What are some of the best apps for night photography (or really, other types of photography)? Let’s have a quick look!
Clear Outside
This may possibly be my favorite. It gives information for cloud cover (low, medium and high, which is very useful!), darkness conditions, the rise of the sun and moon, moon phase, fog, rain, temperature, wind, humidity and more. And you can save your locations. Learn more at clearoutside.com.
PhotoPills
This is an obvious pick, but with good reason. It does everything. Sometimes, I feel like I have to be a bit of a scientist to work this, but it rewards patience by doing … well, everything. Landscape, Milky Way, moon, sunrise, sunset, architecture, star trails, drone, meteor showers, solar eclipse, lunar Eclipse, time-lapse, wedding, portrait, travel, location planning, augmented reality, determining depth of field and more.
And yes, it works offline. This does everything but brush your teeth. Learn more at photopills.com.
Sky Guide
$2.99; Android or iOS (“Lite” version available)
Sky Guide is an astronomy app that would satisfy just about anyone with detailed, scalable (via the usual pinching method) and configurable map of the stars, showing all the celestial objects that you’ve come to know and love.
You can read about detailed information by poking or searching for a celestial object. It even had Comet NEOWISE, and yes, it has the International Space Station too! You may turn on or off the constellations (I usually have it off). Learn more at fifthstarlabs.com.
Soothing Sleep Sounds
Free; iOS
You weren’t expecting this, were you? I need to keep you on your toes.
This app has a plethora of naturally recorded sounds that loop that continue throughout the night. Furthermore, you can mix and match rich sounds such as rainforests, gentle waves, South African crickets, campfires or wind chimes.
You can see what I’ve chosen above. It works great at creating a soothing environment and masking annoying sounds after a long night of night photography. I say yes! This is only available for iOS, but there are apps such as Sleep Sounds on Android to help you sleep like a rock. We deserve it, right?
