planeandpilotmag.com 55other elements. A shot of a Reno racer, let’s say a highly
modified Sea Fury, in flight is interesting. The shot of the
same plane rounding a pylon with a Mustang hot on its
tail is an edge-of-your-seat story.
Also, avoid getting too much empty space into the
shot, unless it somehow enhances the meaning, like
a lone plane sitting at the departure end of a desolate
desert dirt strip. Getting the desert and the runway in
that shot transforms it.
- NOTHING IS HAPPENING!
In the example above of the Reno racer rounding a pylon,
the action is obvious. With others, it’s not quite as obvious.
Some possibilities include framing multiple airplanes
together, adding ground elements (mountains in the
background, crowds looking up in awe or smoke trails). A
special word about smoke: Photographers love it! And it’s
no mistake that they do. Airshow performers use smoke
for the express reason that it adds visual interest for the
spectators on the ground far below. The performers know
their planes are small and not particularly impressive
from any distance, no matter how they carve shapes in the
sky. Smoke adds elements of action, motion and time, all
of which work together to make a still shot come to life. - YOU DIDN’T FIX IT.
Traditionalist photographers will tell you that you should
do all the work before you click the shutter. They believe
that adding effects, like filters or focus enhancements, is
cheating. With all due respect, they’re both out of touch
and wrong. A photograph is meant to be seen. Why else
take it? So if you can enhance the viewers’ experience by
fixing it later on your computer or your phone, why not
do it? When it comes to digital photographs, the sky’s the
limit to what you can do after you’ve already captured an
image. Add any number of filters to make it pop, crop it
to take out dead air or remove distracting elements. Or
enhance the detail in the areas that are too dark or too
light. You can do this with expensive desktop computer
programs that cost as much as a thousand dollars or
more, or you can do it with free apps on your phone. In
today’s imaging world, the mistake you made when you
took the shot might be unfixable. Or maybe not.
Taking photographs of airplanes is something many
of us love to do. Luckily, you don’t need to have tens of
thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment to do it, and
you don’t need to be an expert in optics or digital sen-
sors to take some great pics of some amazing airplanes.
Just do a little planning. Take in the scene in front of
you, compose it, expose it and frame it up before you
snap. Then when you get home, take a look at what
you’ve got and by all means make it better if you can. By
putting a little thought and work into the process, you
can take much more rewarding and satisfying airplane
photos in no time. And that will make all of us airplane
nuts happy. PPWhat's wrong with this photo? Only that we didn't take it! This 747 on approach with its gear and flaps hanging out seemingly
suspended in a gorgeous twilight sky is taken at a rakish angle, one that's mirrored subtly by the clouds and blue sky. Gorgeous!