If you’re interested in drone photography and video, I’ve compiled a list of people and sites you need to go to for inspiration, tips, tutorials, and insight. Aerial photography has changed with the drone. When you put costs aside, the other advantages of flying a drone vs a helicopter are that it can get closer to the subject, it doesn't create the ripples in water as much, it doesn’t cause a wind force blowing out the leaves of trees and plants, and it can make for some great shots through mountain gorges that helicopters simply can’t fit through.
And the best of all is you’re in control. It’s easier to toggle the drone to the angle you want than it is having to tell the pilot to flip the helicopter around. Here are the best people in the game, from surfing to landscape, city, nature photography, and video.
The aim of the article is to showcase a collection of great aerial work. When considering the video side of it, it's also possible to see how the drone footage can be incorporated with other shots too to tell a story and convey a message. It’s a challenge to do this, and these guys give some indication of how they did it.
From Where I Drone
The name of the site plays off the #fromwhereistand hashtag which made quite an impression on Instagram when it first started. Dirk Dallas shares his shots, gear, and also his tips and tutorials on his site which will show you how he edits in post, what software he uses, and how he gets the GPS locations sorted in Adobe Lightroom. He also has a downloadable checklist to tick off all your items needed and to make sure the gear is set up correctly before you go out to shoot. You can also check out the curated From Where I drone Instagram Feed for some great inspiration. The founder, Dirk is a Photographer, designer and educator. You can see some of his own work he posts on Instagram too.
Fruit trees swirl on the hills of Huelva, Spain. The climate here is ideal for this growth with an average temperature of 17.8 °C (64 °F) and a relative humidity between 60% and 80%.
This is a project inspired by the Overview Effect, referring to the sensation astronauts have when given the opportunity to look down and view the earth as a whole. It’s a curated feed of some of the best aerial work you’ll find. They have compiled a book, and you can buy prints from them too.
Chris Roger
Chris is a brand ambassador for GoPro and travels the world to capture skiers, surfers, wakeboarders, and any person or thing involving action sports. He doesn’t use DJI drones because he needs to mount a GoPro. He uses the 3DR Solo Drone to make this happen. He's mostly focused on video, as you can see on his Youtube channel. But he does some great photography work too. You can view some of his work on Instagram. It’s mostly done for GoPro, so you can expect some epic action video.
A Shot by Eric Sterman
Eric Sterman
Eric is from Hawaii. He shoots the surfing lifestyle and culture. He's worked for many reputable brands, and he has shot for Red Bull, Hurley, Sony, and Patagonia to name a few. Being a surfer himself, he really understands the essence of water, waves, and color in the surfing environment and showcases it through his aerial images and video. His portfolio is filled with great images all viewable on his site, and you can also follow him on Instagram for the latest updates.
Christ the Redeemer - Alexandre Salem
Que Vista
This group from Brazil has won several accolades. Two of their images were rated by Mashable as of the best photos of 2015, and one of their images was rated by CNN as one of the top 16 images of 2016. They shoot events, architecture, and general overviews of Rio, the city they are based in. You can view their updates on Instagram to see what they get up to.
Drone Heroes
This is a curated Instagram feed by Ronny Brouwers. He travels the world and documents hotels and resorts, but also shoots some amazing drone photographs and video of general natural landscapes and architectural ones too.
There are many drone flyers out there that share their work via Instagram. These are most certainly not the only ones, but I believe they are some the best to follow to find inspiration and see what the capabilities are when using a drone. If you've got some great shots, share them in the comments.
All images used with permission from the photographers mentioned.
Wow some cool shots in there. Certainly landscape patterns that can't be captured any other way are now fair game for photographers.
Here is aerial photography of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco: http://www.performanceimpressions.com/aerial-travel-photography.html
Thanks for sharing David!