Drones are the hottest new trend in photography right now. If you are considering taking flight, you might be overwhelmed with all of the different drone options and setups, or with all of the new laws and government regulations related to flying drones (First you needed a license, and now you don’t, etc…).
If you are willing to learn the rules (see FAA site here) to play the game, you may find that a drone is a creative tool that you didn’t even know you were missing. I found getting a drone was the perfect thing to reinvigorate a new kind of creativity that had stalled for me, that’s my experience and this is why.
Why Bother?
Many people think that drone photographs are all the same boring shot, which can especially be true if drone images are created without a clear purpose or a vision. Like all forms of art, beginners can struggle with expressing their voice in this new medium. Developing your own vision through practice can help you create stunning images that capture people’s attention, and above all, are a representation of who you are as a photographer.
My love for drone photography started as a present from my wonderful wife. The two of us watch copious amounts of Casey Neistat’s vlog. Casey is famous for crashing his drones, but also for getting spectacular drone footage. My wife had been looking for something to surprise me with… and I was definitely surprised! Since that day, my perspective and love for creating drone images continue to grow.
The best thing that I have done to take my favorite drone images is going to the same locations I have photographed on foot countless times. What you will discover from the air at the same locations you already know by land may surprise you.
Shooting from the sky is so different than shooting from the ground; it really makes you work on refining your craft so you don’t produce boring images that you are unsatisfied with. For me, focusing on three things helps me to produce images that I’m happy with: color, composition, and lines.
Color, Composition and Lines
Color, composition and lines are everything to me. Color is the most prominent aspect of photography that I strive to achieve with my day to day photography. Sometimes, simply the color of things will move me to shoot there. It might be trendy to have muted tones and moody darkness, but I still strive for vivid and enjoyable color. That same love of color translates to my drone photographs.
These evoke a pause in even the most casual of viewer. When a composition is striking, it draws the eyes to these sharp transitions and creates a clear focal point. When you are out, be it in an urban or a more natural environment, pay attention to patterns. Whether they be man-made patterns of things like buildings or natural patterns of earth, take advantage of these lines and patterns to create an image. Architects develop buildings with aesthetically pleasing lines; nature has striking visual examples of the Fibonacci sequence, and other patterns guided by how molecules are bonded and how materials weather and decay. Take advantage of these patterns- look for them. Your gear can’t find these patterns, your eye can. I’m a strong believer that the gear does not make good photographs, the photographer makes good photographs.
Gear
The drone I fly with is the DJI Mavic Pro. The Mavic Pro features amazing flying tech, like obstacle avoidance, auto return to home, auto landing and a great beginner mode. Once you’ve improved your flying skills, the Mavic Pro has the ability to fly in Sport mode for faster flying. The camera on the Mavic Pro is amazing – it’s on a three axis gimbal, can shoot in 4k, and shoots gorgeous RAW files for editing. One of my biggest recommendations is getting more than one battery for longer flying times. I have three batteries and can go through them quickly because when you are in the zone, you just want to keep flying. The other thing to keep in mind about battery use. When it’s hot out, battery life decreases dramatically. My wife was recently in a drone workshop at a mapping conference where they said battery life can be cut in half when it’s over 105 F out. You might not be shooting in a desert, but summertime flights can get warm – be prepared with extra batteries.
By far the best thing in my drone bag is my Apple Lightning to SD Card reader. My drone has a Micro SD on-board for saving files. Who wants to get their laptop out or drive home to edit and upload? As soon as I find a subject I love and I want to share it, this dongle is the perfect thing for sharing full-res images and mobile editing.
Videos
Truthfully, I am a photographer and not a videographer. The clips of video I make, have a connection to the photographs I was making at the time of that flight. I try and create videos that are everyday moments, captured with the same techniques of composition, color and minimal aesthetics I use for my photographs. People really love them on social media and it is solid content to share. However, photographs are the main thing I produce with my drone. Lots of respect to all the amazing video producers out there.
Editing
Today’s drones are equipped with some incredible tech and powerful cameras. Many of them allow you to shoot in RAW, giving you the most of your images. Below is an example of an image that I have had on my mind for a long time and recently had the chance to make. The first image is straight out of camera, the second one is after color editing and some Photoshop. This creative editing helps me to create a surreal image that looks like it was taken in a huge empty pool.
If you’re sitting in front of your laptop or a desktop back at home, you probably have your go-to applications that you love and regularly use. For me, being able to get out my lightning to SD dongle and editing images while my wife drives us away lets me publish images immediately. I love editing on the go! My favorite mobile apps for editing on the fly are VSCO, Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop Express, Photoshop Fix, SKRWT, and Color Story. One of the hidden gems of the App Store is AntiCrop, it has a slightly outdated UI but it is still a powerful tool and one I use a lot to create surreal images.
Take the Flight
So go out there, get a drone, and start practicing and refining your vision. Throwing a camera with wings in the sky is not all it takes. In the same way we all strive to improve as photographers, you have to dedicate the same amount of time to your drone photography. Drones are not the secret to creating better images – you are. Don’t let the newness of drone photography intimidate you…you can create stunning drone images!
