Drone Photography E-Book

Jake Sugden

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Drones offer the photographer new creative horizons, but how do you get started? This practical book shows you the way. The first section deals with drone flying, while the second guides you through the complexities of aerial photography. Together with practical insights, case studies and professional shots, it illustrates how to take stunning photos from incredible - and hitherto unreachable - angles and heights. Topics covered include: getting airborne and how to choose a drone and fly it safely and legally and developing your skills to capture stunning aerial shots - focusing on composition and lighting. A step-by-step case study of capturing the iconic Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth harbour is featured.

Leseprobe

Drone Photography

Drone Photography

Art and Techniques

Jake Sugden

First published in 2020 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com [e-mail]

This e-book first published in 2020

© Jake Sugden 2020

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 690 6

Dedication If you’re serious about photography you’ll know that you need the tireless support of those around you. This book is dedicated to Susie, my constant companion, often found ‘riding in the car’ on my many photo-adventures.

Disclaimer The information in this book was accurate at the time of writing, but please check the current regulations to ensure that your flights are safe and lawful.

The author and the publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it.

CONTENTS

Introduction

  PART ONE: Getting your camera airborne

1 Early history of aerial photography

2 Types of drone and their capabilities

3 Safe and legal?

4 Flying your drone for the first time

5 Planning an aerial shoot

  PART TWO: Photography

6 Stills photography

7 Basic stills editing

8 Finishing your work and sharing it

9 Postscript – other forms of data capture

10 Case Study

Useful resources and information

Appendix: Regulations

Index

Introduction

The very recent explosion in the availability and use of drones has been a phenomenon that has taken both photography, and the aviation world, completely by surprise. Their arrival has suddenly put highly sophisticated, very affordable, cameras on ‘easy to fly’ aircraft within the reach of budding photographers. With a new-found freedom, these photographers have enthusiastically taken to the skies in their thousands – snapping away and sharing the airways with manned aviation. And there’s the rub.

With the advent of drone technology, aerial photography, which itself has been around for decades, is very much in its infancy. Unfortunately, a lot of what we read and watch about drones has negative connotations. For the most part, the media has delighted in portraying drones as the tools of voyeurs, drug gangs and activists trying to disrupt airport operations. The press has largely demonized drones as the modern-day scourge of the skies and has called for them to banned. Conversely, drones are portrayed by others as the very essence of the future in our modern-day consumerist lives.

Whether you are a photographer keen to explore new territory or a beginner who wants to build your photography skills, then this book will set you on the path to safe and successful adventures.

Of course, as with any technology, there are those – the majority – who embrace it for its positive potential and recognize the wide range of possibilities offered by drone technology beyond just photography, such as data collection. The potential uses for drones are almost endless and, indeed, they have already been adopted across a wide spectrum of disciplines from archaeology to zoology. Looking further ahead, developers are exploring the possibilities of unmanned flying taxis for metropolitan travel.

So, whether you intend to use drones to widen your photography practice or you’re just someone who wants to use them for recreational pleasure, you will need to understand how to operate your drone safely and legally before you can go on to explore the amazing potential for photography that they offer.

This book will initially guide you through the complexities, and legalities, of flying a drone. You must first ensure that you don’t fall foul of the law, or injure yourself or anyone else. Once the business of flying the drone becomes second nature then you can concentrate on developing the skills required to capture stunning aerial photographs. Remember, at the end of the day, it is the person behind the camera that gets the great shot, not the equipment. Aerial photography is no different from any other kind of photography: you are still operating and manoeuvring the camera – it’s just that now the possibilities are almost limitless and therefore potentially even more confusing. Breaking it down into manageable steps should help you navigate your way to success.

With that in mind, the book is divided into two sections. Part 1 deals with the nitty-gritty of drone flying, and in Part 2 we get to grips with aerial photography. Working your way through the chapters will help you adopt a more disciplined, and planned, approach to your aerial photography; setting out with a specific shot in mind will help your photography progress rapidly from ‘middle of the road’ to meteoric.

PART ONE

Getting your camera airborne

This section covers everything you need to know to get your camera airborne. I’ll begin by exploring the origins of aerial photography before guiding you through the choices you can make in buying your own camera drone. There follows a ‘classroom’ section, where you learn the necessary rules about flying safely and legally, before I guide you through your maiden flight.

Finally, to round off the section, we’ll put all of that into practice when we look at how to go about planning an aerial photography shoot.

There’s lot to take in, so first of all, let’s put it all into context.

Chapter 1

Early history of aerial photography

Aerial photography has been around almost as long as photography itself. No sooner had balloons been invented than cameras were hoisted aboard to offer a ‘bird’s-eye view’ of the landscape below. Such photos were headline news around the world. Early applications were developed quickly for military purposes in the Great War and became a staple of military intelligence in World War Two.

‘Creative’ applications have since been extensively developed, as film-makers and photographers initially took to the skies in all manner of aircraft clutching their cumbersome equipment before more bespoke equipment was developed. The advent of remotely controlled aircraft heralded an era when, for the first time, camera and operator could be separated from each other, and the race to put aerial photography at the disposal of the masses had begun.

THE BIRTH OF THE ‘CONSUMER DRONE’

Aerial imagery still carries an air of mystery and wonder to this day; unimaginable vistas and scenes open up to the aerial photographer, which simply cannot be captured with your feet on the ground.

As radio sets and flight controllers became more sophisticated and as the weight of cameras reduced, radio-controlled aircraft were developed to carry cameras. These developments finally put the business of aerial photography within the grasp of the recreational pilot. They were expensive to own, however, and difficult to fly, as they were still highly specialized pieces of kit.

Early aerial photography: an Observer of the Royal Flying Corps, 1916.

Until recently, drones weren’t sold ready to fly. Here’s my ‘back-of-an-envelope’ design for the workings of my first DSLR-carrying drone.

In late 2013 I bought my first drone: a DJI Phantom 2. It still needed heavy modifications – which included a camera, a 3D gimbal, and a video transmission system so that I could, at least, frame my shots. With the addition of a more stable undercarriage I was ‘good to go’.

Rapid technological advancement and refinement led to the advent of ‘multi-rotor’ aircraft – which, with their built-in GPS, improved battery technology and sophisticated flight control systems, sowed the seeds of what we see today. Even ten years ago it was still unthinkable that you would be able to buy an aerial photography platform on the high street for as little as £50.

Chinese manufacturer DJI launched the Phantom in 2013. Often equipped with a fixed ‘GoPro’, it had a flight time of ten minutes and soon became synonymous with the word ‘drone’. YouTube was suddenly alight with incredible video and photography shot by ‘hobbyists’ and aerial photography suddenly went viral. The drone revolution had begun…

THE FUTURE FOR DRONES

Probably the most informed thing to be said about the future of drones is that we are currently just at the dawn of this new technology. Roll the clock back a hundred years and see if anyone could have imagined what manned aviation would look like today? The future of drones will look like that – multiplied a thousand times!

Whilst the future of drones will see them adopted across every conceivable walk of life, every conceivable scientific, medical, manufacturing and service application, there are some immediate hurdles that need to be overcome.

As with any ground-breaking, or disruptive, technology there are often barriers that need to be taken away before the technology can fully flourish and be integrated into the legacy world. With drone technology the difficulties are perceived as large, but they are not insurmountable.

Battery technology

Batteries, currently the way most drones are powered, have severe limitations. They need to be recharged, they are heavy and they have a limited power output. Whilst they are sufficient for the limited uses of today’s drones, a new way of powering drones will need to be commercially viable to take them to the next generation. Extensive investment is being made, globally, into the replacement for battery power. It is the number one priority for a number of industries, not just for drones. Hydrogen fuel cells, nuclear cold fusion and photovoltaic cells are just a small number of the options that are being trialled as we speak.

Integrated airspace

Airspace has, for decades, been the domain of the manned aviation world. Drones have certainly disrupted that in just a few years. Until now, aviation authorities around the world have tried to ‘adapt’ the rules for manned aviation to fit drones, with limited success. There is currently a big rethink going on where aviation authorities are examining, afresh, the possible solutions for the future. In the UK the CAA has launched its ‘Share the Air’ initiative to examine how the future of a fully integrated airspace would need to look and how it could be operated safely.

AI and autonomy

Again, at the very dawn of its existence, extensive research is going on around the world, into autonomous drone operations. Effectively, aircraft are capable of running in automatic, or autonomous, ‘intelligent’ modes that virtually take the human out of the equation. Making aircraft visible to each other and programming them with algorithms that ‘de-conflict’ the airspace is just around the corner. Indeed, DJI, the world’s largest producer of retail drones, is just about to fit aircraft detection to its consumer drones. For the first time, drone operators will be warned of the presence of other aircraft. This is just an insight into the future possibilities.

Chapter 2

Types of drone and their capabilities

Unsurprisingly, drones come in all shapes and sizes. The legislation that governs the use of drones refers to unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs – this covers everything from toys you can fly in your house, to military drones operated remotely from a different continent. When we talk about drones we typically mean small (up to 25kg) multi-rotored aircraft, with a camera system, controlled by someone on the ground, using a radio transmitter.

Choosing a drone requires you to think about the application that you’ll be using it for and the budget that you have. If you are just starting out then you should get something that will enable you to have fun flying; something relatively inexpensive whilst you learn the controls and capabilities; something you can afford to crash and possibly lose. More proficient flyers will progress to more expensive and sophisticated machines. Professionals will generally choose the payload they need (i.e. a camera, thermal imaging equipment and so on) and the drone will be matched to the requirements of the payload.

TOYS AND MICRO-DRONES

Starting at the bottom of the size scale we have the micro-drone. These are typically very small and inexpensive and can be bought for a few pounds. Often small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, micro-drones have limited systems, for example no GPS and no camera capability. They are fabulous machines to learn the very basics on and help you get to grips with the fundamentals of control. That said, they have very limited battery endurance and because you fly them ‘manually’ they are probably best kept indoors.

Not much bigger than a 50p coin, micro-drones are great fun and teach you the basic flight controls. Best flown indoors until you get the hang of it!

Next up are the toy drones – bigger in size and price tag, they will often have some GPS capability and, perhaps, a camera system. Again, these drones may be the limit of some hobby fliers’ aspirations as they are fun and inexpensive. If they have a camera system then some basic photography and video recording may be possible but don’t expect too much in the way of quality. Prices range from just a few pounds for a micro-drone to tens of pounds for the bigger craft.

TYPES OF DRONE

There are many types of drone, all with different characteristics, price points and functions.

•Micro-drones and toys

•FPV and racing

•‘Prosumer’ integrated camera

•‘Heavy-lift’ camera

•Fixed wing

FPV OR RACING DRONES

Recent years have seen the development of First Person View (FPV) or ‘racing’ drones. FPV refers to the fact that the pilot wears goggles, and controls the drone (typically a small radio-controlled quadcopter) equipped with a video camera. The goggles show the pilot a live-stream video from the drone so he feels like he is onboard. Flying this way gives the pilot better depth perception and obstacle awareness, enabling the drones to be flown very accurately around, and even through, obstacles. The drones are fast and robust, and often take a real beating!

FPV racing is now an international sport with prize-pots running to millions of dollars.

FPV pilots are given an exemption to maintain Visual Line of Sight (or VLOS) with their aircraft but, according the law, ‘must be accompanied by a competent observer, situated alongside him/her, who maintains direct unaided visual contact with the small unmanned aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions and advises the remote pilot accordingly’.

Usually confined to indoor, or netted, arenas, FPV racing has become an international sport where drones are raced against each other around a specially built obstacle course; the action is fast and furious, and there are always crashes!

‘PROSUMER’ DRONES

The DJI Phantom was the first drone to win mass appeal and to put an affordable drone, with a good quality camera capability, in the hands of hobbyists and professionals alike. Other manufacturers quickly followed and now there is a wide choice of drones and camera systems in this space. The drones in this range may weigh from about 0.7kg up to around 5kg and prices are in the range of hundreds of pounds to low thousands.

The evolution of this genre has seen the development of foldable, more flexible, higher spec aircraft with ever more sophisticated functionality, and this has only served to widen their appeal.

Features of drones in this category will be a good quality camera (with, say, 20mp stills or 4K video capability). The camera will be mounted on a 3D stabilized gimbal so that the camera is kept still even though the drone may be moving. Some cameras have a zoom lens; others may have interchangeable lenses. Physically the drones are light, often foldable, and they may have retractable landing gear. With high capacity batteries, flight times can be more than twenty-five minutes. The camera output and flight telemetry can be viewed through a monitor, and often via an app, giving the pilot ultimate control over ‘smart’ flight parameters as well as creativity.

The DJI Mavic, with its foldable configuration, has become the drone of choice for many starting out in serious aerial photography.

Getting an SLR airborne is quite a daunting proposition. My Vulcan octocopter has a flying weight of 9kg and can be heard in the next county.

For professional use the drones can be configured as ‘dual operator’ so that the pilot can fly the aircraft whilst the camera operator concentrates on operating the camera.

Drones in this range are most likely to be the first that serious photographers will acquire and will be most versatile for all types of photography. I will be using one for most of the work shown in this book.

‘HEAVY-LIFT’ DRONES

Not really relevant for many readers of this book is the heavyweight scene. Mostly the domain of the professionals, the so-called ‘heavy-lift’ drone is the catch-all term for aircraft that can carry larger, often bespoke, payloads.

Heavy-lift drones are not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced operator, and nearly always require a degree of customization. They are normally made of carbon composite materials, yet, despite that, will often weigh in at more than 20kg. Applications can be anything from film production or high-end photography using SLR cameras to crop spraying. Expect costs to be in the thousands of pounds bracket – and that’s before you have attached your payload!

Ironically, despite their cost, heavy-lift drones may have far less functionality and capability than their much cheaper relatives in the prosumer range. What they lack in ‘bells and whistles’ is compensated for by the quality of the data or imagery they capture. Working at this level is definitely one where the camera is a more important factor in the decision-making process.

Heavy-lift drones will normally have a dual set-up, as a minimum, as flight times are short, pilot work-rates high and small mistakes can be very costly.

FIXED-WING DRONES