When most fledgling owners of a quadcopter think of aerial photographs made using their new gadgets, the first feeling they get is usually exasperation. After all, a person has to be a skilled quadcopter pilot in order to use these vehicles to capture a gorgeous vista at sunset or a massive gathering of people, right?
Actually, you don’t need to have hundreds of hours of quadcopter flight time under your belt to take aerial snapshots that will take everyone’s breath away.These crucial tips will get even a rookie pilotstartedon their way to that perfect photo!
Finding the Right Quadcopter and Camera
First things first: if you’re serious about quadcopter photography, you’ll need a suitable quadcopter equipped with a quality camera. Start off by evaluating your requirements and determining your budget. After that, you can check out top 10 lists of quadcopters and other quadcopter rankings and reviews to find the perfect one for you. There are various quadcopters on the market: try to find an affordable model with an inbuilt camera that performs equally well during the day as well as at nighttime. Alternately, you could buy the quadcopter and the camera separately, though be aware that this is usually the more expensive option.
When it comes to the camera itself, study its specs in detail; resolution is an important factor, but for quadcopter photography, the far more important ones are FPV (first-person-view) capabilities and robust optics.
Balancing
Before setting off on your aerial photography adventure, you will most likely need to address the problem of propeller balance that affects many quadcopters out of the box. Without proper balance, the vibration of the propellers will ruin even the simplest of photographs. There are many video and textual tutorials online that can help you with this problem – thankfully, it doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to solve.
Speaking of balance, consider researching gimbals if you find yourself in need of more precision and stability. Good-quality, affordable gimbal kits can be purchased online and are usually not a hassle to install; one of these will bring your photos one step closer to perfection.
The Right Place
Now that you’re all set up and ready to go, the next step is to find a suitable location for putting your quadcopter and its camera to good use. This might seem like a no-brainer – after all, you can probably fly the little thing anywhere you want, right? That’s not entirely true: the rules on personal drone usage are getting more and more strict, especially in the US, so you should always be up to date with the latest regulations to know what is off-limit.
That being said, doesn’t be afraid to explore! There are many stunning places in nature, some probably right near your home, where you can pilot your quadcopter and take snapshots. With quadcopters, the world’s your oyster and the sky’s the limit – for the most part.
The Right Time
Equally important is the time of day when you will be out taking pictures. A camera that works well in daytime might not be as good at night, not to mention the fact that natural light is much more complex to tame than artificial lighting popular in indoor photography. During casual outings with a quadcopter, you can experiment to your heart’s content, but for any major project, always make sure to scout the location at different times during the day (or at night) to avoid any unpleasant surprises.