Posted on November 6, 2016
Do you want to learn how to fly a drone?
Do you know the difference between yaw, throttle, pitch and roll? Do you want to improve your drone flying skills?
Then check out either the video above or the read the post below to learn everything you need to know about how to fly a drone.
In both the video above and post below I walk you through the most basic and essential steps for flying a drone and I include some of my favorite exercises for mastering the art of flying.
Flying using control sticks
The first thing you need to do before flying is understand how the drone controls work for yaw, throttle, pitch and roll. These aviation terms come from the old fixed-wing aircraft days.
It’s important to note, that I am using Mode 2 for my controller which is the most common setup outside of Asia. So if your controller is set to Mode 1, Mode 3 or Mode 4 the control sticks will work differently.
Left stick
The left control stick allows the drone to climb and descend and also rotates the drone on its axis both left and right. The official aviation terms for these controls are “Yaw” and “Throttle”.
- Yaw rotates the drone around its center either clockwise or counterclockwise.
- Throttle controls how much lift your drone is creating which allows it to ascend and descend.
Right control stick
The right control stick moves the drone forward and backwards and also moves the drone left and right. The official aviation terms for these controls is “Roll” and “Pitch”.
- Roll controls the right and left movement of your drone.
- Pitch controls the forward and backward movement of your drone.
Posted on October 20, 2016
7 Ways to Grow Your Drone Aerial Photography Business Online
With the FAA’s new Part 107 officially in full swing, we can expect an influx of new certified drone pilots to enter the industry (check out this helpful Part 107 guide for more info on this new ruling).
This means it’s going to get tougher and tougher to stand out as a drone pilot that is running your own aerial business. You will need the necessary equipment and skills, but also a brandable business, a clean website, attentive customer service, and new methods of attracting clients.
This is true whether you work locally, nationally, or internationally.
One of the avenues that I see very few pilots fully utilizing is the Internet. Many pilots are sticking to traditional advertising methods and in-person marketing.
While these methods are effective, the Internet can provide a scale that no other channel can match. And odds are, your competitors aren’t taking advantage of it.
In this article, I’m going to show you seven ways to grow your drone business online.
You will learn how to contact prospects effectively, the advertising method that I see all local businesses under-utilizing (not just drone pilots), how to actively use social media to your advantage, and more. Read More
Posted on October 13, 2016
Drone Video of the Week: Vindur
This week I am featuring my friend Vadim Sherbakov’s epic Iceland drone video called Vindur (which is the Icelandic word for “wind”).
Vadim’s video takes you through Iceland’s stark, vast and cold yet beautifully desolated mountain ranges, valleys, waterfalls, glaciers, and canyons that can only be found on this unique island.
Be sure to scroll down before to read more about Vadim’s project and his personal tips and tricks on how he goes about putting together a drone film like this one.
Posted on October 2, 2016
How To Build Your Own Custom Photography Drone
This is a special post done in collaboration with Shabbir Nooruddin who is the founder of fpvfrenzy.com
A lot of aerial photographers get their start with drones by getting ready to fly drones like the DJI Phantom, the Yuneec Typhoon, or even the 3DR Solo.
These drones are really easy to use and very plug and play, but some downsides to a ready to fly drone is the fact that they are limited in the payload they can carry, they aren’t customized to your exact preferences and they can be difficult to repair yourself.
So if you are more of a tinkerer or DYI type of person you should consider building your own customized photography & cinematography drone rig! There is nothing quite as satisfying as seeing something you built with your own two hands fly around and work the way you intended it, so building an aerial photography rig can an excellent option.
Another benefit to building your own aerial platform is you really get to customize the rig the way you want, and you have options for building in redundancies which can help protect your drone and keep you flying safer.
Photo Credit: Richard Unten
Posted on August 30, 2016
How to Film and Edit Epic Drone Videos: 31 Essential Tips
This is a special post done in collaboration with me and Vadim Sherbakov who is an independent interactive web and mobile application art director and photographer based in Moscow, Russia. To view Vadim’s work, visit his Instagram feed and Vimeo page.
Are you looking to take your drone videos to the next level? Then the drone video tips below were created just for you!
After you implement these drone video tips into your workflow, you’ll capture better looking, higher quality, more engaging, cinematic drone videos.
While a DJI Phantom 3 and DJI Phantom 4 were used to compile the information, the tips included below can be applied to all types of drones models from other manufacturers.
Keep in mind that the tips are divided into 2 sections, Production and Post-Production. Let’s first start with some production tips.
Production tips
1) Camera Settings
DJI drones use 12mb Sony sensors in both the Phantom 3 and Phantom 4 cameras which is why I always recommend using the lowest ISO possible, preferably 100 to avoid getting grainy footage.
The higher the ISO the grainy/noiser the image is going to be.
That is also why you should use D-Log under Picture Settings opposed to the default “.mov” or “.mp4” video codec setting. D-log captures a flatter, less contrasty image (see image below) which at first won’t look as good as the other options when you play it back because saturation, contrast and sharpness have been dialed back in the profile setting.
However, D-log gives you the best possible image for capturing more dynamic range, which means it keeps more details in the highlights and shadows, which ends up giving you more freedom in post when you go to color correct and color grading your footage.
This is why it is best to select Standard as the Picture Style because you can then add in the exact amount of contrast, saturation and sharpness via your video editing/grading software.
Loading ...
