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Tips by a top Texas aerial photography service to help you add “Stunning” into your aerial photography

You can use aerial photography to fulfill a bunch of purposes. Whether you are into real estate marketing, construction progress, inspection, urban development, or just want to capture a gorgeous landscape in a stunning aerial perspective, aerial photography is your friend. 

While stunning, aerial photos are perhaps the toughest of the bunch to capture like a pro. You may not be sure which equipment, angles, or aerial photography services to work with—if you want professional help with it.

So, here are aerial photography tips to help you shoot from the skies like a pro

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Pick the right aerial photography vehicle for the job

There are several ways to capture a subject from an aerial perspective—each with its best use case.

Helicopter: Best for taking still aerial photos without fiddling much with your lenses. Hovering means you can shoot in urban areas without missing interesting subjects.  

Small aircraft: a small, one-engine plane is a great fit for wildlife and landscape

photography, as well as mapping and land surveying projects.   

Hot-air balloon: Great when you have a slow-moving subject in an open area  

What about aerial drone photography?

Drones are perfect for low-altitude uses such as real estate marketing, close-up construction inspection, 360-degree, and wedding photography.

Be sure to use quality lenses, test your equipment before the shoot, and onboard the most-fitting drone photography software for your specific needs.

If you can, use a tablet to increase your area of view from the ground, check focus, and have an easier time composing your shoots.   

 
Chat your pilot in advance

Whichever vehicle you decide to use, first have a chat with your pilot so they know what your aerial photography goals are.

This gives them time and space to process your request. That translates to you receiving their experienced insights on the best locations, most-appropriate time, weather tips, and local rules to comply with.  

Shoot in RAW

Shooting in RAW format means your photos will be available for post-production works in their uncompressed format.

That means you have more freedom to edit to your fill without compromising the quality of the final photos.

Keep your Vibration Reduction mode on, if you have it.

Save in the cloud

From Google Drive to Dropbox and Box, you can save your photos in the cloud so you can have enough space to take all the photos you need while still in the skies.
It also helps to have your works accessible on-demand from anywhere, at any time.

Get both orientations

Shoot in both portrait and landscape modes.

You’ll be glad you did when you realize you can repurpose the photos for different needs.

When you are done flying, you can decide which orientation suits your needs best.

Shoot Sharp

Feel free to have the aircraft fly with the doors off.

Otherwise, ensure the windows don’t have defects that can appear in your final photos.

Also, feel free to make another pass if you do not get the photo right the first time around.

When using a drone, switch it to GPS mode to help keep it more stable, especially if it is a bit windy.

Keep the ISO under control

A high ISO range and performance is crucial. An ISO over 100 can make your photos to come out softer than you’d like.

But remember you need a high ISO setting because of the fast aircraft movement and vibrations.

Start out at ISO200. Combine it with an aperture of f/2.8 plus Aperture Mode. Fast shutter speeds help, so start at 1/500. The combination will help you to easily and quickly adjust your settings as you fly along.

If the camera starts to increase the ISO on auto, you can switch to manual mode.  

Keep the lenses at 24mm to 104mm

Use telephoto zoom lens.

Wide-angle lens with image stabilization is a must-have for landscape photography, so do not forget to have them along.

You want to be able to easily zoom in on the typically far off subjects now, don’t you?
Don’t be afraid to ask for professional help

If you need help with equipment, composition, insights on photography trends, and post-production editing, feel free to collaborate with a veteran aerial photographer.
Over to you.