PhotoPills app for iPhone and iPad

4.2 ( 8512 ratings )

Photo & Video Education
Developer: PhotoPills S.L.

10.99 USD

Current version: 2.6, last update: 5 years ago
First release : 21 Mar 2013
App size: 54.75 Mb

Unlock your creative potential! Discover how to easily turn any Sun, Moon and Milky Way scene you imagine into a real picture… and start shooting truly legendary photos every time you pick up the camera!

Whether your passion is to capture beautiful landscapes, immortalize the infinite night sky, surprise the bride and the groom in their happiest day... or to travel the world, PhotoPills will make you love exploring new artistic possibilities to tell visual stories in a way it wasn’t possible before.

* All in one app
PhotoPills is your iPhone and iPad personal assistant in all photographic matters. It provides tasty remedies to answer most of the questions when planning and shooting your creative ideas:
- The First 2D Map-Centric Planner: Sun, Moon, Milky Way
- Sun, Moon Alignments Fast Finder
- 3D Augmented Reality: Sun, Moon, Milky Way, Celestial Equator, Polaris, DoF, FoV
- Photo Plans Manager
- Location Scouting Tool
- Key information: Sunrise/set, Twilights, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Moonrise/set, Supermoon dates, Moon Calendar
- Calculators: Long Exposure, Timelapse, Spot Stars, Star Trails, Hyperfocal Table, DoF, FoV
- Widgets: Sun, Moon, Milky Way
- PhotoPills Awards… and much more!

* Endorsed by Masters
“PhotoPills is an invaluable tool which I use every time I plan a shoot.” – Mark Gee, Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
“A tool every photographer should have.” – Kevin Raber, Luminous-landscape.com.
“It pays off! Using such a tool ensures that we are repeatedly capable of quickly planning powerful shots; leaving maximum opportunity for more creative ruminations.” – José B. Ruiz, Innovation Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

* How it works
Have you ever walked around a place and thought: "What a pity the Moon isnt EXACTLY right there... I would have captured a great photo!"? What about the Sun? And the Milky Way? Well, now you can let your imagination fly and calculate when this specific magic moment happens in just a few seconds:
- IMAGINE: the Milky Way arching over a powerful landscape, a giant full Moon appearing from behind a nearby hill or a sunset between two rocks on a magic beach... The only limit is your imagination!
- PLAN: easily calculate the exact date and time the scene you’ve imagined happens. Work smarter, not harder!
- SHOOT: just get out there, immerse yourself in the great outdoors, and enjoy living and capturing unique moments.

* Become a Legend
Because we know the huge amount of time, energy and love you put in your photos. We want to HONOR them, SHOW them to the World, and REWARD you with up to $6,600 in cash prizes. Its easy and FREE! Just submit your creative photos from PhotoPills and join the Legacy!

* Never waste an unmissable scene again
Create a To-Do list of planned photos and get to the location on time.

* Get it right
Adjust your frame for the best composition before you shoot. Use the 3D Augmented Reality Views to see whether Sun, Moon and Milky Way will be at the desired position when pressing the shutter.

* Explore, discover great places and create your own database of locations
If you come across a location you’d like to remember, save it as a Point of Interest.

* Enjoy all daily information in just one swipe with the Widgets
Just swipe down from the top of the screen to get all the Sun, Moon and Milky Way events for your current location and date, in addition to your upcoming photo plans.

* Get more than an app
Our goal is not only to help you plan your shots, but also to help you nail them. Whenever you need help, take a look at our How-To articles and videos, join our free online courses or just contact us!

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take PhotoPills – you stay in Wonderland and we show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. Remember: all we’re offering are Legendary Photos and Goosebumps in your skin, nothing more.”

Pros and cons of PhotoPills app for iPhone and iPad

PhotoPills app good for

Takes some time to learn all the features but once you got it you wont stop using the app.

The app is absolutely the best I ever used to plan my night sky shots. But please implement a destination/place search into to planer! Thx Peter

Thats the best photography app off the world and I love it. Realy. But There is something that I hate. In this app you can save speaceal places of the world in a map and there also some generated places from PhotoPills. And I hate that I cant switch between the PhotoPills places and my own. All in all a great app and that is the only thing I miss. Not perfect but Epic. And Epic are 5 stars. Go and buy this app!

Great app for anyone looking to plan and improve his photography. Great online tutorials. Keep up the good work !

So helpful in every aspect. Offers more than expected and easy to use. Tutorials are very friendly and clear. In order to produce a great shoot, is just about keep practicing, but this app is the best tool.

I used different apps to plan my shootings. Many were good, none complete. PhotoPills is a set of tools that are awesome. I highly recommend it.

Some bad moments

I was very disappointed in this app, especially at the price I paid. When I tried to use the app, the map would not load, said I needed a wifi connection to load the map. That makes it pretty useless if it cant load the maps using cellular data. I wanted an app for my phone that I could use anywhere.

I have found this app to be about 45° off on the AR feature for the moon. After contacting the developer I tried recalibrating my phone by vigorously shaking it, but that didnt help. I recently got a new iPhone6Plus and found that it was still off about 45° even though the calibration feature came on when I booted up the app on the new phone. Even when I use the visual calibration feature, the app apparently drops the recalibration when it powers off and comes back on.

The app seems quite capable but is marred by a confusing and difficult UI. The documentation is subpar with screen shots that do not match whats actually in the app.

Very sad to see this app go downhill. Night AR, the only thing I used, no longer works. Its nowhere near aligned. So, I cant scout out a location during the day and figure out where to set up & get the Milky Way where I want it. Id think it was me but I see other reviewers with the same problem. A shame. Hope they fix it, but in meantime save your money.

Updated: The more time that I spend with this app, the worse the User experience seems. The interface is overly complicated and for no good reason. Why do I have to put a point of interest in the POI area, save, then, go back to the planner if its a known spot in the search, like a large park or airport. Waste of time. The pins are hard to move. If you get it within a few hundred feet to a mile, its good enough, because the next tap will take you 1200 miles away. And why did this tell me the sun was rising from the south? Then 2 mins later its rising in the N/NE? Which direction am I supposed to face? Im planning on setting up in the dark, so after using this app, Im better off getting there and just pulling out a compass. original: It feel like there are some really powerful tools here, but I dont know how to use them. The UI is really confusing and not intuitive. What I can do is find more detailed info about golden hour, blue hour, etc based on exact gps coordinates.

This app seems nice, but once you get into it, its the most confusing thing Ive ever used. I have a pretty good understanding of exposure and the common lingo associated with photography. This app over complicates simple ideas. Do not waste your money like I did.

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