This goes pretty much with any shoot — think and plan ahead. As you would suspect, the weather plays a huge factor in determining if you’re going to have a good shoot or not. High clouds will make for a longer sunset or sunrise, as the sun will hit those clouds last or first depending on the time of day. Low cloud cover will make for a very tough shoot if you’re looking for color. Of course there are a few apps to help predict the weather (which our very own founder, Virginia, wrote about here), but the funny thing about weather – it’s unpredictable.
Location is also a big part of getting the perfect picture. As you could also imagine, there are apps to help plan the path of the sun and where it will rise or set on the horizon. If you’re using an app like Photopills, you can pick the spot you want to shoot from and then rotate the map to see where the sun’s path will start and end. If you’re looking to line up the sun with the buildings of lower Manhattan, Photopills can tell you when and where you need to be.