Before You Fly: Aerial Photography Tips

Aerial photography is fun, rewarding and challenging. But before you fly outside, you will need some inside, pre-flight tips. Award-winning photographer Steve Niedorf will guide you through the process of learning pre-flight training and offer some aerial photography tips.

The process is like picking up your first camera and attempting to take pictures. It took practice and patience to improve your photography skills. “It’s like anything else”, Steve says, “the more you do it, the better you get.” He emphasizes the importance of training before you go airborne, “the goal is to fly but also shoot safely as you capture aerial images.”

The best approach is to start small with the indoors-only, nano copter. Mastering the nano copter’s transmitter will train you to pilot the radio controller for the larger, outside quadcopter when you’re ready. Start with an inexpensive nano copter because it will only be used for indoor dry-runs. In this video, Steve will demonstrate how to fly a nano copter and provide other photography tips and tricks.

Steve suggests these aerial photography tips for training purposes….

• Keep a flight log as you conduct your training exercises.
• Set up a large box from which to launch and contain your indoor flights.
• Paste labels on the throttle, rudder, and aileron controls of your transmitter.
• Practice the beginning steps, forward and backward, right and left, up and down.
• Master the rudder control for circle maneuvers.
• Expand your aerial world through new friends, hobby shops, flying clubs, and online social media.
• If possible, work with an experienced flier who can help with your training.

Some of you have radio-control experience. Some are digital photographers. Whatever your background, these aerial photography tips will help you prepare for your initial flight. Take the time to get the step-by-step methods mastered before you fly.

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