MINI COURSE TOPIC 9: Drones In Photography
You've probably seen a lot of drone footage if you ever watch YouTube. The proliferation of drones has caused some laws to be passed and standards to be set. ItÔøΩs imperative that you learn how to fly one, understand the rules and regulations, and that you are thoughtful and considerate of others when using your drone.
Baby Steps - First Learn to Fly
Drones have come down in price, and the availability of many models and brands have made them some of the most popular tools for photographers.
Usually, the lower price drones are selected by beginners to get their feet wet on flying and their learning curve to the level of confidence of not losing a higher price drone.
You are going to crash a drone at one point or another, so entry-level drones dont even have to have a camera. Some of the cheap brands sell for around $60, such as the Blade Nano QX RTF Quadcopter which is a commonly recommended one for learning the basics of flying. However if you are serious about drone photography you should consider the DJI brand of drones available.
Get Your Drone Registered
When you are ready to graduate to the bigger drones that can carry a camera, you have to (in the US, UK and places in Europe) register your drone with the FAA (or equivalent) at the cost of five dollars if it weighs over 0.55 pounds.
In the US, registration can be completed online through the FAA website. Then your drone must display its FAA registration number with a label. It's recommended to keep your drone at or below 400 feet and within your line of sight.
Mount Camera for Different Effects
The positioning of the camera on the drone will give a different point of view to give different shots or perspectives. Straight top-down positioning gives views that are abstract with symmetry and patterns.
Using a 45-degree positioning gives perspective and depth, useful for lining up scenes of mountains in the background which is very hard to get with a standard camera unless you can get to a high spot.
Shoot with the camera mounted horizontally like you would do with a normal camera for great horizontal views of cliffs. It’s useful to try both landscape and portrait modes by rotating after shooting, because a lot of drone mounts don’t rotate.
Camera Settings
Settings are very similar to a normal camera. Some recommended apertures are f-2.8, f-4 or higher. Leave focus set to auto instead of manual because the camera usually does a better job than you can when you are trying to read the focus through a phone.
Faster shutter speeds are needed in the wind to prevent blur. Shutter speeds of 1/50 or 1/100 and 1/200 of a second are really good. If there is no wind, you might try going down to 1/4 of a second if it is dark because the goal is to keep the ISO as low as possible.
Image Creation
Drones can provide amazing images that you could not get any other way. Today, you can get that technology relatively inexpensively. It’s probably worth it to invest in one if you’re going to be serious about travel photography.
