Have you ever wondered what aerial photography is? Have you considered immersing yourself in this photographic discipline?
We are going to discover it in this article in which I will tell you what it means, what its characteristics are or what it is for; in addition to leaving you with a lot of example images, so that instead of doubts, you only want to try.
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY DEFINITION
The big question is what does aerial photography mean, since there are other terms with which it can be confused but which we are also going to see and differentiate.
Aerial photography is one that is taken from the air or from a high place and can be vertical or oblique.
In its early days, aerial photography had practical purposes, from observing and monitoring military objectives, to exploring the terrain and making cartographic maps.
Today aerial photography also has a more artistic meaning. The advent of drones has turned this photographic genre into one of the most applauded because, although we are increasingly used to this type of image, it never ceases to amaze and amaze us.
Before diving deeper, I am going to detail other terms related to aerial photography but that are different and should be differentiated.
ORTHOPHOTOGRAPHY
an orthophotoit is constructed from aerial photographs and has the same validity as a cartographic plan because it presents all the elements of the surface on the same scale, without errors and deformations.
It is made from aerial photos taken from satellites or airplanes that are corrected to eliminate perspective defects. This process, called orthorectification , allows exact measurements to be taken from the orthophoto, as if it were a map.
Summarizing a lot, it would be something like a photo-map .
This is an example of orthophotography:
ORBITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Orbital photography is taken from spacecraft or satellites orbiting the earth. They capture a much larger area than any aerial photograph and also from a much higher height.
It is the one used, for example, for meteorological studies or pollution studies.
If you are looking for a satellite image, there are several platforms where you can download them for free.
Of course, it is not like an image bank in which it is easy to search and download, you will have to take a little time and in some even know how to program:
- NASA Worldview
- NASA Earth Data
- Landsat Viewer(allows free download but asks you to register)
- Sentinel Playground(the easiest to use)
AERIAL PHOTOGRAMMETRY
photogrammetry _It is the technique that studies and precisely defines the shape, dimensions and position in space of an object, essentially using measurements made on one or several photographs of that object.
Includes aerial photography and orthophotography.
Having clarified what aerial photography is and what the rest of the related terms mean, we can now fully immerse ourselves in the definition that interests us.
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY CHARACTERISTICS
Compared to other types of photography, the area has the following characteristics:
- Provides an unobstructed view. From the aerial perspective, buildings, trees or rock formations are eliminated, for example, which in other cases may hinder the objective to be captured.
- Wide field of vision. An aerial view offers a much larger field of view than we could get from the usual perspectives. There are three main types: normal 60º, wide angle 90º and super wide angle 120º.
- Scale. They can be large-scale, covering more with less detail; or on a small scale, less extension with more detail.
- Shot location. These photographs are usually taken from airplanes, small planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, cranes, very tall buildings, skyscrapers or with drones.
- Types of aerial photographs. Aerial photographs can be:
- verticals. The optical axis is perpendicular to the Earth's surface.
- Low obliques. The optical axis is inclined with respect to the ground but the horizon is not included.
- High obliques. The optical axis is inclined with respect to the ground and the horizon is included.
WHAT IS AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY USED FOR?
Aerial photography, as I have told you, began with a mainly military objective. Now let's see what uses it has, what it is for:
- Obtain information on strategic military objectives
- Archeology
- Generate orthophotos
- Analyze the earth's surface
- Agriculture and irrigation
- Archaeological, geological research…
- Civil engineering and urban planning
- Commercial use in tourism, cinema, marketing, social photography
- Real estate
- Property Line Lawsuits
- border study
- Prevention of risks in natural disasters
- Humanitarian aid
- Climate change awareness and environmental protection
- Security and vigilance
- Comparisons of the passage of time in the same territory
SOME TIPS FOR TAKING AERIAL PHOTOS
- If you opt for these high flights for your photos, take into account the weather conditions (luminosity, atmospheric transparency, cloudiness) and the most convenient time for the shots you want to take.
- There is no ideal situation, but the ideal one for the photo you have in mind. You may need to run away from the fog, or the opposite, you may need to chase it looking for a magical and mysterious photo.
- It is also important that you take into account the flight height, as this determines the scale of the photos.
- Choose the equipment (mainly the type of lens) based on the type of photos you want to take.
- The spectacular thing about aerial images is not only because of the height, but also because of the composition , do not forget about it when taking your photos. In the link you will find a complete guide with tips and tricks to compose your photographs. But try different framing and angles.
- Use your camera guides to help you compose and follow the rules of thirds or horizon. Keep in mind the color, lines and geometric shapes, above all.
- RAW photography to have more flexibility when editing your images.
- Edit your aerial photos in a subtle way, some basic adjustments are necessary, excessively nonsense ?
AERIAL PHOTO GALLERY
It is evident that we do not always have the opportunity to see the world from the air, but that does not mean that this perspective is not inspiring for us ?? .
Changing your point of view is always inspiring, seeing the world from above, from a mountain, from the sky (or simply leaning out of the balcony) can give us very different images from what we are used to.
That is why I have proposed to dive through the net to offer you a few aerial photographs with which you can let your imagination run wild and you can feed your inspiration. do you follow me
With these aerial images you will have a tremendous desire to try this discipline. And if that's not the case, maybe you suffer from altitude sickness, I'm sure you'll enjoy them from the safety of your chair ?
HIGHWAYS FROM HEAVEN
Above, I advised you to take lines into account when composing your aerial images, here are several examples of what roads can contribute to your compositions from the air.
CONTRASTS
The contrasts that can be observed from the sky, such as a landscape with or without fog, colors, the sea and the land, etc., are perspectives that you will hardly be able to see otherwise,
FORESTS
Forests are always beautiful, but from the sky they give us unique images, with their leaks to the ground, their textures, their symmetries, colors...
BY LAND, SEA AND AIR
A sky with clouds, the contrast of the sea with the land, the blues, whites and browns... Magical scenes, without a doubt.
PERSPECTIVES OF THE CITY THAT TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY
They are not images suitable for people with vertigo ? don't you think?
PEAKS AND VOLCANOES
Approaching the top of a volcano or the top of a mountain from the sky is quite a spectacle.
AERIAL PHOTO OF THE VOLCANO OF LA PALMA
In fact, one of the most sought-after images lately is the aerial photo of the La Palma volcano. Personally, I was impressed with the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Emilio Morenatti on the island, hereyou can see some of his photos; or on his Instagram account.
MINIMALISM
A ship in the middle of the sea can be a wonderful image from the sky, right? And it's just an idea!
IN BLACK AND WHITE
The mixture of perspective, fog and black and white can get images as fascinating as this one:
REFLEXES
Lakes, rivers, seas and anything that is likely to reflect a blue sky can add interest to images taken from the air.
TEXTURES
Can't you imagine how this image would feel if you could touch it? The textures evoke touch, thus feeding our participation in the image.
PANORAMIC
The panoramic format allows us to cover a greater proportion of the image in the scene. If you add the impact of the height, with the impact of the extension of this format you can achieve impressive images.
GEOMETRY
Paying attention to the different geometric shapes that can be seen from the sky gives us images like these:
CLOUDS
If you have traveled by plane, surely you have a photo of the clouds or similar to these. And if not, don't miss out the next time you fly to get a high-altitude photo ? .
ABSTRACTION
When there are no easily recognizable elements, images with a certain touch of abstraction are created, such as the following, which seems to be reduced to shapes, tones and textures.
NOCTURNAL
The night offers us a very interesting and unusual spectacle of lights, action and storytelling. Although it complicates the fact of flying, but if you have the opportunity... don't let it escape!
BREAK THE RHYTHM
Looking for what is different, what stands out and breaks the rhythm, adds interest to our photographs.
GREEN I WANT YOU GREEN
Images with a dominant color tone like these can also be very interesting :-).
SNOWY MOUNTAINS
Flying over mountainous areas in winter leaves us with images as incredible (and white) as these two:
OLD AERIAL PHOTOS
So that you can see how aerial photography has evolved, I am going to leave you with some old aerial photos. And, you will also see how some places have evolved!
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