UAV PILOT’S PHOTOGRAPHY

It is always amazing when someone can fly a drone with a camera on it they immediately think they are a professional photographer or videographer. In many cases, they spend so much time focusing on the technical set-up of their aircraft and flying it, that a large percentage FAIL to think about what it is they are shooting and the best way to capture it!

Trained and qualified as a typographic designer, Skyvantage’s UAV pilot, Toby, began photography in 2001. He went on to work on many commercial photography projects and ground based video shoots. “Having a background in creative photography certainly helps me when shooting stills or film from the position of the pilot. It is vital to know what to shoot and how to make the best use of light, framing and perspective”.

Flying a camera for stills or certainly video is not easy. To get highly stabilised, smooth shots and flying correctly is one thing, but the pilot still has to fly the thing bearing in mind that the RAW stills or footage is the only thing which the eventual market sees. What camera, what rig, what flight controller, what props etc are only really of interest to a few.

Shooting with a ground based camera and nailing that as an art-form can take years of practice and certainly doing it from an aerial point of view with a moving camera, strapped to a small helicopter is another!

Here is a selection of stills from Toby’s portfolio: