Tips for better photos and videos

[humptybump]

Here is a thread where we can share tips and tricks for taking better pictures and videos of our favorite airplanes.

Most of us are not professional videographers or photo journalist but I bet there are some good ideas that are easy to learn.

Share what works for your!

[humptybump]

I was taking pictures and video of the Boston Marathon many years ago and a photographer gave me a suggestion when I was trying to get the wheelchairs passing.

Rather than facing the road and then panning from left to center to right, he recommends facing in the direction of the ending shot and twist around to the first shot. The idea - as you unwind your body, you maintain a smooth panning motion. If you face the middle, you will pan with a pause in the middle.

This especially works great for shooting airplanes taking off and landing since you will hold the last part of the shot longest. It makes a nice smooth panning shot.

[newt]

I love watching first flight videos, that once-only capture of the builder's proudest, most triumphant moment.

But I cringe a bit when they're badly done. You only get one shot at a first-flight video, so whoever is on the ground operating the camera needs to know what they're doing.

Tips:

1. Yes, your camera has a 30x zoom, but you shouldn't use it. Extreme telephoto means the camera will be shaking so much it'll be impossible to get a good shot, even if you have image stabilization turned on. Consider moving the camera closer to the action rather than maintaining distance and using extreme zoom. Nothing worse than missing the first-ever touchdown because the camera has shaken so much that it's out of shot.

2. Try to avoid changing zoom during a shot. Look at TV news footage: hardly ever shows zooming shots, instead the camera operator will have planned and set up the focal length in advance to get the best most perfectly focussed and framed shot.

2. Related: have your camera operator do some thinking about where they need to be to get the best shots. If the touchdown zone is 150ft from the threshold, that's where they should be near to get your landing, prepared, with the camera already pointing at the right place. If you're expecting the takeoff point to be 600 ft from the numbers, maybe the camera should be there.

3. Get them to practice on other aircraft before your momentous milestone.

4. Use a tripod. The less camera shake the better. Tripods for video cameras aren't the same as tripods for still cameras, the video versions have supports and bearings that make panning shots stable, smooth and easy.

5. Whoever is doing the photography should be able to take care of it without bugging the pilot. The priority for the pilot is a safe, uneventful first flight. Messing about with cameras is the last thing you should be doing, that's why you delegate the photography to someone else.

6. Depending in what you've built, you've probably spent between $50,000 and $200,000 on your airplane. Maybe it's okay to spend a few hundred bucks on a pro to capture the first flight, properly?

You'll never get another one, so make it a good'un. Brief your camera people to make sure they know what you want, then enjoy your first flight, then enjoy reliving it over and over again by watching a high-quality video. It ain't that hard, it just requires the same kind of care and attention to detail you've put into the rest of your build.

- mark

[DeltaRomeo]

Originally Posted by newt

snip.....

4. Use a tripod. The less camera shake the better. Tripods for video cameras aren't the same as tripods for still cameras, the video versions have supports and bearings that make panning shots stable, smooth and easy.

.....snip

+1 on the idea of using a (good) tripod. Here is a short video of me playing around with an off the shelf HD video camera on a semi-nice tripod: http://youtu.be/kWYxU83KmZo?hd=1

One good thing about a tripod that hasn't been discussed is that you can put it in place, press record, then walk away. You can get some really nice shots if your airport is situated in a way that allows you to put the tripod on the extended centerline. In the video link above, I placed my tripod right up against the fence that aircraft have to cross before landing.

br,
dr

[SmittysRV]

I've been watching some "do it yourself" documentaries on TV and noticed that practically all the videos clips and still shots are about 3 seconds long before switching to the next clip or shot. This keeps the viewer interested, especially since people's attention span is so short these days.

On still shots, I usually squat or stand on a small step ladder to take a picture, especially of airplanes. People are drawn to these types of pictures because the vantage point is not the way a person would view something in everyday life.

I use Adobe Premiere 10 (about $100 bucks) to put my videos together. If I can't figure out how to do something, I just do a search on Youtube.com. There's always a 12-year-old who has made a "how-to" video on the subject.

Here are some of my experiments:
EAA Chapter 1246 - First Saturday Coffee & Donuts
Young Eagle Day - EAA Chapter 323

Just for fun, I did this video and sped up the video action using the Adobe software. The video doesn't play on iPads because of music copyright stuff:
EAA Chapter 1246 Annual Fish Fry

[humptybump]

Smitty - I use Sony Vegas and like you said, if I can't find how to do something, a quick Google search nearly always finds the answer.

I had not thought about the vantage point of a photo but you make a good point. Mike Collins (AOPA) report from the Virginia Festival of Flight had a picture of my plane and lower point of view made it much more interesting ...

[N282S]

Consider the odds not only of the flight, but that this picture of that first flight even exists! Story goes... The camera was handed to a helper to take the shot just as the airplane leaves the rail. It was a "one chance - one shot - of a historic flight". This picture would be proof of the first ever powered flight AND the results of the photo wouldn't be known for over a week. The guy got it! It's all there, Wilbur visible on the wing, Orville leaning in with the wind blowing his coat and pants, the blur of the spinning propellers, the coil box, the bench used to hold the wings off the ground. Also, you can see their footprints in the sand as they prepared for the flight, Orvilles footsteps as he supports the wing running alongside the airplane is also visible. Even the grease can with brush (for the rail), and of course, the wright flyer in full view just inches above the ground.

As previously mentioned, don't let your helper zoom way in. And get some of the surroundings, helpers, family, hangar, etc. it's history!

[SmittysRV]

Here's my favorite "squat shot" from OSH:

http://www.smittysrv.com/temppics/rvosh.jpg