Madebyvadim
 First Officer
Flight distance : 2023002 ft
Russia
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Best practices to get your drone’s photo to the full potential.
Isle of Skye
Hi my name is Vadim (aka Madebyvadim) and for a few months now, I've been using awesome DJI Phantom 3 Professional version quadcopter & I would love to share some of my experience with you to make the best out of your next areal photos.
First I would like to say that I only use the Phantom 3 product, but I am sure all the points here are well applied to many other drone models. However, my advice are mostly applicable to those of you who want to consider drone photography as a logical step forward and/or addition to your current photography gear. So saying that, let’s begin.
Let’s face it, Phantom camera is great, but not without it’s faults. Yes, it shoots in 12Mb RAW format, but noise and focus are a week point, shake due to the low wind is also an unavoidable thing. So, to make best of it I follow these principals when I use it:
1. The Raw is the key
Dolomites, Italy
Every professional photographer will tell you that the best way to shoot is in RAW format. They always shoot in raw in order to be able to correct any flaws or colour correct at a greater precision. And this is even more applicable to drones. Since the camera resolution is only 12MB it will be a crime to compress it into .jpg format and not to use it at its full advantages as a RAW format.
Yes, but I only shoot for fun … Even doing so you might accidentally or for a reason shoot the-best-drone-photo-ever and how disappointed will you be not to able to use the full potential of post-processing it correctly when you stick to compressed .jpg format.
But seriously  if you are serious about using the drone photography and I suppose you are then forget .jpgs and use RAW. Period.
2. 16:9 or 4:3 format question
CIvita di Bagnoregio in 4:3 format
CIvita di Bagnoregio in 16:9 format
Ok I do confess I started to shoot in 16:9, since I came from post-production background and it’s more pleasing ratio for me, but I also shoot in 4:3. Even more, I sometimes shoot both at the same time.
Actually I am not so sure why DJI is using 4:3 and 16:9 as a photography format, when the most used format is 3:2. I suppose it has something to do with video being the primary format of drone usage. Not sure.
So, I advise to use both aspect ratios to see what is working better for you, or even recompose and shoot in both ratios at the same location. Yes, it takes more time, but I think it’s worth it, especially later in post-production when you have more flexibility in choosing the right shot for your portfolio.
3. Bracketing is the king
Rome
5 shots bracketing
This is really awesome feature and I am glad Phantom has it. Bracketing serves a few purposes for me.
• If I made a mistake in assessing the correct exposure, then I can choose the right one from 3 to 5 bracketed photos I’ve made.
• I also use them to create the HDR (not that eye-poping-over-the-top-saturated-100-%-hdrs, but more like an intelligent HDR).
In that case the bracketing is an absolute must. In fact 95% of my shots are bracketed shots, so I would be able to bring shadows back later or show highlights even more, instead of having only one option from a single shot.
4. P (auto) and M (manual) mode
Mozaysk, Russia
I almost always shoot in Manual mode. This lets me choose the lowest possible ISO as well as shutter speed I desire. The DJI app does not let you know if you have over or under exposed your picture like a traditional camera would. There is also no half-released shutter button, unfortunately. So you would need to rely on histogram or use this trick.
First, switch to P mode and see what DJI auto mode is offering you, then switch back to M and build on what you saw in P mode.
5. ISO, how low can you go
Mountain high pass , Italy
My advice is always to shoot in lowest possible ISO, which happens to be 100 on Phantom 3. It let's you minimize the noise in photos. Be aware of shakes when shooting during the night and use common sense. I would not recommend going over 3 sec exposure and advise, to rather go higher ISO, in order to stay in that 3 sec range, than using longer shutter speed.
6. Shaking of the drone & night shoots
Moscow by night
This is relevant to a previous point. The drone is a machine that flies above where the wind is and although trying its best to stay stable, still the shakes are unavoidable even in a small wind conditions. The higher you go, the more windier it gets. So even if it’s absolute still on the ground, you may get wind up above.
Although Phantom offers ability to go as high as 8 sec shutter speed at night shot, it is advisable not to exceed 3 sec, otherwise you would see noticeable shakes.
7. ND and PL Filters
Vernazza, Cinque Terre
I use ND filters quite often but it’s because I also shoot videos. In order to get cinematic effect on the shoots one should use the double of the fps one is shooting with. For example, I use 4K 24fps which means I should ideally be shooting at 1/50 sec shutter speed. In order to achieve that on a bright day you should use Neutral Density filters, to reduce light coming into the camera and enable a slow shutter speed.
So since I use it but mostly for videos and its too complicated to shoot photo, get it back to the ground, put on ND, get it back up and shoot a video, I stick with using ND more often then I should.
Be careful of using the ND filters in dim lights. ND is reducing light coming into the camera and slowing your shutter to the point where you can get shakes into your shots. In low light situation stick to a default camera filter that is supplied with Phantom.
Polarised filter is another beast. You may know that you need to rotate it to a right position to achieve the right PL effect when using it on traditional cameras. However, there is no possibility to do so on the drone, so I have never used PL filter.
8. Post processing
Rome before
Rome after
The shot in my example was resized, straightened, colour corrected in both Lightroom and Photoshop to achieve a certain look of the final version.
Do not be lazy and share your unprocessed shots straight out of the camera. There is always room for improvement in any photo taken. You will be amazed how photo can be transformed by using your favourite post processing software and benefit from it. I use Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop to post-process all of my shots. I use bracketing extensively to combine 3 or 5 photos together before post-processing. See #3 for that subject.
9. Unique angles, panoramas, long exposure etc.
Mountain road from above
Moscow State University
Be creative.
You are no longer bound by inability to use the right spot, the right location. Drones are so unique in a sense that it can take your photographs literally to the next level. So, stop thinking in traditional sense, experiment, be open to a new possibilities of shooting.
10. Drone’s technicalities
Above Russia
This subject may vary across the models, but for the sake of simplicity I would assume that these issue would apply everywhere.
What I am talking about is small technical things that need to be done to your drone before the flight in order for it, the flight, be as safe and productive as possible. Live it, — learn it, as they say. And I am talking from experience, which sometimes had been not very pleasant. It is better to follow couple of easy pre-flight steps, than to loose your drone together with good material.
So, firstly, one must always calibrate the drone compass once arrived on a new location far from the previous one (change landscape, say from plato to mountains side). Definitely helps to avoid drone’s abnormal behaviour.
Secondly, check your figures. And by that I mean, check the drones’ compass sensor index, after calibration. Even if your software claims that it is OK to fly, do take time and check those indexes. For instance, it is ok to fly my DJI when the index is between 1500 and 1600. Higher index means greater disturbances around, i.e. metal in the ground, some reflective surfaces, etc.
Thirdly, there is my own technique which I am just sharing and not claiming as an absolute must to follow. It is up to you and your common sense whether you adopt it or not. But it did help me save my drone from crashing a couple of times. So, hover. What I mean is, not to speed fly up from the ground once the propellers are on. Ease it up a bit and hover. It gives you time to land the drone in case there is any malfunction right away or you feel that it started behaving strangely. Allow couple of seconds in this mode and fly up once you see that you are in complete control.
Fourthly, mind the wild life in the air. I am dead serious about that. Seagulls, for instance, would be eager to attack your drone, protecting their territory.
Last but not the least - download your data. I’ve worked out a practice of downloading everything from the SD card straight after the flight. Thus I am kind of safe from loosing precious materials in case of any drone emergencies.
Conclusion
Although I really love using drones for a new and exited photo opportunities, I often wish that DJI gave us an even better quality camera at affordable price, so we could use the Phantom series, (one of the best on the market, in my opinion) at its full potential.
Thank you. Fly safe!
My original article on Medium
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if you are serious about using the drone photography and I suppose you are then forget .jpgs and use RAW. Period.
but you´ve got mi one 