and nautical twilight
Sun → Info: every light change for today, in order

Open the Sun Pill from the Pills menu and tap Info. It lays out every light event for the day — sunrise, golden hour, sunset, blue hour, twilight — in a simple vertical timeline. Scroll down for azimuth, elevation, daylight length, and more.

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Works offline
Great for checking tonight's golden hour when you're already out shooting with no signal.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Sun Pill: Calendar
Sun pill Calendar screen showing a table of daily sunrise and sunset times and azimuths for a month
Sun → Calendar: a full month of rise/set times and azimuths

Tap Calendar to see sunrise and sunset times — with azimuth — for every day of the month. Swipe left or right to change months, or tap a date to jump straight to that day's Info screen.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
The Sun Pill: See It In Augmented Reality
Augmented reality view showing the Sun's path overlaid on a real photo of a monument, with time markers along the path
Point your phone at the scene and see exactly where the Sun will be

Tap AR and point your phone at the real scene in front of you. PhotoPills draws the Sun's path directly onto your camera view, with time markers along the arc — so you can see exactly where it'll be at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, before you ever press the shutter.

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Calibrate first
Move away from metal and electronics, then do the figure-8 motion a few times so your compass reads accurately.
Field Photography · PhotoPills
Seasons & Sharing
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Seasons
Tap Seasons for the exact solstice and equinox dates and times, for any year.
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Action
Share a screenshot, send the date/time straight to the Planner, or add it to your calendar.

Two small but handy tabs on the Sun Pill worth knowing about — Seasons for the big yearly markers, Action for getting your info out of the app and into your workflow.

Field Photography · PhotoPills
You Can Read The Light Now
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Panels 3-6
Position, rise/set, twilight, golden/blue hour
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Sun Pill Info
Today's full light timeline
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Calendar
A month of rise/set times
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AR view
See the Sun's path live
UP NEXT
Lesson 4: Planning the Moon
Same ideas, aimed at the Moon — moon phase, moonrise/moonset, and lining up a shot with a Full Moon.
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