Drone photography is the quickest-emerging photography and videography trend for the past few years. In fact, drones have changed the course of aerial photography. Drones created new possibilities in videography and filmmaking.
Now you can take those stunning shots which seemed to be impossible a few years ago. With new cutting-edge technology and 4k cameras, drones have set new benchmarks in the world of photography. Drones have provided a new perspective to photograph landscapes, cityscapes, countryside, weddings, etc.
The bird-eye and 360 views add an extra touch to your photos and videos. Now, not a single photo shot is complete without drone aerial photography. But to take the most stunning shots and to properly utilize the capabilities of these flying machines, you need to master your skills.
Of course, you need lots and lots of practice but some additional tips work as a jackpot and improve your photography and videography skills rapidly. Here are 10 awesome tips and tricks to step up your drone photography and take it to the next level.
Master Your Flying Skills
If you want to take amazing shots, first you need to know how to fly the drone properly. You need to master the drone flight and everything necessary during the flight time. “Practice makes a man perfect” and that’s absolutely right when it comes to drone flying.
You need to understand every aspect of flying to become a pro drone piolet and only after that you will be able to take mind-blowing photographs and videos.
Check The Weather Forecast Before Flying The Drone
The first thing to do before taking your drone out for a photo shoot is to check the weather forecast, which provides important information for the safety of both the pilot and the drone and other people or buildings nearby. It tells you the no-go areas, the weather that day, the number of active GPS satellites in a particular area, and many more.
Weather conditions are constantly changing, so you must stay on top of the latest information and continue to monitor it while your drone is in the air. Remember to always check the forecast before going out, as this can help you plan your shots accordingly.
Explore Places To Fly
Before you even leave, you can spend some time looking for places to fly. Drone photography involves knowing where you can fly in the first place, so you must spend some time doing your research. The best time to fly a drone is when there is good lighting outside with little wind.
The wind can mark it very difficult to fly and this way you can drain your batteries much sooner when using power to keep the drone stable during the flight. You can use Google Earth as a tool to determine where you want to fly your drone. The best thing about Google Earth is that there is a 3D feature that allows you to see intricate details on the map including where you live.
Fly Safe
A checklist is essential for all drone photographers. This ensures that you get the most out of your flight without running into any issues. Taking the battery life into account, you get some great drone shots. Most accidents and accidents can be easily avoided if the operator takes the time to check all machine components.
Always Take The Raw
To take the killer shots, keep to the raw. Any pro photographer will tell you that the finest way to shoot is in RAW set-up. They always shoot in RAW so they can correct exposure or color defects with greater precision. Most of the high-end drones that come with built-in cameras support RAW for images, but if you have a modular drone that lets you swap out your camera, make sure you have one that allows you to take pictures in RAW.
This is even more appropriate for drones. Subsequently, the resolution of the camera is only a few megapixels, it would be lawbreaking to wrap the photo in jpg format and not take benefit of the RAW format. Taking pictures in the digital RAW format gives you more versatility in post-processing images. This way you get uncompressed and lossless image data from the sensor.
Better To Stick With A Lower ISO
Drone cameras often have smaller sensors, which don’t perform as well at high ISO settings. This is especially true for the Phantom 3 series, which produces very good images but ends up with substantial extents of undesirable jot and blare when the ISO is set anywhere above one hundred.
Unless you do filming at night, there shouldn’t be enough lighting. a problem when it comes to drone photography and you won’t need to use high ISO settings. Typically, you’ll want to stick to the lowest ISO sensitivity possible, which means you have to manually adjust your camera settings to keep your image properly exposed.
Do The Experiments
When flying your drone, keep in mind that there will often be limitations on how high you can fly, depending on the area or surroundings. In addition, flying as high as possible is not always a good idea. With aerial photography, it can be difficult to find a good composition when there is so much in the landscape below. The higher you fly, the more you will include in the frame. The result is that your image may appear messy.
Imagine Your Composition
Patterns, lines, and geometry are among the most powerful compositional fundamentals of this new high-altitude photo-shooting flying machine. The lines have unbelievable effects on those who are conscious of composition as they have the command to direct the human eye from the focus to the background of the photo.
Patterns are of the utmost importance in drone photography because the height allows pilots to experience visual rhythms that can easily go unnoticed from the ground. Remember, don’t overexpose, if an image is overexposed you will end up losing the data for editing, but if an image is slightly underexposed you can bring that data back and highlight the shadows in the edit. and you can improve it.