So you’ve committed and bought a drone, but you want to know how to create versatile shots to make the most of your drone experience when you start to travel. Read on as we run you through all the different ways you can expand your skills to capture the most memorable travel shots.
When it comes to travelling, one of the most important things you must not forget is… well money firstly but second of all recording equipment. Most people would use their smartphones, cameras or action vlogging cameras and they are exceptional and multi-functional but obviously shooting solely from the ground has its limitations. If you want to remember your trip holistically, take to the skies and grasp a different perspective to remember from.
If you’ve just bought your drone you would want to know the basics before you attempt anything more advanced. Let’s look at some precautionary steps you should take before flying.
Regulations
If you don't know already, there are flying regulations surrounding drone operations in Australia. Overseas, there is no exception. It is important to follow the flying regulations according to where you travel to avoid running into some unwanted trouble.
Read More: How To Capture Awesome Travel Videos With Your Drone
Take Off / Landing
Particularly important when you are flying in an environment you are unfamiliar with, understanding where’s the best location to take off and land on is important for more than just the obvious reasons. It is key to find a surface that is flat and hard, considerably far away from anything that might catch onto the propellers. Concrete, lawns or atop larger stable objects like your car is ideal for level surfaces. Sandy beaches are not ideal as the tiny grains of sand can easily fly into the vents disabling your drone. In the case that you have no other option, investing in a landing pad would solve this issue.
Know Your Drone
Other things you need to consider are your drones capabilities. All DJI drones models are unique and have varying features (Intelligent flight modes, sensors, camera quality, etc.), build and operation. Drones like the DJI Avata which is a FPV operated drone will have different capabilities compared to products like the new DJI Mavic 3 Classic and products like the DJI Mavic 3 will have different zoom abilities compared to the newer Classic model.
Read More: How To Capture Awesome Travel Videos With Your Drone
Now let's delve into ways to master travel footage.
Everyone must start off by learning how to be competent at flying. Learning to operate your drone takes some time so it's best to practise before you travel.
Intelligent Flight Modes
After learning the basics, incorporating Intelligent Flight Modes into your footage is an easy way to work smarter not harder. The Intelligent Flight modes which are embedded into most DJI drones gives you effortless professional footage for any scenario you are placed in. A popular Intelligent feature I definitely recommend while travelling is ActiveTrack. This feature focuses and tracks a subject, making you the star of the show no matter where you go. Otherwise, depending on what drone you own, you can play around with modes like MasterShots, FocusTrack, Waypoints and more.
The Basic Shots
In addition to the intelligent flight modes there are a couple of basic shots great to learn and used by many to create cinematic travel videos.
The first is the reveal. Although quite self-explanatory, this movement shot can be captured in more than one way. You can start with the focus on a subject in the foreground then move into a view that lies beyond the subject or you can fly while slowly tilting the gimbal to reveal the primary focus of the shot. You can even do a backwards reveal or a pullback reveal and reverse fly to open up your scenery even further.
The next shot is the bird's eye view. Fly directly above the targeted subject or scenery and shoot straight down. This shot is great for contrasting between different landmarks such as the break between the water and shoreline at a beach.
Another is the fly by. This movement is perfect if you are standing high above ground and want to capture yourself and the view in one dynamic swift shot. Turn off obstacle avoidance to prevent drone swerving and fly straight past the subject from afar and into an open view. You end up with a closeup of yourself in the middle of a gorgeous scenery.
Of course this is not the end of it, there are heaps of other movement shots you can ace for travel content. While a couple are embedded in later updates of intelligent flight modes, manual manoeuvring can also achieve the same results.
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Changing Perspectives
Although drones are predominantly used for aerial shots, mixing aerial with ground shots would give you varying points of view that helps gather perspective for you to look back on. If you aim to share your travel adventures, this interplay between altering perspectives keeps views engaged.
Take Risks
By taking risks we don't mean, disregarding regulations and rules surrounding drone operation. We mean mastering your piloting skills and adding movement, depth and varying speed to capture your shots. Weaving between trees or up close to the cliff sides will help you create epic dynamic shots untypical of your standard clips. However, in order to do this you must turn off your obstacle avoidance. Keeping it on will only make your drone work against you.
This one is extremely fun and creates the most epic shots with drones like the DJI FPV Avata. The Cinewhoop FPV design alongside the new safety features enables you to fly more securely while undertaking more risky movements. Unlike the standard drone, you can fly near to 100km/hr, fly sideways and even do flips and tricks.
Focus On A Subject
Other methods of capturing content involve focusing on a main subject. While there is nothing wrong with simply flying over scenic sites to capture the beauty of it all, switching it up every now and then to focus on a subject amidst the view, in particular, a person would make the shot more relatable.
Read More: Tips for Flying Your Drone Over Water
Accessories
To enhance your imagery, equipping with accessories like ND or circular polarising filters help to capture true-to-life colours, stunning highlight and low-light details and precise control over shutter speed. While travelling It is important to carry extra batteries as well as propellers to maximise your capturing opportunities or prepare for unexpected damage. Find appropriate storage to protect your technology on the go as well with safety cases that accommodate for ultimate durability and maximised storage space.
Care Refresh
While away, care refresh enables comprehensive service enabling repair or replacements to your drone in the case of damage or if your aircraft goes missing. This added protection towards your drone means that you can fly with more peace of mind knowing you can get back to flying faster than ever if something unfortunate does occur.
Where Can I Buy DJI Drones?
Pilots, get your drone in-store or online with D1 Store, Australia’s first and only DJI Authorised Retailer. Purchase online and receive free shipping in Australia for all orders over $99!
Shop with D1 Store and experience local support, service and the best prices. We've got convenient locations around Australia where you can see and experience the products first hand.
