See the sunlight before you go
Scout photography locations before you travel
Choose your camera position, compare light at nearby spots, and save a sun-path composition before you can visit the location.
A practical remote-scouting workflow
- Start with a question. Do you want sunlight from the side, a sunset behind a summit, or simply a longer morning window?
- Place the camera. Search the area, then move the pin to a plausible observer position. Verify permission and access independently.
- Compare alternatives. Add up to three pins to the light comparison. Choose one date for all of them and compare local sun windows.
- Preview the composition. Choose Sun in Align, then a landmark. Check the dated result in the sky view and adjust the field of view.
- Keep the plan. Save the location, date, time, target and camera view. A shared link lets someone else open the composition.
What to decide before leaving
Decide the observer spot, the date, which direct-light window you need, and an alternative viewpoint. Set your arrival margin based on your own travel and setup needs. Heliora does not estimate hiking time or certify access.
Remote preview and on-location checks
Remote planning helps you narrow the options before travelling. At the location, check small obstructions, the actual foreground and weather. For lighting on a summit or building, remember that a horizon computed at the camera describes the camera’s sunlight, not the subject’s sunlight.
Other photography planners also offer remote workflows. Planit describes virtual camera and viewfinder planning. Heliora’s approach is a free browser workflow focused on the terrain horizon, with shareable scenes. Choose tools by the task you can complete, rather than an unsupported exclusivity claim.
Explore a terrain example
What the prediction covers
Heliora models the surrounding terrain horizon and the sun’s position at an observer pin. The scouting card uses the apparent sun centre crossing the terrain skyline. Standard sunrise tables usually refer to the upper edge of the sun, so the two definitions can differ even at sea level.
The terrain grid (roughly 100–300 metres at mid-latitudes, depending on device and zoom) cannot resolve every nearby wall, ledge or narrow gap. Mobile previews use a coarser horizon than the desktop examples. Trees, buildings, clouds and access permissions are not assessed by these scouting results. Numerical refinement to a minute does not imply one-minute field accuracy. A distant subject may be sunlit while your camera is in shade.
Read the calculation method and accuracy notes. Astronomy uses Astronomy Engine; terrain uses AWS terrain tiles. The examples below are computed predictions, not field observations.