Seufert's Scenes

Shooting Successful Aerial Photographs : Lesson #1

The first in a series of lessons about how to take great Cape Cod aerial photographs.

#1- Do not sit in the front seat and attempt to shoot through the windshield, instead have the pilot open the side window and shoot from the back seat.

(Unsuccessful Aerial Photograph)

The above image, shot seconds apart from the following one, was snapped as the lighthouse rolled around in sight from my open window behind the plexiglass.  The focus is good and it can be color corrected but the manual editing required is prohitive in a professional workflow.  The glass casts reflections, refracts images, distorts focus, and most damagingly adds a green tint to all shots.

(Successful Aerial Photograph)

The above successful image of the Monomoy Point Lighthouse in Chatham was shot out the open window, seconds before the later image which follows in this series, shot through the plexiglass window.  Always have the pilot open a window and shoot through the opening from the back seat. Turn the plane for your shots, rather than turning and shooting out windows.

Christopher Seufert will be releasing a hard cover aerial photography book, featuring the town of Chatham, Cape Cod in June of 20008.  Visit his gallery in the Chatham Media Center at 2469 Main Street in South Chatham or online here http://www.CapeCodAerial.com.