Drone Landscape Photography

For a higher shooting perspective, drone landscape photography can be the answer. In this free video, world-renowned outdoor photographer Ian Plant takes you to Vanuatu Island in the South Pacific for tips on drone landscape photography from a bird’s eye view. Most drone cameras have a fixed focal length and need to be guided up and down to imitate a zoom lens. Drones offer an infinite variety of composition options. Ian flies the DGI Phantom 4 Pro, and looks for interesting landscape formations with high contrast. He captures ocean patterns, shorelines, land masses, and an active volcano. Learn about drone landscape photography from the pro Ian Plant.

5 Responses to “Drone Landscape Photography”

1. Joseph June 17th, 2021

   Thank you. Always inspiring. Why did you select the DGI Phantom Pro 4?

   Reply

   • Customer Service June 20th, 2021

     Hello Joseph,
     Here’s what the experts had to say about your question:

     Ian is not available to reply at this time as to why he selected that specific model. Suffice to say that DGI is the most well known and trusted brands in drone market. The DGI Phantom Pro 4 consistently gets 4-5 start ratings and its profile more then likely fit his requirements for compact size and high quality image files.

     Happy Shooting!

     Sincerely,
     Sarah
     Outdoor Photograph Guide Video Membership

     Reply

2. William Connell September 21st, 2017

   I just bought a phantom 4 pro for photography, just interested in any special settings you feel necessary like what you would consider to be the best aperture setting on the drone as i do everything in manual, thanks Ian.

   Reply

   • Customer Service September 25th, 2017

     Sorry I’m not familiar with that product, however there does seem to be a number of detailed instructional videos,
     and reviews:

     http://www.dji.com/phantom-4-pro/info#video <http://www.dji.com/phantom-4-pro/info#video>
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVNO-fib6fg <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVNO-fib6fg>
     http://www.drone-world.com/dji-phantom-4-pro-downloads-manuals <http://www.drone-world.com/dji-phantom-4-pro-downloads-manuals>
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnhojecEotg <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnhojecEotg>

     Based on my experience viewing stills from other drones I recommend shooting some tests to see results in different
     situations, in lower light sharpness is obviously an issue.

     Happy Flying!

     Reply

   • Ian Plant September 25th, 2017

     Hi William, the best aperture setting depends on what you are shooting, and whether you need extra depth of field or not. Many drone shots are taken far away from the subject and don’t require much depth of field, so f/2.8 will ensure everything is in sharp focus, but if you are closer to your subject and have objects of varying height, you might need a smaller aperture to ensure enough depth of field. The aperture can also be stopped down to let in less light when shooting in relatively bright conditions instead of having to resort to using a neutral density filter. I often shoot in shutter priority mode to ensure that I have a fast enough shutter speed to capture sharp images, as that is usually a more critical variable than aperture.

     Reply