Some Quick Tips for Taking Drone Photos

You just bought your first drone! Woot! Now what? Flying a drone is a vastly different way of thinking and shooting, and it takes a bit of getting used to. This helpful video will get you up and running so you can shoot those epic aerial shots.

Coming to you from Mango Street, this tutorial will show you how to take better stills with your drone. Both the DJI Spark and DJI Mavic Pro have brought affordable, easy-to-fly, and good quality aerial imaging to the market, and with their portability, it's easier than ever to drop a drone in your bag and capture interesting perspectives almost wherever. Among its tips, the video touches on probably one of the most important aspects for drone photographers: using automatic exposure bracketing. Because you'll often have both the sky and ground in your shots, your device will often have to try to tackle extremes in dynamic range. I usually leave AEB on all the time when I shoot, and more often than not, I end up needing to combine multiple exposures for my final shot. Give the video a watch for more great tips.

And above all else, make sure you're complying with all FAA regulations and exercising common sense when shooting.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

Awesome.

You should start by literally flying in the departure path of one of the busiest airports in California (SMO) which runs perpendicular to one of the busiest helicopter corridors in California. Cool shots for sure, but what the heck are you thinking?