Comet with a long tail over Mount Hood at first light
Shutter Scout app icon
Night photography planningiOS & iPadOS

Shutter Scout

Know if tonight is worth the drive.

A conditions score, Milky Way core window, aurora watch, tides, and a written field prescription for the locations you actually shoot.

Shutter Scout tonight view on iPhone
Inside Shutter ScoutShutter Scout scoring tonight’s conditions for a saved location.
Original photography · Steven Smith
LiveOn the App Store
3Favourite locations at a glance
NightlyField guide and prescription
The scouting call, made before you pack the car

One score, three locations, and a plain-English reason.

Shutter Scout reads cloud, moon, wind, precipitation, aurora, tides, and the Milky Way core window for your saved locations, then gives you a single conditions score and tells you which site is tonight’s shot and why.

01

Pick your places

Save up to three favourite locations by city, ZIP code, or landmark, and choose the photography styles you care about.

02

Read tonight’s call

Get a conditions score, the best site, moon phase, wind, precipitation, aurora Kp, tides, and a tide warning when the rocks will be wet.

03

Take the field guide

Open the nightly field guide for the core window, aurora watch, tide and coast risk, and a lens and aperture prescription.

Real product. Current interface.

See Shutter Scout at work.

Built around the real workflow

Tools that earn their place.

A conditions score, Milky Way core window, aurora watch, tides, and a written field prescription for the locations you actually shoot.

01

One honest score

Cloud, moon, wind, precipitation, visibility, and aurora combine into a single conditions score, with the reasoning shown rather than hidden.

02

Milky Way core window

See exactly when the core rises, peaks, and sets for your location, with altitude and azimuth so you can frame it before you arrive.

03

Aurora watch

Kp readings and a plain-language call on whether tonight is a chase or a quiet field.

04

Tides and coast risk

High and low tide times with a warning when late high tide and darkness mean wet rocks and sneaker waves.

05

A written field prescription

The nightly field guide names the best site, the core window, and the lens and aperture to bring.

Apple distribution

Available on the App Store

Shutter Scout Pro unlocks the full briefing — spot-by-spot conditions, tides, aurora watch, and the daily report — as a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Its full field manual, support, and privacy policy live at shutterscoutapp.com.

View on the App Store
Download on the App StoreAvailable now
Plan the night, then go

Its own home is shutterscoutapp.com.