# Best Sun Position Apps for Photographers in 2026

SunCast, PhotoPills, Sun Surveyor, The Photographer’s Ephemeris and Alpenglow compared for photo planning: light direction, shadows, scouting and forecasts.

Canonical HTML: https://suncastapp.com/blog/best-sun-position-apps-for-photographers-2026
Last updated: 2026-10-13

Author: **SunCast team**

> **TL;DR:** **SunCast** is the best sun position app for most photographers on iPhone and iPad. It is the only app here that lets you scout the sun path in Street View, see building and terrain shadows on a 3D map, check hourly cloud cover and then line up the shot in live AR. Choose **PhotoPills** only if you need Moon, Milky Way and camera calculators in the same app.

Every outdoor photographer plans around the same constraint: you cannot move the sun, so you choose where to stand and when to be there. A sun position app turns that into a plan. It tells you where the sun will be on the day, how low it will sit and which side of the subject the light will come from.

Every app below handles that part. The harder part is knowing what the light will do when it reaches your location: whether the building opposite will throw your subject into shade, whether the ridge will cut the sunset short, and whether there will be any sun at all. That is where the apps separate.

We compared five apps, checked on 13 October 2026.

- **SunCast**: best overall for photographers on iPhone and iPad.
- **PhotoPills**: best for combining sun, Moon and Milky Way planning with camera calculators.
- **Sun Surveyor**: best if you also shoot on Android.
- **The Photographer’s Ephemeris**: best for planning landscapes from a desk.
- **Alpenglow**: best for forecasting sunset colour.

If you only need the light direction for one shoot, try the free [Photography Light Planner](/tools/photography-light). Place a camera and subject on the map to see when you will have front, side or backlight.

## What a photographer needs from a sun position app

Low morning and evening light gives landscapes depth and long shadows, which is why the US National Park Service steers photographers at Arches towards the hours around [sunrise and sunset](https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/photography.htm). Zion’s guidance adds the catch: posted times assume an open horizon, and [canyon walls change when the light actually arrives](https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/sunrise-and-sunset.htm).

So we judged the apps on four things:

1. **Direction and timing.** Sun azimuth, elevation, golden hour and blue hour for any place and date. Every app here passes.
2. **What blocks the light.** Buildings, ridges and valley walls decide whether your subject is lit. An app either models them or leaves you to guess.
3. **Scouting before you travel.** Street View or a 3D scene lets you plan a location you have never visited.
4. **Conditions on the day.** A perfect sun angle is no use under thick cloud.

## The apps at a glance

| App | Platforms | Building shadows | Terrain shadows | Street View scouting | Cloud or sky forecast |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SunCast | iPhone, iPad | Yes, 3D map in real time | Yes, 3D map in real time | Sun path in Street View | Hourly cloud cover |
| PhotoPills | iPhone, iPad, Android | No, height-based shadow line | No | No | No |
| Sun Surveyor | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android | No, height-based shadow indicator | No | Sun path in Street View | No |
| The Photographer’s Ephemeris | iPhone, iPad, web | No | Line of sight; 3D terrain in a separate app | No | Sunset colour forecast, selected regions |
| Alpenglow | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | Yes, map | Yes, computed per view | No | Sunset colour forecast |

For closer feature-by-feature detail, see our [comparison library](/compare).

## 1. SunCast: best overall for photographers

SunCast is built around the question that decides most daylight shoots: what will the sunlight actually do at this place? It is the only app in this comparison that answers it from scouting to shooting in one workflow.

- **Scout from home.** Drop into Street View and see the sun’s path drawn over the panorama for your shoot date.
- **See what blocks the light.** Building and terrain shadows move across a 3D map in real time as you scrub through the day, so you can see when a facade catches the light or a valley falls into shade.
- **Check the conditions.** Hourly cloud cover sits beside the sun data, so you can rule out a day that will be overcast.
- **Line it up on site.** The live AR view draws the sun’s path over the real scene for any date and time, with the 0.5× ultrawide lens or front camera on supported iPhones.
- **Catch the moment.** Solar alarms go off for sunrise, sunset and other sun events.

In our [written-review study of sun tracker apps](/blog/best-sun-tracker-apps-iphone-written-reviews-2026), SunCast had the highest written-review average of the six apps studied, and one photographer said it helped them plan the light for a gig without a complicated setup. [Review](/research/sun-tracker-reviews-2026/evidence.html#review-14230133148)

SunCast focuses on the sun, so it does not plan Moon or Milky Way shots and has no camera calculators. It runs on iPhone and iPad. Free quotas cover almost all paid features, so an occasional shoot may not need a subscription.

**Our verdict:** the best choice for portrait, wedding, street, architecture and landscape photographers whose shots depend on daylight. Our [photography sunlight guide](/solutions/photographer) walks through the workflow.

## 2. PhotoPills: best for sun, Moon and Milky Way in one app

PhotoPills has earned its following among night and landscape photographers. Its map Planner finds when the sun or Moon will line up with a subject, its AR view covers the sun, Moon and Milky Way, and its calculators handle depth of field, hyperfocal distance, long exposures, timelapse and star trails. Its educational material is extensive.

Daylight planning is where it falls short. PhotoPills draws a shadow line from an object height you type in; it does not map the shadows of surrounding buildings or terrain. It has no Street View and no weather or cloud forecasts, so you cannot scout a location from street level or check whether the sun will show. Its 2026 App Store updates add camera models and fixes rather than new planning features.

**Our verdict:** worth it if the Moon and Milky Way are central to your work. For daylight shoots where buildings, terrain and cloud decide the frame, SunCast does far more. See [SunCast vs PhotoPills](/compare/suncast-vs-photopills).

## 3. Sun Surveyor: best if you also shoot on Android

Sun Surveyor covers the sun, Moon and Milky Way in AR, on a map and in Street View, and Position Search finds dates when the sun or Moon reaches a chosen point. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android, which makes it the practical choice for photographers who work across platforms.

Its shadow tools are limited to a shadow point and indicator line for an object height, not mapped building or terrain shadows. It has no weather or cloud information. It has not been updated since November 2025.

Long-time users praise it for landscape work, but reviewers in our study also struggled to find the current-location control and to read its toolbar icons. [Location review](/research/sun-tracker-reviews-2026/evidence.html#review-14009144030), [interface feedback](/research/sun-tracker-reviews-2026/evidence.html#sun-surveyor)

**Our verdict:** a reasonable pick for Android users and Moon planning. On iPhone, SunCast gives you the same Street View scouting plus mapped shadows and cloud cover. See [SunCast vs Sun Surveyor](/compare/suncast-vs-sun-surveyor).

## 4. The Photographer’s Ephemeris: best for planning from a desk

The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) is a long-standing map tool for landscape photographers. It lines up sun, Moon and Milky Way directions from the camera position, and its line-of-sight tool shows when the sun or Moon will clear a ridge. Its web app suits planning on a large screen.

The catch is fragmentation. Planning is split across an iPhone app, a separate 3D app and a web app, and the 3D app models terrain only, with no buildings, and needs an internet connection. Its sunrise and sunset colour forecasts cover only the lower 48 US states, southern Canada and Europe. Its Android app was retired in 2021.

**Our verdict:** good for mapping mountain and coastal landscapes at a desk. On location, and anywhere buildings shape the light, SunCast covers more in a single app.

## 5. Alpenglow: best for sunset colour forecasts

Alpenglow does one thing well: it forecasts how colourful an upcoming sunrise or sunset is likely to be, with forecast maps, widgets, Live Activities and an Apple Watch app. Version 12 added building shadows and terrain shade to its maps.

Alpenglow is a forecasting app first. In our testing, SunCast’s terrain shadows were more detailed and updated in real time as we moved through the day, while Alpenglow’s Terrain Shade took time to compute each view. Alpenglow also has no Street View scouting and no way to test planned structures. A colour forecast tells you whether to go, but it cannot show where the light will fall when you arrive.

**Our verdict:** a useful second app for photographers who chase sunsets at familiar spots. Use SunCast to plan the location and the light, and the free SunCast [sunrise and sunset quality forecast](/tools/sun-quality) for a quick sky check. Our guide to [whether tonight’s sunset will be worth photographing](/blog/will-tonights-sunset-be-worth-photographing) explains how to read sky forecasts.

## What about Sun Seeker?

Sun Seeker is one of the longest-running sun trackers, with a flat compass, AR sun path, map view and notifications for golden hour, blue hour and set sun positions. One cinematographer in our review study praised it for planning exterior shots. [Review](/research/sun-tracker-reviews-2026/evidence.html#review-14482479848) It has no Street View scouting, no mapped building or terrain shadows and no photography calculators, so for photo planning it trails the apps above.

## Which app should you choose?

- **Portraits, weddings, street and architecture:** the light depends on the buildings around you. SunCast is the only app here that combines mapped building shadows, Street View scouting and cloud cover on iPhone.
- **Mountain and coastal landscapes:** SunCast’s terrain shadows show when a valley loses the sun and when light reaches a peak, and AR confirms it on site.
- **Night sky and Moon alignments:** PhotoPills or Sun Surveyor.
- **Android:** Sun Surveyor or PhotoPills.

Whichever app you use, plan the direction of light as well as the time. Our guide to [planning a photoshoot around light direction](/blog/plan-photoshoot-light-direction) covers how front, side and backlight change a scene.

For daylight photography on iPhone and iPad, SunCast gives you the most complete view of how light and shade will behave at a real location, from Street View at home to live AR on site. [Download SunCast](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sun-tracker-seeker-suncast/id6757196901) and plan your next shoot around the light.

## How we compared these apps

We chose the sun-planning apps photographers most often weigh up on iPhone, and noted Android support where it matters. Features, platforms and update dates were checked on 13 October 2026, and the verdicts are our own. We did not compare prices. The SunCast team develops SunCast.

## FAQ

### What is the best sun position app for photographers?

SunCast is our pick for most photographers on iPhone and iPad. It is the only app in our comparison that combines a sun path in Street View, building and terrain shadows on a 3D map, hourly cloud cover and a live AR sun path. PhotoPills is the alternative if Moon and Milky Way planning matter as much as daylight.

### Which sun position app shows building shadows?

SunCast shows shadows from mapped buildings and terrain on a 3D map for any date and time, and can add planned structures to the scene. Alpenglow added building shadows and terrain shade to its maps in version 12. PhotoPills and Sun Surveyor calculate a shadow from an object height you enter rather than mapping surrounding buildings.

### Is there a free sun position app for photographers?

SunCast is free to download, and limited free quotas cover almost all of its paid features, so an occasional shoot may not need a subscription. For a quick browser check, SunCast’s free Photography Light Planner shows front, side and backlight for a camera and subject position.