Ask any aerial photographer: everything looks better from above. Maybe it's the difference in perspective from what we are used to, maybe it's just because it's more fun to fly a camera than hold one in your hand.
Either way, exploring different types of scenery with a drone is a must for any curious photographer. Here are a few ideas of what's good to capture and why.
There's something about the mixture of contrasts and colors of sea, sand and sky that makes beaches and shorelines ideal spots for aerial photography.
Using a drone you also get access to angles and creative techniques that would otherwise be off limits. You can speed along just above the sand as the waves come in, or zoom out from the beach until your scene is just a speck in the distance with the ocean in the foreground.
Beaches are also ideal locations for sunrise and sunset shoots and time lapses. Or for something a bit more abstract, like this example from the Abstract Aerial Art team:
Please note that the FAA prohibits flying over people. DroneBase in no way condones or recommends flying over a crowded beach or any other area.
Forests offer different scenes depending on the time of year. In the white of winter, navigating through the trees can be a challenge even for skilled drone pilots. But the results are usually spectacular.
In the autumn and spring, getting a bird's eye video from directly above is a great way to explore the treetops and capture the most colorful times of the year.
Just be sure to have your obstacle detecton enabled if you have it. It only takes one stray branch for your aerial photography session to come crashing down!
The best part of using a drone for photography is, as we've mentioned, the sense of perspective. Often when you're shooting from the ground, it's hard to appreciate the qualities that make a certain landscape unique.
This is most obviously the case with deserts: huge, barren landscapes than have to be viewed from the air to see their true scale.
Thinking about shooting in a desert near you? Don't forget your ND filters.
Last, but no means least are city skylines. Similar to desert shoots, using a drone to capture sweeping urban vistas and skyscraper-dominated horizons are the best way to get a sense of scale.
It goes without saying that you should check and comply with local regulations when flying near buildings or close to people. For more information on that, check out our post looking at where you can fly your drone.
Interested in getting paid to fly a drone? Sign up to be a DroneBase pilot for drone pilot jobs in your area, and start the process to become a professional drone pilot!