Master Your Aerial Photography Skills: 6 Composition Tips

Master Your Aerial Photography Skills: 6 Composition Tips

Composition is a game of imagination, not rules, and anyone can become a master at this game. All you need is to look at the world differently – through the eyes of an artist,

Whether you’re a beginner drone pilot or a seasoned pro, the following 6 composition techniques will take your photography to the next level.

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one. Ddiagonals | Dynamic Tension – Diagonals | dynamic tension.

While horizontal lines add a sense of stability to your composition, diagonal lines add new meaning to your work. Examine the surrounding space, shoot interesting objects and experiment with diagonals.

Pool © Alexandr Vlassyuk | Drone: Phantom 4 Pro

Place the object next to diagonal objects to enhance this dynamic effect.

Untitled © Zheng Ge | Drone: Mavic Pro

2. Juxtaposition | Complementing Contrasts. Mapping | complementary contrasts.

In aerial photography, juxtaposition allows you to create contrast between scenes, objects, and even meanings.

The fine line between order and chaos © Pablo

The following photo shows the Greek city of Nafplio, showing the juxtaposition of old and new, water and earth, nature and civilization, resulting in a stunningly thoughtful composition.

The old city of Nafplio through the eyes of a drone, Greece © DroneAndDusted | Drone: Mavic Air

3. Isolate the Subject | Enhancing Focus. Object isolation | Focus Gain

Place the subject in the center of the frame and frame to show its features from above. Add some blur to the background during processing to enhance this effect even more.

Fight | Kaunas, Lithuania © Andrius Aleksandravičius | Drone: Mavic 2 Pro

The next photo is a great example of highlighting a subject and creating a simple composition. This technique is very simple and useful for shooting objects from the air.

Summers Simplicity © Petra Leary | Equipment: Mavic Pro

four. Asymmetry | Attracting Attention. Asymmetry | Attraction of attention

Symmetry makes the object more visible, while asymmetry helps draw the viewer’s attention.

Asymmetry © Emanuele Roasio | Drone: Phantom 3 Pro

Try combining both options – symmetry and asymmetry – to get more visual effects.

Setting summer sun © pgreen1983 | Drone: Phantom 4

5. Rule of Thirds | abstract images. Rule of thirds | Abstract images

The rule of thirds is a well-known technique that divides an image with two horizontal and two vertical lines. You can position objects along these lines to get an aesthetically correct photo.

Silence… ©Zheng Ge | Drone: Mavic 2 Pro

6. Tell a story | Guiding Viewers. Tell a story | Direct the viewers

Use your aerial photos to guide your viewers and show them perspective. Elements such as roads, rivers, and buildings are ideal for guiding the viewer’s eye and giving them a unique perspective.

Wedding © Traveling the world | Drone: Spark

By emphasizing curved lines in your composition, you can guide viewers to interesting details in the image.

Classic Tuscany © Stefano Geraci | Drone: Phantom 4 Pro

Helpful Hints

Composition tips can be used as a source of inspiration rather than a list of hard and fast rules. The more important thing is to get out of the house and look for inspiration in the real world. Try to use our tips, share your footage and get even more inspiration on SkyPixel.