Aerial Photography How To

Travel photographer Pierre T. Lambert admits he’s not a drone photography pro (in fact, he recently lost a drone when it crashed in the Philippines), so he teamed up with two people who are pros to create the below video on “7 Secretes to CRUSH Drone Photography Today!”

Margot Cheel is an award-winning aerial photographer whose work has been exhibited in New England, South Florida and Ontario Canada. Cheel’s photos have also appeared in numerous publications, calendars and environmental presentations. She recently published a hard cover photography book of her coastal images of Cape Cod entitled “Sea & Sand from the Sky: Aerial Photography”.

Cheel received her Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College, Vermont, and worked in production at WGBH-TV in Boston. She is also the co-founder the Twin Willows Arts and Craft Center in Ontario, Canada. After more than three decades as a creative arts teacher, she launched an aerial photography business that merged her love of the arts with her passion for flying. 

My flights in helicopters, small planes, and hot-air balloons are often provided by clients as part of my assignments; if I’m shooting for stock, I’ll pick up the hire fee. Aerial tours are widely available to tourists and photo enthusiasts alike, and there’s certainly no limit to spectacular locations you can photograph from above.

Artist Ben Grant became inspired by satellite imagery after learning of what’s known as the “overview effect”—a sensation astronauts experience when they look down from space and view Earth as a whole. It’s at that moment, Grant says, that astronauts “have the chance to appreciate our home in its entirety, to reflect on its beauty and its fragility all at once.”

Colin Smith may be known to many readers for his instructional videos and workshops, with a focus not only on Photoshop but also Lightroom. Aside from still photography, he also shoots video. But he had never pursued drone photography until about four years ago.

The amazing aerial photo above might not have got off the ground if it hadn’t been for social media. 

We’ve seen some impressive aerial photography through the years, but the recent work by the Russian group AirPano is right up there with the best. The 12-person, not-for-profit team consists of nine photographers and three tech specialists who use planes, helicopters and drones to capture these mind-blowing images.