Use your drone like a flying tripod

Capture low-level aerial images to open up otherwise inaccessible locations

Drone photography has certainly – excuse the pun – taken off in recent years. Thanks to increasingly easy-to-fly models offering exceptional image quality in a highly portable package, more and more photographers are turning to drones to capture unique views of the world around us.

The ability to fly a camera up to 120m above any terrain, including water, opens up a wealth of creative opportunities. But with this ability to shoot large and wide vistas, it’s all too easy to forget about the subtleties of the landscape. When it comes to drone photography, less can often be much more.

While there’s nothing wrong with shooting from high altitudes, and indeed, some locations require this approach, others might benefit from being shot from an altitude a little over head height, between two and ten metres. The advantage here is that you can shoot from locations that are otherwise inaccessible on foot, such as over water, dangerous rocks or marshland, but the resulting images don’t necessarily scream out ‘drone shot’.

Viewers will see that something different is going on in the frame, but it might not be immediately obvious that a drone was used, making for a much more engaging photograph.

What you’ll need

Flyer and operator IDs (from the CAA)

Drone and controller

Landing mat

Smartphone

Adobe Lightroom

Shooting steps