Things You'll Need:
- Cessna 172
- camera with a fast shutter speed
- GPS unit for aviation
- an aircraft headset
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Step 1
The first time I ever took aerial photographs was in the summer of 1955 just after a great flood that devastated my town on 19 August 1955. Since that time I have developed a clientele that would make most photographers turn green with envy. The list of clients includes over 100 of the Fortune 500 list along with some of largest universities in the eastern United States. This business has lasted for the past 54 years, and it is still going strong. It amazes me how much money you can make from this kind of business.
Most of the work that I do is taken with a 35mm camera that is equipped with a 35 mm to 180 mm zoom lens. This is more than adequate for most of the work involved in aerial photography unless the customer wants to make some super sized prints.
A 35mm camera will take photographs that are capable of being in large to 24 x 36" for most work this is adequate. If the customer wants larger prints you'll have to go to a camera that shoots 120 film. I find the ideal format 2.25 x 2.75" is more than adequate for this kind of photography. The camera should be equipped with a telephoto lens to do this kind of work however. -
Step 2
It is necessary that you have another pilot with you when you were doing aerial photography. You can do two jobs at the same time and be successful. While you are taking the photographs the other pilot has to fly the plane.
The front windows in a Cessna 172 can open by detaching the stops on the window; when you open the window it swings up under the wing of the airplane. This makes a clear shot out of the window, but it also entails putting your head out of the slipstream that is blowing around 80 mph.
The best shots are usually taken between the strut and the fuselage of the airplane. This makes the apparent speed of the object you are shooting to slow down. -
Step 3
Like any other business Arial photography requires some sound business practices, and the first one is finding customers. When I first started the business I had a great deal of trouble with this phase of the business. I finally realized that all I was doing for a profit was giving it to the gas station.
It didn't take too long for the realization that working by phone was a lot quicker than driving to potential customers by car. This necessitated writing a script to deliver to the potential clients that was simple, and only required a yes or no answer.
Shortly after that the realization sunk in that I had to come up with a different script for the receptionists so that I could get to the boss. This was also simple all I said to the receptionist was, "I don't know who I am going to have to speak to?"
Usually the receptionist decides whether or not you're going to speak to the boss in this case I purposely put her on the defensive, usually the receptionist fell for this ploy when I told her that I was an aerial photographer. She actually fell head over heels to get me through to the right person. Sometimes it pays to look a little stupid! -
Step 4
One of the biggest problems facing a photogrpher is locating the site from the air before taking the photographs. At first this required a trip to the physical location, and getting its GPS coordinates.
The coming of Google Earth saw this problem too as you could now set in front of your computer and see an aerial photograph that was already taken of the site. Among the information included in the Google Earth image was the geographic coordinates of the site that you would just have to plug into your GPS unit. Most airplanes are now equipped with a built-in GPS unit that as long as you have the coordinates available the pilot can plug into the GPS unit found in the airplane. -
Step 5
Under certain conditions you can take aerial photographs on a cloudy or hazy day but it is advisable. It is better to work on a clear day the visibility unlimited, or as the pilots know it a CAVU day.
To photograph on a hazy day you must have at least 10 miles of visibility. Photographing on a cloudy day does eliminate shadows, but any day that you were going to photograph under these conditions you should have a high thin overcast. A heavier cloud cover Kutztown too much light and if you are shooting with color the photographs will turn out blue looking.
