Should you shoot tomorrow? | Daily photography briefings · ShotBrief

ShotBrief · ShotBrief

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Daily photography briefings

ShotBrief answers whether tomorrow is worth going out at your shoot location - weather, sunrise and sunset, moon phase, aurora where it applies, and a go/no-go score for the whole day. Each evening you get one photography briefing by email with plain reasoning so you set the alarm for dawn, head out after work for golden hour, or sleep in - decided before bed, not guessed at midnight.

Get started free See a sample briefing

You already know the ritual

Before a dawn shoot you open a weather app, Windy, a cloud layer tool, check PhotoPills for golden hour, squint at the moon phase, and still aren't sure if it's worth setting the alarm — let alone which car park or viewpoint is actually worth the drive. None of them talk to each other, and none answer the only question that matters: should I go?

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Set your patch and how you shoot

    Add a location — coast, valley, city edge — and pick shot types: landscape, astro, aurora, wildlife, and more. Save your favourite viewpoints as spots with seasons and wind preferences.

  2. Step 2

    We synthesise the forecast

    Overnight we pull weather, cloud layers, wind, sunrise and sunset, moon phase, sky darkness, and aurora probability — then score how they combine for your location and shot types.

  3. Step 3

    Your briefing lands each evening

    One email at the hour you choose (5–9pm local). Plan your alarm, your lens, and your route — or sleep in without guilt. Every briefing is saved in your archive.

What's in a briefing

Everything in one read — scored for photography, not commuting.

  • Go/no-go score

    A single 0–100 number with a clear Go, Maybe, or Skip recommendation.

  • Weather synthesis

    Wind, layered cloud cover, rain chance, and temperature — interpreted for shooting, not raw model dumps.

  • Sunrise & sunset

    Exact times and sun azimuth for dawn and golden-hour evenings after work.

  • Moon & dark skies

    Phase, illumination, and Bortle-style sky darkness for Milky Way and astro plans.

  • Aurora when it matters

    Kp and likelihood where northern or southern lights are actually visible at your latitude.

  • Spot recommendations

    Your saved viewpoints ranked for tomorrow — with reasons, not a generic map pin.

  • Written reasoning

    A short narrative explaining the score in plain English you can act on before bed.

  • Email + archive

    Delivered to your inbox and stored in your account — revisit any past briefing anytime.

Plan the week, not just tomorrow

Daily briefings are the core — and every plan now includes saved spots, the Sunday week-ahead digest, and a full history of everything we've sent you. ShotBrief is free.

  • Saved spots

    Add up to fifty viewpoints per account — beaches, peaks, car parks — with shot types, seasons, wind direction, and notes. Briefings surface which spots fit tomorrow's light and weather.

  • Weekly digest

    Every Sunday, a week-ahead outlook across your locations: daily scores, best day of the week, last week's recap, and top spots — so you can plan the weekend, not just tomorrow.

  • Full history

    Browse every past briefing and digest in the app. Check what we called for last Tuesday before you drive out, or compare how the season is shaping up.

See it for yourself

This is what lands in your inbox — scored, structured, spot recommendations included, and written like someone who actually shoots at dawn.

Sample data. The date label uses tomorrow's calendar day for layout, but scores, weather, and spot picks come from a fixed example — not a live forecast you can verify against a weather app.

Reykjavíkurborg, Iceland

Tomorrow · Sunday 1 November

Score based on your shot types: Landscape

Conditions at a glance

Weather values at sunrise unless noted · hourly forecast for the day

Shooting windows

Astro 06:16 GMT Sunrise 07:34 GMT Sunset 19:03 GMT

Night Blue hour Golden hour Daylight

Hourly forecast

Wind in km/h · arrow shows direction

Sun & twilight

Morning blue hour
06:46 GMT → 07:34 GMT

Sunrise
07:34 GMT (95° E)

Morning golden hour
07:34 GMT → 08:38 GMT

Evening golden hour
17:59 GMT → 19:03 GMT

Sunset
19:03 GMT (266° W)

Evening blue hour
19:03 GMT → 19:51 GMT

Cloud at sunrise
100%

Wind at sunrise
16 km/h · 200°
up to 22 km/h through the day

Temperature at sunrise
6°C
4–9°C through the day

Rain chance at sunrise
100%

Moon
waning gibbous, 83% lit

Sky ⓘ
Bortle 6 — Bright suburban

Briefing

The one thing

Stay in. Full cloud cover and rain eliminate sunrise colour at 07:34.

Not worth heading out tomorrow. 100% cloud cover through the day and rain from sunrise onward will leave you with flat, featureless light and wet gear. Wind at 16 km/h is fine for tripods, but there's nothing to photograph beneath that overcast.

Shot ideas · Landscape

  • Shoot the morning blue hour 06:46–07:34 from a sheltered coastal spot; full cloud will kill colour, but grey water and dark sky might yield moody monochrome or near-monochrome work.
  • Wait for the evening blue hour 19:03–19:51 instead; same flat light, but the waning gibbous moon at 83% may catch enough clarity above the cloud layer to anchor a composition.
  • Skip sunrise and sunset colour work entirely. Walk inland to find a loch or stream in daylight; shoot reflections and texture in the grey, which reads better than fighting overcast skies at the edges of the day.

Recommended spots

POIs and tailored spot recommendations are a Pro+ feature. Upgrade to Pro+

View full sample briefing

ShotBrief is free. Every account gets the full feature set — up to five locations, saved spots, the weekly digest, and your complete briefing archive.

Get started free

Questions

Should I shoot tomorrow?

ShotBrief scores tomorrow as a whole day for your shoot location — not just dawn. Each evening briefing includes a 0–100 go/no-go score, weather and light interpreted for photography, sunrise and sunset times, and plain reasoning so you know whether to wake early, shoot golden hour after work, or skip going out.

How accurate is the forecast?

We use the same numerical weather models as major apps, but we interpret them for photography — cloud height, wind at your elevation, and how light behaves at your latitude. No forecast is perfect 48 hours out; the briefing tells you confidence, not certainty.

What if I shoot in multiple locations?

ShotBrief supports up to five shoot locations — home patch, regular drive-to spots, and the places you go when the light is right. Each gets its own daily briefing, and your Sunday digest rolls them into one week-ahead view with the best day highlighted per patch.

What are saved spots (POIs)?

Points of interest are viewpoints you name and configure — wind direction, seasons, shot types, notes. Briefings rank which of your spots suit tomorrow's conditions and explain why.

What's the weekly digest?

Every Sunday you receive an email with a seven-day outlook for each location, last week's verdict summary, and top spot highlights. You can turn it off in Settings and browse past digests anytime in the app.

Can I read old briefings?

Yes. Every delivered briefing is stored in your account under Briefings — searchable by date and location, with the full score, conditions, narrative, and spot recommendations. Digests have their own archive too.

Can I get briefings for different shot types?

Pick your interests when you set up a location — landscape, wildlife, storm weather, long exposure, architecture, street, portrait, astro, aurora, macro, or a broad general mix. The score uses the best match among what you selected.

I don't shoot aurora or astro — will you still mention them?

When tomorrow looks unusually good for aurora or the Milky Way at your location — clear skies, dark moon, strong geomagnetic activity or a well-placed core — we add a rare-opportunity callout in the briefing even if you only selected landscape or other genres. It does not change your main go/no-go score; we only flag nights that are exceptional for where you shoot. If you choose flexible mode, every genre is already scored and we do not add a separate rare alert.

What does ShotBrief cost?

Nothing. ShotBrief is free to use, with the full feature set — up to five locations, saved spots, weekly digests, and your complete briefing archive. There's no trial, no card, and no upsell.