How To Find Mesmerizing Golden Hour Spots Anywhere Without Moving a Muscle

The Photographer’s Ephemeris – TPE – is a handy app for anyone in search of great shooting locations.

Digital Photography School has 10 tips for how to make the most of TPE. It will be interesting to see how this thing works in action, as I’m about to download it on my phone.

1) Scout your location ahead of time

At your desk… Use TPE for Desktop to plan your shoot ahead of time. Choose the best map mode for your subject: Map for cities, Satellite/Hybrid for details of particular buildings, Terrain for landscapes.

2) Look for starred dates

TPE for Desktop shows an asterisk next to dates when a full or new moon will be low on the horizon near the time of sunrise or sunset: these are often the best days for images including the moon.

3) Pre-plan your shooting position

Use the time of day slider in Details mode to check the angle of sun at the time of game kick-off, or when the bride and groom will emerge from the church. Ensure you have the optimal shooting position for the critical moment.

4) Find a starry, starry night

Look for times after or before astronomical twilight and compare with the times of moonrise/set to find a truly dark time for astro-photography.

5) Double check the angle of view

Use the secondary map pin (gray) to check the elevation angle from your shooting location to your chosen landmark. This can indicate what focal length lens you will need to accommodate the subject in the frame.

Read more tips over at Digital Photography School.

Source: Digital Photography School