UNBELIEVABLE Photo Planning App (not sponsored)

[@jamesstein4077]

Oh my gosh. I've been watching your channel for years, but I think you just changed my life!

[@joelwolski]

I've been using Google Earth for years and I'm surprised more photographers haven't talked about it. I'll go so far as to compose the shot in GE, save it as a jpg, print it, and take it out in the field to help me find the exact location (mainly because changing tides can alter the appearance of a location so much). The zoom slider is a new one for me though. I did some quick measurements (using the San Francisco skyline) and it would appear that fully zoomed OUT is 90° FoV (18mm @ FF) and zoomed IN is 30° FoV (67mm @ FF).

[@najophotographyetc]

Love you, Tony! This information has REALLY assisted me in writing my book about the abandoned homes I have explored here in Memphis and other places. Sometimes, as you and Chelsea may know, as we are going about exploring and taking photos, we may not always get the exact location of a building we shot as they are derelict and forgotten. I just had great success finding an old explore using one of the apps you discussed here that I have used before numerous times but didn't realize what more it could do till I watched this!! Thank you! You have greatly assisted me finishing this book!!!

[@99unclebob]

you have given us the greatest app that's free to anyone that takes pics, you showed us it pays tp play around and find out these really cool and helpful things, I am a hobbyist and never truly planned a shoot, just a trip in the past with an uncle who lives out in northern Saskatchewan who is a retired photography teacher who is a universe of knowledge and learned allot from him, thx once again Tony

[@cliflowry9433]

Wow, that's great information. I didn't know Google Earth had those features. Thanks, Tony.

[@stianhogstvedt9809]

I use mostly google earth or maps and used some Photo Pills when planning my wedding photography. After visiting the location beforehand, I can find out where the sun and shadows will fall at that particular moment of the wedding day. Specially useful when the location is far away and I may not do a visit beforehand. Although I have experienced that a special tree I wanted to use in my photography was chopped down when I got there, so have backup plans... Great tip there Tony! Give Cheals my best! 🙏🏻😊

[@brittonlarry13]

Tony! Mind blown! Never had thought of using Google Earth for those settings. Thank you!!!

[@chumito10]

Used this same methodology to choose whether to pick an apartment facing north or south in Philadelphia! Thanks Tony!

[@karthikkalaimani3254]

Thanks for introducing me this amazing tip!!!!!! I badly missed a few magenta sunset photos of Alps because I couldn't find the angle of the sun! You just changed my life.

[@WineWorldTV]

I've been using this the past few months not for photography, but to do animations for my show. Very powerful tool. I seem to find different things pretty regularly in it.

[@piths1942]

The "Planner Pill" in the Photo Pills app is also very useful for preplanning day or night shots.

[@RightTurnsAndLeftovers]

What a great find!! Thank you for sharing and walking us through how you use it. thanks for all the great content you guys put out.

[@TheCelluloseKid]

You did it again Tony, thank you so much Ob-wan.

[@JoshSandlin]

I’ve mostly used TPE to plan out shots; the 3D views are just great. I’ve safely navigated a lot of urban shoots by planning out when shadows are going to fall between buildings. I covered a series of protests and was able to map out an adjacent route to the folks marching and got a few nice compressed shots of the crowds using TPE. I tend to use RadarScope to navigate weather. It can be a bit difficult to use if you’re just jumping into it, but being able to differentiate cloud layers is killer for sunsets. Hadn’t thought about Google Earth, though. That’s a great tip. Awesome video, as always!

[@steevo1976]

Thanks Tony. A fantastic reminder of the power we all have at our fingertips.

[@ianbachanek2538]

There is an app called "Clear Outside" that gives weather forecasts and includes the amount of low/mid/high clouds. Also not a complete app but an additional tool.

[@mickr007]

For 'PC' users, just tested this in Linux Mint and works fine there too :) Cheers for the vid Tony, very useful.

[@ziginox]

Mac, too.

[@AleMarchAMP]

I did stop using Google Hearth a couple of years ago, but thanks to you, I am going to jump back into it! Thanks Tony! Great Vidéo!!!

[@MichaelKantormusic]

next to my camera this is the most useful photography tool ever. Going to try and plan out my Montana trip Thanks Tony !

[@adrianscalf9875]

Excellent advice thanks. Finally bought your How to create stunning digital photography book. Time to step it up to a new level.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Thanks, Adrian!

[@phdman2014]

AMAZING! Sometimes its like Christmas with you guys. Thank you!

[@MDMiller60]

Thanks Tony. I didn't know all that about Earth. I just used it to see where SE and SW were.

[@RyanAnthonyDigitalMedia]

There’s also a great app I use all the time called Sun Surveyor that shows you where the sun will be and at what times.

[@donncha1]

I love this app but it doesn't ever seem to get as much attention as Photo Pills. The street view integration is amazing, especially to see where the Sun and Moon are/will be at a certain date/time.

[@kevinnason7980]

Agreed. I use the Sun Surveyor app a lot and I really like it.

[@HPeterJi]

I use Photo Pill and Satellite views in Google Maps. I do a lot of Astro along with sunset and sunrise photography, so Google Earth seems like a great tool now! I’m glad you shared this!

[@Feanor_1169]

This.... is.... AWESOME!!! Thanks a million Tony! Love your (and Chelsea's) content! ☆♡☆

[@MikeVanTassell]

This is a game changer for me as an architectural photographer, thanks for sharing!

[@Fishinglam]

Drone users has long used Google earth to draw 3d path and export it to Litchi hub to control a dji drone to arrive to a location and finish a shot at the exact location and time miles away.

[@WilliamLesourd]

Fishinglam : useful to know

[@jimmypics1570]

I've been using Google Maps and Photographer's Ephemeris together for years and it has saved a lot of time at a location. Good video

[@KevinAdams06]

OMG! I have not used google earth since middle school circa 2001, I had no idea they had added this functionality. Thanks for the tip!

[@peterengel8218]

Wow, great ideas I have not gone into so many details as yet. Now I will use this on my next holiday in October. Thanks, Tony

[@d4075361]

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned sooner - I've been using Google earth for planning for years, mainly with figuring out sun positions and timing. It's great for getting a loose idea of places that are hard to get to in person ahead of time. The reality of scenes can be VERY different and you have to make adjustments to your plans but it's still great at making sure you're in the right kind of call park. Bit late to the party, but a very worthy recommendation. Nice work.

[@stephendenagy3396]

Oh my!!! This is the very best piece of advice for the landscape photographer! Thank-you!!!!

[@__jairomartinez__]

thank you Tony for this trip. We have a trip planned to the blackforest in Germany next year. I have planned the trip in my Photopills app, but now with this i an abe to actually see it. I need more tips how to work the time line into the future. It looks that the timeline does not go over 2020. Thanks!

[@ColinRobertson_LLAP]

Yup. Google Earth, Photo Pills, The Photographers Ephemeris, TPE 3D, The Photographer's Transit, weather apps, Sky Guide... Lots of great tools out there, but I'm with you, I wish there was one (mobile) app that integrated everything.

[@Wychfyre_]

Would like to see you use this, then go take the actual photo.

[@mikepawlikguitar]

This... What a great idea for a video!!!

[@BookYourImagination]

This is fantastic! I've tried to use the latitude, longitude, and degrees from the horizon with NO success! This is exactly what I've been looking for!

[@MarkH163]

Thanks Tony! I always try to figure that out in my mind when planning a shot, but what a wonderful tool to use instead! Too bad you can never fully plan out weather and clouds.

[@wookix]

I've been doing the first step using Google Earth VR using my HTC Vive for a long time. I've also changed the time in there but I didn't know that the normal version of earth had such a detailed control. Thanks for sharing.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

Yeah it's amazing in VR!

[@carlover4239]

The park by The River Cafe in Dumbo is one of my favorite spots in ALL of NYC.

[@JoeLinnMN]

Wow, this is a game changer. Thanks so much, Tony.

[@trouwfotomakerij]

Great tips Tony. One addition: if you use the time slider to determine when the best time for sun positions or milky way shots will be, make sure you click the wrench icon to adjust for timezones if the location you're checking out is not in the same timezone as your computer is at this moment. :)

[@TonyAndChelsea]

OH RIGHT. I had this in my notes and forgot to put it into the video, dammit.

[@SelmanJulian]

Just played with the app. You can do this ANYWHERE, including in the middle of the wild!

[@TanvirIFAZ]

This kind of videos reminds me why i love this channel so much.

[@WineWorldTV]

So I've been using GE recently for planning my drone shoots in conjunction with the Flightplan function for the ANAFI. I've also starting integrating GE videos into my shows to give my audience a visual perspective of wine areas and wineries. Especially since I'm not actually going to the areas. If I want to get really fancy, I can also add shaded polygons to highlight larger areas. It's a lot of work, and it requires actually drawing, but it's something no one in my area is doing as far as I know. What's cool about that is as long as you keep all the GE branding in tact, there's no issue using it. I haven't tried recoding more fine tuned movements yet. However, the online version of GE looks like you can create more complicated flight plans with camera angles and such. It looks daunting to do that. What I'm really hoping for is MS Flight Simulator for the Xbox and recording that in drone mode.

[@bathtubs]

Never heard of an app like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can't wait to use it.

[@gerardferraioli8327]

I use Google Earth for planning shots, but never in this capacity. Totally awesome tutorial! Thank you!

[@Champo0]

Another really nice tool is the Google Earth VR 'game' for the VR headsets like Vive or Oculus. The possiblity to fly around makes planning quite easy and it has the same sun options as the google earth app tony has shown. It's just important to go into the settings first and enable human scale.

[@jacklydon]

Thanks for these tips. I use Google Earth all the time but never thought to use it to plan for photos.

[@Rico-ns5dt]

I'm digging the Not Sponsored detail lol because in the first 5sec I was like 🙄 sounds sponsored lol. But thanks Tony you rock. As always. Chuck Norris status of the photography world.

[@christophermartin7973]

I use Google Earth quite a bit for work and photography stuff and didn't know some of these tips thanks Tony!!!

[@pauldowney7130]

Just … WOW! Thanks Tony 👍

[@llewellinbelton3991]

Tony Northrup: "Now, let's control the Sun!" ... I knew you were a photography god but, now, this promotion to The God! We worship you, Lord. :) (Brill vid, Tony, thanks).

[@Simon-SBL]

I use Earth and street view a lot for a visual reference to an unknown location, usually while travelling and on a mobile, and I didn't know about this feature, which looks pretty cool, I will certainly be trying this out for planning. I also use Pills and TPE. I mostly have a keep going back strategy, because as I am sure you know, here in Scotland, you mostly take your luck with the weather and even with the best planning and a good forecast, it may not come to anything, but eventually, the law of averages will pay off!

[@itstheBMAC]

Definitely going to look into this and give it a shot. Thanks for sharing, Tony!

[@derekmidgley]

Amazing, Tony. Thanks for sharing the details!

[@Asianpunk28]

Tony, thanks a bunch on your tips! You are a true photography genius. I wished I would had known about this during my trip in Cancun, MX! The funny thing is I woke up late on my photography day to shoot and I rushed to my ideal spot. Google maps would have helped me greatly to time it better. In addition, the entire place was blocked off by the wealthy and I could not park anywhere near my site. Maybe next time. Let me know if you ever visit in Cancun area!

[@lasmyth9656]

Geez, big fan of G earth / Gmaps & streetview, but didn't realize the extra option of bldg level / sun / astral position. Too cool. Was using another app, Stellarium for that, also way too cool, but Gearth definitely trumps that with actual landscape vs simple position of all things astral THANKS ... as always, great stuff

[@RossMcLendon]

Agreed, I was recently turned onto this capability of Google Earth and I found it super useful for planning a sunrise shot high in the mountains of CO this last weekend. I still like PhotoPills for quickly seeing where things will be, but the inclusion of topo helps figure out a lot more details like you showed (what will be lit up when). Also, for weather I've usually used the NWS HRRR tool to predict local near-term cloud cover. It's not super user-friendly but it can help you predict whether or not it's worth going out (high or mid-cloud overhead with clear skies the direction of the rising or setting sun is a good sign). And transit-finder for ISS transits. I just tweeted one at you happening tonight (tuesday morning) crossing through CT/RI. Also, another thing I've found is when trying to line up moon/sun rise/set shots with things like buildings, it's helpful to work from shooting locations that give you some side-to-side flexibility, because I've never been able to exactly nail down where to set up (although I can usually get within about 10-20 yards)

[@jasmel90]

TN, you mentioned GEarth in a past vid that I saw and it saved me - had a 1-day opportunity to shoot a nighttime city skyline and really wanted a star trail background above it, with the north star at a particular point. GEarth can simulate stars as well, and told me the exact line I needed to be on to get my composition! +1 for TN+GEarth

[@carlopton]

Great info. I feel foolish. I use Google Earth on a regular basis, and a few times for a rough idea on location photos. But the tools you have pointed out I never did put together in my head. Thank you for this.

[@EmAstonish]

Mind blown! Thanks Tony

[@HikerHansen]

Man I've used Google Earth SO much for planning Milkyway time-lapses and drone shots, and I never knew they had a lightning simulator in there!

[@andreasbuder4417]

Yeah that would be awesome to predict lightnings and storms and stuff... :-D

[@edwardperry4416]

I am liking this a second time.. Thank you!

[@MC50000]

Wow I never knew this existed thankyou sooooo much, this will change my landscape photography period! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@DaveAerialPhotography]

Great information Tony, thanks! I'd love to see you showing first on Google earth and then you going to the same place and shoot that photo as you planned. Maybe another video later?

[@MichaelHodge]

Wow! Awesome app to add to your photography arsenal. Thank you, Sir.

[@Hchaves1980]

Thanks,Tony ! Great tip. So helpful.

[@desertgecko4549]

Thanks, Tony -- excellent suggestion and how-to! I had no idea all this could be done with Google Earth.

[@smaakjeks]

You can also use the arrow keys to "walk" when in 3D street view. Which works great in natural landscapes, too. I use Google Earth to check out new potential trails/views. I have one trail and camp location all ready to go for my next camping trip this October, in Norway. Going to see if the sunset looks neat from there. Hoping for some morning mist in a valley I'll be camped above. Maybe fly a drone, too :-)

[@hugonascimento742]

3d model version is for zone only. It's usefull if the area to photoshoot has that info.

[@ahmedkm2003]

Great video Tony, thank you

[@travelingcameraman89]

I can use this program for trip to Japan! Thanks Tony!!!!!

[@toprockphotography8669]

Also natively available on Linux.

[@rickymcc9072]

Hi Tony Thanks for sharing. Neat facility, must try. I have both TPE and Photo Pills, but have yet to fully utilise. Got good camera/glass too (I know... all the toys but no idea how.....). Whilst not untrue, the aspiration is there but time is limited, my interest set is perhaps too wide. Arguably I should better prioritise and focus on less stuff - but I'm naturally curious, always learning more and receptive to new ideas. Hasn't stopped me making many fine pics but I know I can do even better work.

[@PhotoGearFun]

Have you looked at PlanIt Photo Planner? This app does just about everything. There is a steep learning curve but man it will do it all.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Great video! While I use Google Earth I have learned new uses for it, especially the ground-level view. P.S. the summer solstice is around June 20, not July 20. Still, great info!

[@kenyonandchris]

Thank you for this. I didn't realize how strong Google Earth could be. I use the Lumos app on my iPhone. It has info, by selectable date and time, about sunrise and set as well as shadow length using a graphic. But its main mode is AR using the phone's camera to map the sun's path overlayed on your surroundings. Another great iOS app is Sun Surveyor, which gives (by selectable date) sunrise and set, golden hour, blue hour and twilight all for morning and evening.

[@benoloughlin1557]

Thanks Tony. Many of the wilderness areas I go into streetview is not available. What do you recommend for remote/wilderness areas instead of Google Earth? Many thanks!

[@jamesparker9312]

Tony - I use an app called "Clear Outside" that shows cloud cover at low, medium, and high altitudes as well as total cover, visibility, and fog. It's not 100% perfect but it's been pretty good for me overall.

[@hawaiirealmedia5610]

Super helpful idea! Thanks.

[@atlclutch]

So cool, I discovered this tool a few years ago and use it often for those perfect aerial sunrise/sunset shots.

[@edruttledge342]

Thank you. I had heard GoogleEarth could be used in this way. But, I never saw a demo of how. I use the Sun Suveyor app on my smart phone. I also get a surprising amount of real time weather information specific to location on my UAV Forecast app, including visibility and percent of cloud cover. Geek on!

[@airdailyx]

Google Earth also has a VR app for Oculus that is even better as it allows you to actually stand and fly within the virtual environment.

[@TonyAndChelsea]

yeah i've used that and it's pretty amazing! The only downside is that you need this really complex VR rig. I wish they had it for Oculus Quest.

[@Kevin-nm3yi]

Great information, thanks for sharing!!!

[@d_dave7200]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Definitely going to use this.

[@St1ngerGuy]

You guys should try google earth in VR. You can be a giant over the city or be down to normal size and move wherever you want. I sat on top of the freedom tower in the moonlight. You can grab the sun and drag it across the sky to any time of day. If you have VR you must try it!

[@averettsm]

Such great info, thanks Tony.

[@juandamol]

As allways...very good advises, thanks

[@calokid]

Photoville, (a photography event), is going on in that Dumbo area ...until Sept 24th.

[@thiloschroeder9877]

The app I use mostly is "Planit! for Photographers", which is only available on mobile devices as far as I know. It is an amazing toolkit and definitely worth checking out. There are so many options that it takes some time to master it, but I have saved much more time not having to scout out locations on foot. Besides loading down maps, everything will work without an internet connection, which I consider a big plus. It is a paid app at around $10 US (well worth it IMO), but there is a free trial available. It features sun, moon, star, milky way, and meteor positions, lots of camera toos like exposure calculator or hyperfocal distance, tide information, city light pollution and an awesome VR viewfinder.

[@russellschundler6559]

Thank you ... very helpful! I do use PhotoPills regularly, but I have only touched on using Google Earth. Time to research more deeply Google’s tool.

[@BiggMo]

For astrophotography I like the IOS app SkyGuide. You can predict astrology locations, metor showers, satellite passing and such from any location. It even has a ‘red’ mode so not to mess with your eye dilation.

[@Streetboarder89]

Like some guys mentioned before, the app "planit! For photographers" can do that on your smartphone, you can plan things like moon behind a building from kilometres away precisely and see the exact composition in the virtual viewfinder - done that so much in the last year. You cant do such things with google earth.

[@mosheovadya]

Wow. Super helpful. Thank you.

[@MarkWilliamsFirstLoveMissions]

This is AWESOME!! Thanks so much

[@marcelomatiello77]

I was hoping to see a photo. Like first you planned it via app then took the actual photo.

[@ivankiefer3886]

Free and awesome. Im going to give it a try for my next vacation im going to be a lot more prepare. Thanks Tony

[@curtisdd1]

Wow! THANKS for the info -didnt realize you had this much info on google earth. Save a ton of time. :)

[@davidkwizera]

Thanks Tony! For me I use Sunsurveyor, it’s dope. When you bought the app you can plan night shoot for milk way.

[@mailanmanu]

You should look at the App „Planit Pro“. This is much more powerful than the previous apps you mentioned and an nearly all in one solution. It complements perfect with Google Earth.