Photographers of many genres frequently use the PhotoPills app. It’s a one-stop shop for all of your outdoor photography planning needs. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend doing so. If you already use the app, I wanted to make sure you’re aware of the PhotoPills widgets that you can install on your Android phone. They’re available for iOS, too — click here to read more on that.

The widgets can be customized to your current location and display key information, readily available at your fingertips. I have the widget on the second screen of my phone for easy, one-swipe access. 

Installing the widgets

To install the widget, find an empty space on your home screen and hold your finger down until the widget icon appears.

If you have the PhotoPills app already installed, swipe until you see the PhotoPills widgets appear. You’ll have five options to choose from depending on your personal needs. I’ve chosen the most comprehensive one which shows the most information.

PhotoPills gives you five widget options.

Features

The top half of the widget displays daytime information such as sunrise and sunset times, along with all of the golden, blue and astronomical hours, down to the precise minute for your chosen location. I use this constantly at night when I’m about to set my alarm for the next morning’s photo adventures. Being able to grab every last second of sleep while knowing exactly what time I want to be on location is super helpful.

Finding the sunrise time is easy on lots of other apps, but knowing the exact time of the golden hour before the sunrise is a game changer. 

The bottom half of the widget displays night information. It shows you the current cycle of the moon, along with its rise and fall times. It also tells you exactly when the Milky Way is visible, and how many hours of dark skies you have.

How the PhotoPills widget appears on my phone.

I personally love this widget because it gives me a lot of the information I need to plan my day with a quick swipe off my home screen. If you’re a PhotoPills user, make sure to check it out!Â