Just one piece of advice...

[M.M.]

In the last few months, FC has picked up a lot of new or inexperienced photographers.  Since one of the site's objectives is to help people improve their skills, we've created this thread for experienced shooters to do just what the subject line suggests: offer ONE tip for newcomers to aviation photography that will help them out in the long term.

It shouldn't be "learn how to use unsharp mask," or "here's what shutter speed to use for kick-a$$ prop blur," but something more fundamental.  Something that a new shooter would otherwise have to learn the hard way.  Something you wish you'd been told when you started out.  Like in the next post....

-M.M.

(P.S. Yes, we have goals.  Watch for the forthcoming mission statement!)

[M.M.]

My contribution:  Learn to view your images as others see them, and judge them by how they work as photographs, not simply as pictures.

Your photos should inspire, in yourself and others, the sense of what it was like to witness the instant in time they represent.  When starting out, you'll tend to recall the moment from your subconscious rather than absorb it from an image.  This can blind you to what the image really shows (or doesn’t).  You may be excited to have captured your first F-22 takeoff, but others may instead see a tilted horizon, the tails of aircraft parked in the foreground, signs on the hangar across the field, burned-out highlights, dust spots, overall softness, or all the empty sky around your subject.

Learn to see past your recollections and look at each shot for what it is.  Have you successfully used viewpoint, composition, and technique to create an image that conveys what you saw and felt to a viewer who wasn’t there?  This is the difference between photography and merely taking a picture.

One way to see the “real” picture is to flip the image left-for-right, so it no longer matches your memory.  If the composition remains strong, the airplane is still the sole subject, there are no glaring defects, and the whole image still tells the story you want, keep the shot.  If it fails on any of these criteria, delete it.  It may be your personal best picture of that aircraft right now, but in the future, after you’ve shot hundreds of better ones and learned to judge them as photographs, I guarantee you’ll ask, “Why did I keep this junk?”  I have hundreds of old slides as evidence!

-M.M.

[Roger]

Composition and Angles.

Don't just click away.  This ties in directly with Marks post above. 

This goes mainly for statics and slow moving planes.  Look for an interesting angle to shoot your subject from.  Maybe there's a ladder nearby (or you brought your own if your Dutch).  Maybe laying on the ground gives a neat perspective (my personal favorite, yes, I'm a lazy fella).  Just look at the subject and walk around it, take your time.  If you do this consistently, you will notice that after a while, you will automatically walk to the point that's most interesting to shoot from, no matter what the subject is. (This touches another good tip, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!)

With a high speed pass you don't really have time to look for the right angle, but even there you might want to shoot earlier in the pass (if your lens has that reach) or later so you'll have a different angle then all those other 1000 photographers taking pictures of the same high speed pass.  Experiment with timing and angles.

That's it from me now.

And edit your shots!!!

Roger

[FlyingKiwi]

As a general rule, backlighting sucks, so get the sun behind you even if that means leaving the crowd area!

Richard.

[Mickey]

My advice is: Look at great pictures from other photographers, look at your own pictures in similar circumstances, and try to find out why theirs look different from yours (or, in my case, why theirs look so much better). And if you can't find out by yourself, ask those very photographers how they did it!

All experienced photographers (amatuers and professionals) on FenceCheck appreciate that newbies have to learn the tricks of the trait. We all had mentors, courses, learning-by-doing, cheap equipment at first, manuals and books to read, no access, no knowledge of airshow and base lay-outs, etc. etc. Most of the really good guys (and girls) on here won't burn you or laugh at you for asking what to them might be basic, but to you is new territory.

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. And most of the time, when I asked questions over the last couple of years around here, I got good answers from knowledgeable people who really helped me to improve my shooting. Many people are now impressed by my shots, which wasn't the case when I started with digital photography almost 5 years ago.

So when you look at other people posting great pictures from an airshow you attended or a day spent at the fence, don't just resize and dump a load of pictures in the applicable thread (that's another piece of advice, quality over quantity, but I'm only allowed one piece). Look at their pics, look at your own and think, why are they different? Which one looks better? Why is the sky blue and are the clouds white in the other pic and is it overexposed in mine, why is the a/c jumping off the screen in theirs and not in mine, how did they compose their shots as opposed to mine, why did they put themselves in another location to obtain better shooting-angles, etc. etc. It not only has to do with equipment (although a P&S will make it very hard to obtain high quality images), it has much more to do with your position in regards to the subject, your camera-settings and your editing skills.

Be critical on your own work by comparing it to others and don't be afraid to ask. That's my tip.

Now, is that one or two pieces of advice, Mark ?).

Mickey

[ChrisM]

Some good points here.

My one tip is always try and fill most of the frame, both when taking the shot and when posting an image. Unless there is a more artistic element to your image, and the aircraft is only part of the view you are trying to convey rather than the main focus of the shot, then a shot where the aircraft is small in the frame loses a lot of its impact.

It is easier said than done to fill the frame consistently. I know from bitter experience that trying to blow up the middle of an image in Photoshop rarely works out as well as you would have hoped in your mind. Furthermore, not all of us have access to the biggest and best lenses, so sometimes you just have to accept you can't get that shot.

Chris

ps: My second tip (sorry Mark! ) mirrors Mickey and would be to ask the folks on here who post the 'wow' shots how they did them, they don't mind being asked and you can learn a lot that way.

[windrivermaiden]

Frame your shot to include something that gives your shot context. A plane or jet against a clear blue sky, even magnificently photographed, doesn't say...

Who?
What? (ok, it can say alot of what and some times that is the point ),
Where?
When? or
Why? 

But a plane or jet with blue sky and the Golden Gate Bridge says immediately "San Francisco"!

If your photo is not in conjunction with a caption...what will it tell your viewer?  Better yet...when you are sitting around with your grand kid in the future, having that  "something else"  in the photo will kick start your memory to drag out a long boring story to keep him or her captivated.

p.s. if you want lots of people to click on your photo and see it larger...include a girl. Works EVERY time.

Modified the color so no one thinks I'm yelling and angry....

[Mickey]

p.s. if you want lots of people to click on your photo and see it larger...include a girl. Works EVERY time.

So I noticed !

Thanks Windy, for your input !

Mickey

[André]

My advice : Practice, practice and practice. 

Today with digital photography its way easier (and cheaper).

There's nothing wrong standing an hour or two near a highway shooting cars and learning this way to pan fast moving subjects. Once you got the skill its easier to use it as well on jets and get some well focused pictures.

Another way to improve (which worked for me  ) was p*ssing off eachothers shots during the Wintertime slides evenings.
Don't be afraid to be critical and receive critics (there's still a truckload of it waiting for me oustide  )

[Tonyz]

Read up on photography.  Learn what an f stop is and how it relates to shutter speed and then to exposure.  Learn how these interact to create photos.

Look through books of photos by the greats.  How did Matthew Brady capture images that haunt today?  Robert Capa's images....many others.  How did they captture the moments that speak to us after so many years.  LEARN!

[k5083]

Look outside your genre for inspiration and education.

You may have gotten your equipment specifically to shoot planes.  Planes may be about the only thing you shoot other than friends and family.  You may enjoy looking mainly at airplane photos.  But every kind of photographer has something to teach us about photography.  If you don't think Edward Weston, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, or Ansel Adams have anything to teach you about shooting airplanes -- look again.  And not just at the masters.  Great photographic ideas are everywhere.

August

[Sagar Pathak]

Don't be afraid to ask "How did you take that picture?"  Whether it's from a technical aspect (over/under exposing, F-stop/aperture, etc) or from a technique standpoint (Depth of Field, slowing the shutter speed, panning, bokeh, etc), don't be afraid to ask.  Each of us at one point or another didn't know this stuff and had to ask someone.  The reason we are all here is to share either our pictures, wisdom, or mistakes.  After all, what good is knowing something if you can't share it?

[Chester Brown]

Learn your camera. What type focus are you using? Maybe a different setting will make a world of difference. I changed mine and now everything is much sharper. What type metering are you using? Try all of them and see what works for you and your type shooting. Bottom line know your camera and practice, practice, practice. Spend time at a GA airport and practice.

Chet

[aerophoto]

Have fun and take notes from the exfi info on the photos If you love them and they are a well lit photo look and see what settings you were using  In the time of film so long ago we used to make note of the fstop and speed for each shot we took from that info you soon get an inate  (sp) knack to get it right most of the time.

But have fun if you start to get worried and it becomes a frustration then you wont want to do it anymore so dont get frustrated just shoot and enjoy.

[raaver]

and when most of the above is your knowledge, get new equipment      (and if the cash (or wife) alows you...
so i learned the hard way....

Robert