Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Maps for Photographers


Pictureprep is an easy to use tool to visualize a camera's field and depth of view on a Google Map. To view the field of view and depth of view on the map you simply need to right-click on the map once to set the camera's position and right-click again to set the subject's position.

The map sidebar includes a number of options to adjust the views based on the camera settings, including sensor size, focal length, aperture and focus distance. The map sidebar also allows you to enter a date and time to view the sunlight direction for the time you plan to shoot.

 
Once you've chosen the location for your photography session the next thing you might consider is when is the best time to visit. The Photographer's Ephemeris is a free sun and moon planning tool for outdoor photography. The application is available as a free download for the desktop or as an iOS / Android app.

The application uses Google Maps to show sunrise and sunset times and indicates the current direction of the sun based on your location. The application includes some really advanced features, including automatic time zone and elevation detection, correction for atmospheric refraction and height above the horizon.

Photographers can use this invaluable tool to plan the best times that they should visit a location to get the best light for the shot required.


The Golden Hour Calculator is a Google Map that displays sunrise and sunset times, the elevation and azimuth of the sun and shows users when the golden hour occurs for any location.

The Golden Hour Calculator defines the 'golden hour' as "the first and last hour of sunlight in the day when the special quality of light yields particularly beautiful photographs". Using the calculator photographers can enter the location where they are planning to take photos and the calculator will display a graph beneath the map showing when the golden hour occurs.

Users can change the date of their shoot to ensure the calculator displays the correct times for the Golden Hour.

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