Sun Tracking for Photographers
Plan your golden hour shoots with precision. See exactly where sunlight hits and where shadows fall — at any location, any time.
Plan the perfect golden hour shoot
Every photographer knows: light makes or breaks a photo. The difference between a forgettable snapshot and a portfolio-worthy image often comes down to timing your shoot to the exact right moment. With Coffee in the Sun, you can see exactly how sunlight and shadows interact with buildings at any location, on any date. Use the Time Travel feature to plan your shoot for the perfect golden hour moment — no more guessing, no more wasted trips to locations that turn out to be in deep shadow. Simply open the app, navigate to your planned shoot location, and scrub through the timeline to watch how light and shadow dance across the scene. You will see precisely when the warm, low-angle light of golden hour begins to creep across facades, when long shadows start to form, and when the last rays of direct sunlight disappear behind a building. This level of precision means you can arrive on location already knowing the exact minute when conditions will be ideal.
Scout locations from your couch
Before you even leave home, check how sunlight falls on any street, building, or landmark. See which side of a building gets direct sunlight at 4 PM, or find that perfectly lit alley for your next portrait session. Coffee in the Sun turns location scouting into a quick, visual process. Imagine you have been hired for a portrait session in a neighborhood you have never visited. Instead of spending an entire afternoon walking around and taking notes, you can open the app, explore the area in 3D, and identify three or four promising spots in under ten minutes. Check whether that narrow side street catches a beautiful sliver of directional light in the late afternoon, or whether the open square nearby stays evenly lit until sunset. You can compare multiple locations side by side and arrive on shoot day with a clear plan, a backup location, and complete confidence in the light you will find.
Track sun position throughout the day
Scrub through hours with smooth animations to see how shadows move throughout the day. Find the exact window when a location gets the light you need — whether it is harsh midday sun for dramatic shadows or soft golden hour light for portraits. The Time Travel slider lets you move minute by minute through an entire day, so you can pinpoint the transition from flat overhead light to that coveted side light that sculpts faces and architecture beautifully. For architectural photographers, this means knowing exactly when a building's texture will be revealed by raking light. For street photographers, it means predicting where pools of light will appear between buildings to create that perfect spotlight effect on passersby. The ability to preview an entire day of light conditions in under a minute is a game-changer for any photographer who relies on natural light.
Save your best shooting locations
Found a location with incredible light? Save it to your favorites and come back anytime. Build your personal library of photography spots with notes on when the light is best. Over time, your favorites list becomes a curated database of proven locations — each one a place where you know exactly what the light does and when it does it. This is especially valuable for photographers who work across a city or travel frequently. Instead of relying on memory or scattered notes, you have a single, organized collection of spots you can pull up instantly. Heading to a familiar neighborhood for a last-minute shoot? Check your saved favorites, pick the spot that works best for the current time, and go straight there without any wasted time scouting.
Nail seasonal light for year-round shooting
Light changes dramatically across seasons, and a location that works beautifully in June can be completely different in December. The sun sits much lower on the horizon during winter months, casting longer shadows and creating warmer tones even at midday. In summer, the sun climbs high overhead, producing shorter shadows and a different character of light entirely. With Coffee in the Sun's Time Travel feature, you can jump to any date of the year and preview exactly how a location will look. Imagine you are planning a winter portrait series with that moody, low-angle light streaming through bare tree branches. Set the date to mid-January, scrub to 3 PM, and see exactly which streets and parks will give you that atmospheric backlight. Or perhaps you are scouting for a summer rooftop shoot — jump to July and confirm that the venue will still have direct sunlight at 8 PM. Seasonal planning like this eliminates guesswork and lets you create a year-round shooting calendar for your favorite locations.
Step-by-step: plan a photo walk with Coffee in the Sun
Here is how to use the app to plan a productive photo walk in any city. First, open Coffee in the Sun and navigate to the area you want to explore. Zoom in to street level so you can see individual buildings and how their shadows fall. Next, use the Time Travel slider to set the date and time of your planned walk. Watch the shadows shift as you scrub through the afternoon hours, and make note of spots where the light looks most interesting — dramatic shadow lines, sunlit walls, or areas where light pours through gaps between buildings. Save these spots to your favorites by tapping and holding the location. Once you have three to five promising spots, plan a walking route that moves with the light. Start at the location that peaks earliest and end at the one that catches the last golden rays. On the day of the walk, you will move efficiently from spot to spot, arriving at each one right when the light is at its best. No more wandering aimlessly hoping to stumble on good conditions.
Check weather before you head out
Beautiful light means nothing if the sky is overcast. Coffee in the Sun includes integrated weather forecasts with cloud cover, temperature, and UV index, so you can check conditions before committing to a shoot. A partly cloudy day can actually be ideal for photography — the clouds act as a natural diffuser, softening harsh shadows while still allowing bursts of directional light when the sun breaks through. By combining the shadow map with the weather forecast, you can make an informed decision about whether to shoot today or wait for better conditions. You can also use the weather data to plan for specific moods: overcast skies for even, moody portraits, or clear skies for vivid golden hour landscapes. Having both sun position and weather data in one app means fewer surprises and more keeper shots in every session.
