Gear Review : Aerial photography using a drone
Immediate disclaimer : I am up to my 3rd drone. My beloved 1st one I dumped into 10m of freezing cold water of Lake Eildon, Victoria Australia whilst chasing sunrise light whilst flying half asleep. After treading water and trawling the spot for over 3 hours later with friends using rakes and poles, we found it and saved the video and SD card (and due to a quirk in technology, the actual slash and submersion is wiped from the card )-: ), but of course the electronics and motors had other ideas than flying again. RIP. My 2nd was a victim of a different evil - G.A.S - so now I am on version 3 and its lasting well. I only declare all this to be clear that I am by no means all over this aerial pursuit, and that I am enjoying the learning path of how to use a drone to get some good perspectives and frames.
Image not the authors. Source unknown.
But let me outline some of the things I have learnt and what is inspiring me about this form of image making. First, its a great mix of gadgetry and photography - gadography, gadgetography ?! - so that should satisfy a couple of fixations all at once. Secondly, and probably most importantly, it does indeed open up a different perspective on urban and rural environments - the aerial perspective is rarely consumed for any length of time by any of us and is even more rarely captured so easily until now with the advent of prosumer drone capabilities.
I find landscape photography pretty boring. I admire the people that are good at it and tell a great story with landscape images - but I really struggle trying to pursue that for landscapes. Using an aerial perspective is changing that experience for me and that is what I am enjoying. Will see where it goes.
Now to some good old practical snippets that I have picked up and am using to explore this genre of photography.
1. Plenty of people are getting more and more in to this area so learn from them as a first step
A simple google will point that out. Its a cross over between the hardcore droners and the photographers, so I suggest you google both your drone type to first get insights in to the settings that matter for your drone as someone would have worked through that (check out links below for the Phantom 3 Professional as an example), and then google aerial photography to find people that interest you (again, example link below).
2. Timings and Locations
Still exploring this with regards to urban and rural. Here are some urban examples of one particular area I have done. Either way, golden hour timings are essential here due to the type of camera capabilities on the Phantom (other top end drones can carry a dedicated DSLR, but I would be way too nervous to strap so much cash on to the bottom of a flying plastic rat!) so grab an app for the phone of your choice, and get the up to date timings for when golden and blue hours are about you morning and night, and fly and shoot at these times. The nature of the fixed lens/fixed aperture in my case of the Phantom 3 works best in these lighting conditions I have summised.
For what it is worth, the Phantom 3 Professional camera uses a Sony EXMOR 1/2.3 inch sensor with 12.4 M effective pixels. It comes with a 20mm (35mm equiv) 94 degree FOV f/2.8 lens with focus at infinity, an ISO range of 100 to 1600, and shutter speeds from 8secs thru to 1/8000sec. It can do single shot and burst shooting of 3/5/7 frames, Auto Exposure Bracketing AEB : 3/5, and time lapse mode. The image size maxes out at 4000 x 3000. It shoots in either DNG, JPEG or both, and the camera pitch is controllable from -90 degrees thru to +30 degrees.
It wasn't so long ago that those specs were only found on mid level, rather beefy compacts. Gotta love technology cycles.
Back to the location side of things, I am just now working up the guts to fly over traffic/built up areas so will see if we all survive! (reckless droning is of course neither condoned nor practised). Australian law at this stage allows for public flying beyond 30m of public and private property. There are certain restricted zones like airports and such of course.
3. (Almost) Essential Kit
We love an accessory of course. Apart from the drone of your choice, for sheer ease of use and ability to focus on the frame, the DJI series are the go to guys in my mind for a solid drone with great functionality. Buy whatever suits your budget and enjoy. Use an iPad mini or alternative as your POV screen, and also invest in a decent screen holder arm from NZ Helmet Cams and sunprotector from Aerial Drone Accessories, again if you are using the Phantom. Both these products and stores come highly recommended for customer service and quality.
Image not Authors own. Phantom product shot source unknown.
I use 3 batteries and take them out with me for each flight as you do spend quite some time (or at least I do) hovering to find the right framing and adjusting the camera controls for the exposure you are after. Hovering (and the GPS interactions that that takes) sucks the juice pretty easily! (Again, check out the video mentioned below for good battery maintenance - saved me money !)
4. Keep at it and share your results.
Instagram type platforms are popping up now specifically for drone activity (Dronestagram, etc) so I recommend you get engaged and share results and learn from others that you like to follow.
I am along for the ride and I hope to share some more results soon on this site as my Aerial Project further develops.
Would love to hear any of your tips or suggested further reading to improve and explore.
Not the authors image. Source unknown.
Some of the more than useful links I have used and continue to use are :
Best video I have seen for the DJI App and corresponding settings - this guy has gone in to deep detail in to the workings of the DJI App and the settings for the DJI Phantom 3. Dont follow all of them if you dont want to (eg the cinematic color video settings) but worth going through.
Great insights in to using a drone for photography by Randy Jay Braun - bit old but links to his ebooks which are up to date to end 2014 and worth the flick through in my view.
Drone nut Tom's Tech Time has great insights in to the technology and ways to save money and make the components work better.
Classic DJI dude that goes in to each and every aspect with a classic twang voiceover.