Aerial photography has been around for
almost as long as photography itself, but,
in recent years, new life has been injected
into the genre thanks to the widespread
availability of drones. But drones’ ability
to capture awe-inspiring aerial images is
accompanied by their ability to make a
nuisance of themselves.
Petra Leary has forged her way in the
genre over the past three years. She has
watched her Instagram posts go viral,
featured in Metro and The Guardian,
and has recently held her second solo
exhibition, Zero Gravity, which gives a
top-down perspective of basketball
courts across the country. Focusing on
urban scenes for the most part, Petra’s
photography is unavoidably public,
so she sits in the perfect position to
answer the question of how to take
those superhuman shots without
causing trouble.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Petra has always had an affinity with
aerial perspectives. Before getting
into drones, she would climb cranes
and scaffolding to the highest points
she could find. Brushing off the risk
of trespass notices and bodily harm,she was more concerned about the
limitations to her craft of this approach.
“I had a lot of fun shooting these places,
but it always bugged me afterwards
when looking over the photos that the
angles were that slight bit off from being
perfectly aligned,” she says.
So, when Petra got the chance to try out
a DJI Phantom 3 drone, she was instantly
hooked: “There’s something almost
magic about viewing the world and daily
life from a top-down perspective. I think it
just opened a door in my brain to a whole
other world.”
For Petra, composing from this
perspective just clicked into place. She
prefers to shoot from directly above her
subject but suggests trying out different
perspectives, angle tilts, and heights to
find what suits you.
To scout for locations, she spends a
lot of time walking or skating the city
streets. “Once you start getting into
aerial photography, your brain switches
the way you look at everyday things,”
she explains. “When I’m out and about,
I’ll be looking at the environment from a
subconscious top-down perspective.”Photographer Petra Leary has captured international
attention with her bold aerial imagery. She talks us
through taking awesome photos with your drone while
staying out of troubleTOP DOWN
BALL IS LIFE 2018 TOURNAMENT