Shutter Scout
Field Manual Get Shutter Scout
Green and magenta aurora over Mount Adams, reflected in the water

Shutter Scout

Know before you go. Shoot like a pro.

Built by photographers for photographers. Photography intelligence for the light, weather, and sky.
Shutter Scout app icon

One clear call before you pack the car.

Shutter Scout intelligently compiles science-backed sky, weather, light, tide, and space-weather data into clear prediction models for photographers. You get the decision, timing, direction, and field context without the noise.

Read the Field Manual

The real app. Ready for the real field.

Inside Shutter Scout for iPhone. From the first forecast to the details that shape your shot.

Shutter Scout Today on iPhone, with conditions and favorite locations
TodayYour field decision in one place.
Shutter Scout Sky on iPhone, with planning tools and Milky Way visibility
SkyPlan the frame, the direction, and the night.
Shutter Scout Emberlight sunrise and sunset forecasts on iPhone
EmberlightColor forecasts for the places you shoot.
Shutter Scout Field Guide on iPhone, with photography guidance for tonight's conditions
Field GuidePhotography guidance for the night ahead.
Shutter Scout Aurora Command on iPhone, with a storm outlook and space-weather readings
Aurora CommandLive readings and the forecast ahead.
Shutter Scout Aurora Deep Dive on iPhone, with solar-wind charts and detailed readings
Aurora Deep DiveThe readings and trends behind the outlook.
Shutter Scout Substorm Mode on iPhone, with substorm monitoring and activity indicators
Substorm ModeTrack the build-up and changes in activity.
Shutter Scout Map Planner on iPhone, with a camera position and celestial bearings
Map PlannerPut the place, light, and timing on the map.

Plan the photograph, not just the forecast.

The current release connects scouting, composition, live conditions, and field guidance in one working kit.

Map Planner

Drop a camera pin anywhere, scrub a date and minute, and see sunrise, sunset, moon, and Milky Way bearings on the land.

Viewfinder & Find the Spot

Preview the frame at your focal length, or work backward from the composition to the coordinate where you should stand.

Saved Plans & Alignment Windows

Keep the place, time, lens, and subject together, then scan ahead for the moment the light crosses your landmark.

Fall Color

Track estimated onset, peak, and finish around your locations, with subject and light guidance for the season.

Aircraft Transits

Track candidate aircraft crossings of the sun or moon with live timing for the final approach.

ISS Tracker & Transit Chase

Plan visible passes and use corridor maps for rare sun and moon transit opportunities.

Eclipse Awareness

See solar and lunar eclipse visibility through 2040, with maps and field-planning context.

Winter Deep Sky

When the galactic core is away, get real imaging windows for Orion, Andromeda, the Pleiades, and the winter Milky Way.

Milky Way rising over Mount Hood and reflected in a mountain lake
Plan the night.Direction, timing, darkness, targets, and visibility.
Detailed red lunar eclipse against a dark sky
Know the event.Eclipses, comets, meteors, conjunctions, and transits.

One field kit. Every condition that matters.

Deep capability, grouped around the decision a photographer is trying to make.

Plan the frame

  • Intelligent Daily Report & Conditions Score
  • Favorite Locations, Scout Nearby & Photo Styles
  • Map Planner with sun, moon & Milky Way bearings
  • Viewfinder & Find the Spot
  • Saved Plans, Alignment Window & Shot Alignment Finder
  • Night Sky Planner with 25+ targets & NPF timing
  • Live View AR, Choose Target & Sky Detail
  • Milky Way Core & Winter Deep Sky
  • Moon rise, set, phase & full-moon windows
  • Sky Tonight planetarium

Track the rare moment

  • Meteor Showers, honest rates & Meteor Watch
  • Eclipse Awareness through 2040
  • Comet Watch
  • Planetary Conjunctions
  • ISS passes & transit chase maps
  • Live Aircraft Transits
  • Darklight dark-sky locations
  • Field Log history

Read the atmosphere

  • Sky Today clarity, clouds, fog & radar
  • Sky Cover layers & satellite imagery
  • Smoke and atmospheric visibility
  • Mountain Weather by elevation
  • Lightning tracking & proximity alerts
  • Active weather & space-weather alerts
  • Tides, water temperature & beach reports
  • Premium field-weather data

Chase the light

  • Emberlight color score & Next Two Events
  • Extended Emberlight outlook
  • Arclight rainbow awareness & alerts
  • Bio Blue bioluminescence score
  • Seasonal Fall Color timing & light guidance
  • Daily sunrise & sunset briefings
  • Configurable Emberlight & meteor alerts
  • All-clear status when nothing needs attention
  • Favorite-location intelligence

Command the aurora

  • Aurora Command real-time status
  • Aurora Deep Dive
  • Substorm Mode
  • Interactive 3D Magnetosphere
  • 27-Day Aurora Outlook
  • Custom Aurora & Substorm alerts
  • Chase Mode field cockpit
  • Red-light map guidance

Stay ready in the field

  • Signals alert inbox
  • Ask Scout photography companion
  • Custom alert thresholds & timing
  • Red Light mode
  • Siri Shortcuts & Home Screen widgets
  • Morning & evening briefing alerts
  • Units, voices, icons & preferences
  • Searchable Field Manual
Explore every feature in the Field Manual

Take Shutter Scout into the field.

Available now for iPhone on the App Store and Android on Google Play.

Support from people who use the app in the field.

For app support, privacy questions, purchase help, or bug reports:

support@shutterscoutapp.com