Taking pictures with your drone.

 Tips for taking pictures with your drone.

Even if you are flying, you cannot forget that you are going to take pictures. If you are a photographer, all the rules, tips and indications that you have learned to take your photographs with your traditional camera on the ground are almost the same that you will apply in the air.

 

What will vary a lot are the pre-flight requirements, which are important to ensure a smooth, accident-free flight. Before starting, plan the session and the flight route and calculate how much battery you will need, where you will fly the drone and what time it will be.

1. Clean the lens taking pictures with your drone.

Before taking off, always check the condition of the lens glass and clean it. Once in the air, a dirty lens can spoil a good picture. During the course of a day, both when landing / taking off and in flight, it is normal for dust, fragments of vegetation, insects, etc. to adhere.

 

2. Shoot in RAW taking pictures with your drone.

Most drones offer three options when choosing the format of your photos: JPEG, RAW, and JPEG + RAW.

Read your drone's user manual and select shoot RAW. This way you will get images with more information, because a RAW file contains all the image data that the camera sensor has recorded. This will allow you to edit any RAW file later without losing your image quality.

 

3. Use the Manual exposure mode when taking pictures with your drone.

The vast majority of drones allow you to choose between two exposure modes: automatic and manual (M). Use manual mode whenever you can, it will allow you to control the light much better in your photographs.

 

Opening. Some drones have a fixed aperture camera, so you will not be able to change this parameter.

Shutter speed The slower the shutter speed, the more light the sensor will capture.

ISO. A high ISO allows you to shoot at fast shutter speeds or in low light situations, but you will also have increased noise in photography.

 

4. Use ND filters only if necessary when taking pictures with your drone.

Although the theory says that as a general rule ND filters are only used to record video and reduce the automatic shutter speed, exceptionally they can be used in photography for very specific cases such as long exposures or when you cannot manually change the aperture of the camera. your drone. Use them if necessary.

 

5. Compose and frame while taking pictures with your drone.

Frame as if you were taking pictures from the ground. Do not forget the composition rules and keep in mind that you should always show a main subject that focuses the attention of the viewer of your images.

The crown of a tree in the foreground, or any other object in height will help convey the feeling of height.

6. Check the histogram and adjust the exposure when taking pictures with your drone.

Before you start shooting like crazy, check your camera's histogram.

The histogram is your best ally in flight. At a glance, you can see the exposure data before shooting and adjust it if necessary. (How to read the histogram)

7. Focus 

Very important, although most drones use angles, you should always focus before shooting your picture. You usually have two options in your focus settings:

 

AF (automatic focus). The camera does it all for you. Tap the screen and the camera will focus automatically. If you don't touch the screen, your image may be blurry.

MF (manual focus). You are the one who does everything! Press the screen to select the focus point. Then move the slider to focus. This slider would be the equivalent of a focus ring on a normal camera lens.

 

8. Take advantage of the position while taking pictures with your drone.

Show common sites from another point of view. Take advantage of the possibilities of the drone and forget about the sky, it is the easy resource of aerial photography. From the sky you have a privileged position, look for truly innovative perspectives, place the camera at a zenith or at less than 45º from the ground, try taking portraits from the air.

 

9. Look for the good light during taking pictures with your drone.

As with traditional photography, first thing in the morning and at dusk we will have good light and some calm in coastal areas. Be careful because simpler cameras tend to do poorly in shadow areas and show a lot of noise and little detail in low lights. Try not to overdo the schedule.

Medium and high clouds can be our best ally to prevent overexposure and avoid having a "flat" sky.

 

10. Don't risk while taking pictures with your drone.

Think that you are carrying a flying camera that is worth a lot of money, the best shot does not imply that it should be the most risky. Always try to minimize risks to both the equipment and the environment.

drone photography

drone photography ideas

 best height for drone photography

 drone photography for beginners

 drone photography course

 best drone for photography

 drone photography skillsunderstanding drone photography