Aerial Photography

The first photos taken from an aeroplane were shot by Wilbur Wright (yes, THAT Wright brother) of the town of Centrocelli in Italy in 1909. That was when Wilbur was enthralling Europeans with demonstration flights of the Wright Flyer.
Since then, aerial photography has taken off with many practical uses as well as just for the fun of it.

The CAA has issued a Safety Sense leaflet with good advice for photographers and pilots planning to undertake an aerial photo session. This covers the legal aspects as well as safety considerations. LOOP recommends you download this (in .pdf format) from the CAA website.

General photo advice
Photos taken through perspex aircraft windows won't be perfect technically but you can usually get something that's OK as a snap. Minimise blur by getting the camera as close to the window as possible but avoid touching the surface or the airframe (vibration will cause camera shake).

Some aeroplanes have a window which can be opened in flight and which will stay in the up position at flying speeds - Cessna 172s and 152s are often used as cameraships for this very reason. Obviously, you cannot fly an aircraft and take photos at the same time! Not only is that dangerous from a control point of view, but the pilot would not be able to keep a good lookout at the same time.

So, the minimum crew is a pilot and photographer, but it's also a good idea to take along a third person to help with the lookout. The pilot may be preoccupied with flying the aircraft accurately, to stay close to a ground feature if that is the subject, and may not be looking around.

Air to ground photos
The biggest problem is haze, whether it's caused by dust or moisture or both. Try to shoot on clear days, and make use of the lower angle of light at the beginning and end of the day. Direct overhead midday light tends to 'flatten' the image and often makes haze worse.

Professional photographers love to use 'the magic hour' just before dusk, when sunlight is warm and low, throwing defined shadows and dramatic side light.

Air to air photos
Aviation magazines and newspapers like LOOP do this on a regular basis. The cameraship is nearly always a Cessna 172 or 182, or a model like the Yak 18T on which we can remove the whole door, legally. We make sure the photographer is well-strapped in and that there are no loose items. Usually, we have an assistant for the photographer to help with lenses, film and flash cards, but also to act as an extra lookout.

The pilots are CPL-holders, for legal reasons but also because they usually have experience of this type of precision formation flying. The location is chosen away from towns and controlled airspace. Obviously, weather plays a big part in deciding where and when we shoot.
The shoot starts with a thorough briefing on the ground, covering everything from the take-off to the end of the session. We draw diagrams to make sure everyone knows where to fly, how to break away and re-join. We agree hand signals and procedures. We agree what to do if the aircraft lose sight of each other (cameraship remains on heading, altitude and speed and waits for the subject to return).

In short, safety is absolutely paramount! For more tips on flight safety click here

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Aerial Photography