PhotoAssist app review: plan your photography sessions

Introduction

If you're looking for an app that will enable you to chart out your photo or video shoot so that you have all your plans in one place, then you should definitely consider purchasing PhotoAssist on your iPhone or iPad.

This app is essentially a tool for photographers and videographers to ensure they have everything they need so they don't show up at the shoot with any crucial items missing from their inventory. Furthermore, a sunrise and sunset calculator is also included so you can time your shoot perfectly.

You'll find PhotoAssist in the Photo & Video section of the App Store where it can be purchased for $1.99, which is a fairly reasonable price to keep you on track with your shoots and work on an ad-free interface.

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Create Equipment Lists

PhotoAssist has accumulated plenty of recognition since its release, including Scott Kelby's Best of 2009 award, and a feature on Terry White's BestAppSite.com. This lightweight app will only take up 1.2 MB of space on your iOS device, and works very smoothly on the familiar iOS app interface, so you'll be able to use it immediately after downloading.

The main interface has five fairly self-explanatory options including Equipment Lists, Inventory, Categories, Sunrise/Sunset, and Configure Settings.

You can create equipment lists unique to various shoots and some are already included such as Landscape, Portrait, Sports, Travel, Vacation, and Weddings, so that you will never forget any important pieces of equipment on shoots. You can even email these lists with just two taps.

PhotoAssist has accumulated plenty of recognition since its release, including Scott Kelby's Best of 2009 award, and a feature on Terry White's BestAppSite.com. This lightweight app will only take up 1.2 MB of space on your iOS device, and works very smoothly on the familiar iOS app interface, so you'll be able to use it immediately after downloading.

The main interface has five fairly self-explanatory options including Equipment Lists, Inventory, Categories, Sunrise/Sunset, and Configure Settings.

You can create equipment lists unique to various shoots and some are already included such as Landscape, Portrait, Sports, Travel, Vacation, and Weddings, so that you will never forget any important pieces of equipment on shoots. You can even email these lists with just two taps.

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Other Functions & Features

The Sunrise/Sunset calculator simply requires you to input the date and location (city) in order to get all the timings of the sun's relative motion down to the second so you can shoot in the perfect light conditions that suit your needs and preferences.

There is some room for improvement in this app, in that the developers could consider expanding the database to include more recent camera models and other equipment. Other customer reviews also suggest others would appreciate this improvement, so I hope the developers consider it.

It is worth noting, however, that users can manually input equipment so though this is a little long-winded, it doesn't detract from the overall usability of the app.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Enables users to create and edit equipment lists that are required on different types of shoots
• Allows users to keep a tally on the equipment they own
• Sunrise and sunset timings down to the second can be tracked either in major cities or on GPS-triangulated locations

Cons

• Pre-made equipment lists are rather limited in their repertoire but users can input their own equipment easily

Final Words

I think PhotoAssist is a nice and handy app to create checklists of all your essential photography or videography items and I especially like the ability to make equipment lists for all the different kinds of shoots, along with the sunrise/sunset calculator. I think it's worth having on your iPhone or iPad so you can focus on the creative shooting rather than making cumbersome checklists.