10 things for beginners to keep in mind when getting drone photography. #8 is KEY!
How to Frame a drone shot.
The most important part in drone photography; framing a shot. Framing is super important because you want to get the whole shot in the frame before taking the picture. There are many different types of framing that I could write a whole article about. But the most important rule is the rule of thirds. This is a generalized rule that will produce great results. The rule of thirds basically divides the frame into 9 little squares. you want your image to be on one of these lines. Example down below. I am on the right side of the frame and my drone is on the bottom line.
Project I did for Marti the Landscape designer
2. Get the entire subject in the frame.
Getting the whole subject in the frame is incredibly important and can easily be overlooked. I worked for an architecture client who was looking to get some shots of their new apartment complex. I took the shots and had a meeting to discuss how the first draft went (I am always looking for feedback to improve what I am doing wrong). To my surprise I didn’t even get the whole shot in frame. Maybe it was a mental lapse, maybe its because it was so simple it was easy to overlook! But, I will never make that mistake again. Lincoln aerial photography is a growing industry so hop on the train before its too late!
Here is a project I did for DLR; the nation wide architecture firm
3. Choose a good shooting time to get the best footage.
This is arguably the most important thing when shooting drone photography in Lincoln. It determines all of my shoots now. When I first started taking aerial photography seriously, I would just want to get the shoot done quickly and didn’t care what the weather was, the wind, or even what time of day.
Everyone LOVES sunset footage, I mean why wouldn’t you it is the only time of day other than sunrise that there is the chance to capture beautiful pinks/yellows that are never visible otherwise. Check out my favorite picture I have ever taken on my homepage. So if I had one super important piece of advice shoot at sunset or sunrise; this is known as golden hour. Consider the time of day you shoot but also the weather conditions. Aerial photos come out best if the clouds are kind of feathery so the light can breakthrough and show the sun rays. I have an example picture down below
4. Make sure that your batteries and controller are charged.
This may sound like the easiest thing in the world to get right and check before you leave the house. Unfortunately, many times as a new drone pilot I have forgotten to charge my equipment and I could not shoot when I arrived on site. I have made it part of my pre flight checklist to make sure that all of my equipment is charged before I leave the house so I can “take flight” on site.
5. Use ND Filters; always!
This one may be overlooked by most people because buying a drone is already SO expensive and buying more equipment may not seem necessary. However, I would say that buying ND filters is the only thing besides extra batteries that is a MUST buy for drones. Generally as a rule of thumb I would say that ND8 should be on all times; even sunrise and sunset. This helps keep lens flares to a minimum producing a better shot!
This photo was taken with a nd 8 filter. Even though the sun was setting I decided to shoot with it because it is much easier to edit the colors in post production than trying to get rid of lens flares. It is almost impossible.
6. Follow local drone laws.
When I started flying drones for the first time, I knew almost nothing about laws or just how much trouble you could get in for breaking local drone laws. I remember flying on the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s campus and I had no idea that you couldn’t fly drones there. I was shooting when campus police came up to me and said that I couldn’t shoot there. I was very lucky that they did not fine me or take my drone. Lesson learned; pay attention to the laws!! On the bright side, check out the video I made with the footage I got from UNL in my welcome to Lincoln video! Aerial photography in Lincoln is a great way to market yourself. Drone photos of Lincoln can show off a whole new perspective that has never been shown before.
7. Take 5 second shots.
This is a really important one. Dont try to take a continuous 3 minute shot because it is almost never going to turn out smooth and a client will never be happy with it. Instead, try to focus on getting 10-15 second shots with only using 5 or so seconds of that footage. I tend to notice that people will get bored of your video if you do not engage them in the first couple shots then they will leave and never come back. Lincoln drone photography is great when trying to capture these 5 to 7 second clips. Then you can compile them together to make a beautiful video.
Holiday Lights in Downtown Omaha. Check out my youtube channel for more aerial content!
8. Shoot in Raw.
This should be number one. Honestly. This can make your photos from looking incredibly average to looking like they were shot by a professional. I watched a YouTube compare it to a lunchbox (shooting in jpg) to bringing the entire fridge (RAW). There is so many more colors to work with and it is much easier to apply the look you want to the photo in post production this way.
9. Make the best drone controls for you!
Messing with the drone controls such as the gimbal speed and pitch smoothness will help you get a much more stable shot. These come down to personal preference more than anything. But I prefer to have around 8 gimbal speed and around 4 for gimbal smoothness on my DJI Mavic 3 pro.
10. Have fun with it!
Drones are supposed to show you a new perspective that you have never seen before. They are amazing tools to help capture your moments. Just remember to have safe flights and have fun with it! Get lots of angles at shoots even if you don’t mean to get them. The best shots that I have captured were unintentional ones. When I started getting drone footage in Lincoln it was tough because I didn’t know what I was doing; but everyone has to start somewhere. If you need any aerial photos in Lincoln contact MTD Aerial Photography and check out our Lincoln gallery!
Stay tuned to the blog for more tips and trips on drone photography; click the link to get taken to my intro to the blog! If you want to check out my google page about drone photography that would be much appreciated as well!
