Interactive Advisor

What it does

Answers one question — what are you shooting — and returns 3-4 relevant values pulled directly from CAPTD's own calculators, each with a one-line reason it matters for that scenario. It's a fast, opinionated starting plan, not a replacement for the full calculators — every value links through to the actual tool so you can adjust the inputs it used.

What you'll need

• What you're shooting, picked from the list.
• Your location, for scenarios where light timing or sun position matters.

Steps

1. Pick the scenario closest to your shoot.
2. Set your location if the scenario asks for it.
3. Read the plan — each card explains why that value matters here.
4. Tap through to any calculator to fine-tune it with your actual gear and settings.

Reading the result

Every value is computed live from your location and the current time, using sensible defaults (typical focal length, aperture, distance) for anything the single question above doesn't ask about — each card that used a default says so directly beneath the value.

Tips

• This is meant to be fast — if a value doesn't fit your actual gear, open its calculator and adjust the inputs directly rather than trying to mentally correct the default here.
• Combine with the Shot Planner to save the specific plan for a scheduled shoot.

What is the Interactive Advisor?

The Advisor is an orchestration layer over CAPTD's existing calculators, not a separate calculation engine — every value it shows comes from the same functions the individual tool pages already use (sun position, depth of field, exposure, flash, star trails, field of view, camera angle). It exists to answer the question most people actually start with — “what are you shooting?” — instead of “which of 30 calculators do I need first?”

Why photographers use it

Jumping straight into a specific calculator assumes you already know which settings matter for your scenario. The Advisor front-loads that judgement call: pick a genre, and it surfaces the 3-4 values that genre's shooters actually check first, each with a plain reason why, so you can act on it immediately or dig into the full calculator for precision.

Common mistakes

• Treating the defaults as your actual settings. values that used a default (85mm, f/2.8, 2m, and so on) are clearly marked — they're a reasonable starting point for that genre, not a measurement of your specific lens, distance or gear.
• Skipping the linked calculator for a shot that matters. the Advisor is built for speed over precision. For anything you're not willing to get slightly wrong, open the linked calculator and enter your actual numbers.
• Picking the closest genre when none quite fits. if your shoot blends genres (e.g. a portrait at blue hour on a rooftop), start from whichever list of values is more relevant and pull the rest from the individual calculators directly.

FAQ

Does the Advisor use different math than the individual calculators?

No — it calls the exact same functions. A hyperfocal distance shown here and on the Hyperfocal Distance Guide, given the same inputs, will always agree.

Why does it ask for my location?

Several scenarios depend on sun or moon position, which can't be calculated without coordinates. Scenarios that don't need it — like Waterfall / long exposure — skip the location step entirely.

Is my location sent anywhere?

No — the same as every other CAPTD tool, this runs entirely in your browser and never sends your coordinates to a server.

Can I save a plan for later?

Not directly from this page yet — use the Shot Planner alongside it to note down a scenario's plan for a specific upcoming shoot.