Drone Photography: 5 Powerful Tips from My Very First Flying Experience

Flying a drone can is definitely fun. However it requires a number of tricks to know before you can safely hover or fly your drone. Here are some of the very best tips that I learnt from my first drone flying experience. I have used them ever since and now it’s over six years and I haven’t crashed a single day.

Choose the Best Period

In autumn the landscape looks so different than during the winter. Spring and autumn are known to offer some of the very best drone photos for perfect flower field shots or orange colored forests. However winter is quite cool if you must fly around the mountains as opposed to under the snow. So depending on such, choose the very best time. Remember the risk of dazzle increases in the afternoon because of the altitude. But sunsets can offer extremely cool views with powerful contrasts thus making it pretty hard to capture.

Use Ideal Equipments

During flights sometime your camera will have shocks. I realized that it’s absolutely necessary to protect your lenses from such shocks. The best thing to do is to protect your camera using a UV filter for the lens. You can also use a lens hood. This prevents the lens from hitting the window handle. Also use your strap for the camera to protect it from an air pocket. Additionally, carry with you a map, bottle of water, and a microfiber cloth for cleaning.

Choose the Right Optic

I have learnt that the very first thing to consider when choosing an optic in drone photography is that you’d probably use the same lens all through your flight. Why? The aircraft movement, turbulence, and confined space will most likely discourage you from changing your lens once you’re aboard, so get the right optic. Your choice of the lens will be determined by various factors including what type of pictures you love. Here are some optics you could work with.

•          Telephoto zoom lens: For close isolation of the subject.
  
  
•          Wide angle lens: For landscapes and panoramic views.
  
  
•          Zoom Lens: First aerial photography experience.
  
  
•          Prime Lens: For extremely sharp photos.
  
  

Be Careful on a Window

Shooting through a window didn’t come easy for me. For my aerial cinematography drone instructor shooting through a window has three main risk factors, stains, reflections, and unfocused images. Trust me this can be disheartening especially if you took an awesome shot that ended up spoilt dues to such a small mishap. So here is what I learnt you should do if you are shooting through a window. First get rid of any stains on the window, use UV filter to avoid any reflections in the glass, finally get close to the widow as possible.

Manage Camera Shake Risk

For most first timers this is like asking them to do so much. Well the truth is camera shakes can really spoil a great shot. You must therefore manage it as best as you can. It will give you pretty sharp and very awesome photos. So minimize vibrations from the aircraft and turbulence as much as you can. Here is the trick, use a short shutter speed, or use the window to stabilize your camera.

My very first flying experience has brought me along way. Here is the trick, don’t hesitate to make the very best of your first lesson. Enjoy it, ask as many questions as you can, and don’t let fear drive you.