Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-12)

Viewpoint,oraltitude,withdronephotography,providesa muchgreatervarietyofoptionsthanwhenyou’re

shootinglandscapeswithyourcameraattachedtoeventhetallesttripod.Withoptionsrangingfrom1mto 120 m,

thereareessentially 120 viewpointsyoucanchoosefromandthat’sevenbeforeyouconsiderthecameraangle

as controlledby the gimbal.The greatthingaboutthisis that youcanshootsceneswhereyoumight notbe able

to accessonfootfromeithera standardheight,whichmakesit impossibletotelliftheimage wastakenwitha

drone,allthewayuptothemaximumaltitudewitha top-downviewpoint.Thesefourimagesshowthesame

scenefromdifferentviewpoints,withthe cameraatdifferentanglestogiveeacha unique perspective.

CONSIDERYOURVIEWPOINT

December 2 019 DigitalSLR Photography 81

LEAD-INLINES

Lead-inlinesarelinearelementswithin the
scenesuchasroads,walls,riversand
streams,that canbe usedtodrawthe eye
intotheimage, oftentothefocalpointor
anotherareaofinterest.Thebestpositioning
isforthelead-inlinetobeginin thebottom
thirdoftheframeandleadupintothe
image;a linethatcutsacrosstheframe
shouldbe avoided,however,becauseit
createsa visualbarrier.
Withdronephotography, afterthe
rule-of-thirds,lead-inlinesarethenext
easiestdevicetoimplement.Theycanbe
highlyeffectivebecausethe elevated
viewpointcanaccentuatethelength and
shape ofroads,wallsandriversmuchmore
effectivelythanwhenshootingatground
level, andin sucha waythat theydrawthe
eye much further through the scene.

3

LESS CAN BE MORE

Reaching the highest legal altitude

of 120m can be tempting, but flying

just a few metres up can produce

equally impressive results.

ALL

IMA

GES

:JAME

SABB

OTT

LOW ANGLE 45° ANGLE

HIGH ANGLE TOP DOWN

DRONE FACT

Setting your Return to Home

altitude to 30m is sufficient in

many situations, but always assess

your location and adjust this

altitude if there are tall

objects nearby to avoid a

potential crash.