C
OMPOSITION,OR THEcareful placing
ofelementswithina scene,is allaround
us; painting, design, film,televisionand
photographyallusecompositiontoadd
visualbalancetoimages.It’s a simple
concept that takestimetomasterbut once
youdo, applyingcompositionaldevices
becomessecondnature.
Allthe samecompositionaldevicesapply
toaerialimagesastheydo toanyother type
ofphotography: therule-of-thirds,
foregroundinterestandlead-inlinesall
remain relevant.Thedifference,however,is
thatwiththeabilitytoshootfromdifferent
altitudescomesthe opportunitytouse
manymorecompositionaldevices,suchas
top-downshotstakendirectly overheadand
rule-breakers,wherethe subjectis centrally
composed.And,let’s notforget,thepure
spectacleofaerialphotographymeansthat
yourimageswillalwaysbeinteresting–
compositionbecomestheicingonand
alreadylargeandtastycake andcansimply
make a goodshota greatimage.
Whenyoufirstgeta drone,thetemptation
is totakeit uptothemaximumaltitudeof
120m/400ftandtakeimagesfroma bird’s
eyeviewasyou’veneverbeenableto
before.We’vealldoneit, andit’spartofthe
excitementofgettinga drone,butyousoon
realisethathigherdoesn’t necessarilymean
better.Sometimes,beingonlya fewmetres
abovethe groundgivesyouthebest
viewpoint.Conversely,top-downshots
takenfroma highaltitudewiththecamera
facingstraightdownlookfantasticwith
subjectsthatfeaturea largefootprint.DRONESMAKEVIEWPOINTSFROMLESSTHANA METRETO 120 - METRESHIGH
POSSIBLE BUT CHOOSING THE BEST ALTITUDETOSHOOTFROMCAN BE TRICKYCOMPOSITION ANDVIEWPOINT
Whatcanlookblandandboringfromground
levelcanbetransformedwithphotographic
potentialbyhoveringyourdroneabovewiththe
camerapointingstraightdown;this simple
viewpointandaerialcompositionaldevicehas
becomeknownasa top-downshot.They’re
incredibly simple yetcanbehighlyeffective,and
the onlychallengeis tomake surethat the main
subject– ifthereis one– is squarein theframeto
avoidanunbalancedcomposition.
The approachworks especially wellwitha
studyofpatterns,shapesandtextures.Patterns
andtexturesareusuallyframe-fillingshotsthat
aremoreabstractin nature,butshapescomprise
ofa numberofthingsandcanincludedetailed
subjectsaswellasabstracts.Symmetrical
compositionsarehighlyeffective, too.80 DigitalSLRPhotographyDecember 2 019
THEBASICSOFCOMPOSITION
Compositionis essentialforalltypesof
photography,whetheryou’re followingthe
rulesorintentionallybreakingthemfor
creativeeffect – aerialphotographyis no
exception.Andwhileyoucanget awaywith
lessrigidcompositionsthanks toelevated
viewpointsthat canmake the mundanelook
magnificent,incorporatingoneormoreof
the threemain compositionaldeviceswill
provide visuallybalancedimagesthat are,as
a result,moreimpactful thanthosewithout.
Thereare,ofcourse,somedifferencesin
howthesedevicescanbeimplemented
becauseyou’retypicallyfurtherawayfrom
elementsofthelandscapethanyouwould
be whenshootingontheground.But,this
challengeis arguablypartofthefunofaerial
photographyandallowsyoutotake aless
conventionalapproachtoforeground
interest and lead-in lines,for instance.RULE-OF-THIRDS
Therule-of-thirdsis themostbasic
compositionaldeviceandformsthebasisof
compositionswithotherdevicesused
alongsideit.To useit imaginethattheframe
is splitintonineequalparts,separatedby
twohorizontalandtwoverticallines.For
visualbalance,thefocalpointandimportant
elementsofthescenearebestpositionedat
oneofthefourpointswheretheselines
intersect.Whenincludingthe skyinimages,
thehorizonshouldgenerallysit alongthe
tophorizontallinewhether the camerais set
tolandscape orportrait orientation.
Mostdronescanshowa rule-of-thirds
gridvia the app,andthisis recommended
becauseit makescomposingquicker and
easier than without.There’s alsotheabilityto
turnondiagonallinestoo,whichcanalsobe
usefulfor positioning elements in the scene.FOREGROUNDINTEREST
Foregroundinterestis anelementofthe
scene,suchasa rockoranotherprominent
object,that’s positionedin thebottomofthe
frame,usuallyaccordingtotherule-of-
thirds, toavoidemptyspace.Thisis the most
basicexplanationofthedevice,butat a
moreprofoundlevel,foregroundinterest
providesa visualsteppingstoneintothe
image – onethat canbebalancedwitha
focalpointin thedistance.Withdrones,
foregroundinterestdoesn’talways workin
quite the samewayasground-based
photographybecausethedroneis often
furtherawayfromtheforegroundso,when
thisis thecase,lookforlarger elementssuch
aslargerockformations,buildingsortrees
to successfullyactasforegroundinterest.
Whenshootingfromlowaltitudes,you can
take a moretraditionalapproach.TOP-DOWN SHOTS
THEABILITYTOSHOOTFROM
DIFFERENTALTITUDESCOMESTHE
OPPORTUNITYTOUSE MANYMORE
COMPOSITIONAL DEVICES1 2
EssentialGuid