Drones - Blog 1: What can you do with them?
A student on my Drone Photography Course enjoying some fantastic weather in Glen Lyon.
Drone technology is progressing rapidly and you get much more bang for your buck now than you would have done even just a couple of years ago.
They aren’t cheap items to buy if you want to be able to use them for photography and videography, though, so you will want to be sure that it is an investment worth making. A future blog will look at what you should consider when buying a drone but for this one, I want to concentrate on Step 1 in your decision making process…what might you use it for?
First, You Can Tell a Story…
Drones open up a plethora of new and exciting opportunities for us as photographers but the one that I think differs most from our traditional camera use is recording video to tell a story (such as the video below of the Roman Bridge in Glen Lyon).
Many modern drones have excellent obstacle avoidance software and hardware built in and can also come with a tracking function to support the story you want to tell and they are easier to learn to fly than you might think.
Imagine the feet that have marched across the Roman Bridge in Glen Lyon over the last three Centuries…Jacobites heading to or back from the Battle of Killiecrankie perhaps? Where does your imagination lead you as you watch this video?
Second, Think “Mobile Tripod”…
You have looked at google maps, google earth, photopills and any of the other photography supporting apps to plan your shoot and you know exactly where you want to stand to take that perfect shot.
When you get there you find that something has changed and you can’t get to the position you had hoped so the composition is not quite right…maybe a river is now in spate or a tree has come down in a storm. Having a drone gives you a mobile tripod that can get the camera to places that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach…like the shot below taken at Buchanty Spout. I would never have been able to get to the middle of the river to take this shot without a drone (I was actually on the bridge just hidden by the trees but could still see and manoeuvre the drone safely into position)
Photography without getting your feet wet!
Third, You Can Change Perspective…
Drones give you the opportunity to look at the world in a completely different way…look at this shot below of the Touchstone Maze in Strathpeffer. You don’t have to go up high with a drone but sometimes it can add a whole new dimension when you look straight down…add shapes and patterns to your toolbox of composition rules to think about.
Top-Down…think shapes and patterns…this is the Touchstone Maze
So, do you want to tell video stories, get the camera to exactly the right position or change perspective? If yes to any of these, then watch out for a future blog covering some of the pros and cons of drones available to you to buy.
If you’re still not sure about whether it is right for you and would like to “try before you buy”, then why not book a half or full day drone course with me? Come on the course and you can fly my DJI Air 3 drone to see how it can expand your photography repertoire.
Consider a perspective not normally available to you that can add dramatic effect.