What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Discuss equipment and methods or ask for advice
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jalfrezi
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by jalfrezi »

capercaillie wrote:$650 for a close up of an undercarriage bay - OK :hypno: :whistle:


Not a fan of those shots at all, whilst they are well composed, they're also a bit dull. :wat:

I guess there are people out there that like them, or he wouldn't have them on there.

Berf
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by Berf »

capercaillie wrote:$650 for a close up of an undercarriage bay - OK :hypno: :whistle:



Seen a similar one in board room - corporates will pay that, u/c parts manufacturer annual report - plenty of customers - just one sale makes it all worth it.

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Tommy
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by Tommy »

One query I've always wondered;

I know it's *very* dependant on the angle of the machine itself, but what are people's thoughts on cropping/cutting rotor blades on helicopters, or leaving them in?

Two examples from my Flickr to just illustrate what I'm probably failing to do in words:

(Both 1600Px)

ImageEggTrainer by Tom Jones, on Flickr

ImageRoundel Runner by Tom Jones, on Flickr

Edit also, I know I said "I'm not one of those "I must get full-discs" kind of blokes" previously. Buuuuut, a) sometimes it's proper to disregard the constabulary, and b) I wanted the Italian roundel from the tail rotor :grin:

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jalfrezi
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by jalfrezi »

Tommy, I think both of your examples are perfectly acceptable. Like you say the angle of the machine plays a factor, but also the type of machine does too, Chinooks for example have very large rotor blades which can leave a lot of 'dead' space around the subject, or leave the shot unbalanced.

The example below illustrates this, if I'd have left the full rotors in I would have a very different photo with a lot more sky around the subject:

ImageBoeing Chinook HC2 - 4 by Nick Jennings, on Flickr

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wallace
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by wallace »

Would you crop a wing?
A rotor is a lifting surface just the same as a wing, so would you still crop it?

Rotors form very good lead-in lines helping with composition, also cropping wide to include all of the blades gives one an edge when it comes to image quality.

The bottom line is, and many forget this - it is your photo and you do whatever you want with it.

Then again, it is good to break ones own rules.
ImageG-SPHU EC135, Scone by Wallace Shackleton, on Flickr
(My only self criticism is that the blade obscured the top of the tail.)

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

I will almost always ignore the rotor blades and focus on the fuselage, but then I quite often do that on fixed wing aircraft too. I like the subject to fill as much of the frame as possible and generally rotor blades on helicopters result in too much dead space for my taste.
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Ian G
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by Ian G »

One thing I try and do is to maintain the original ratio of the image when cropping. Very rarely will I put it in to a square or a panorama-style crop. There's nothing wrong with that as it can work with a number of shots, just something that I don't really do....any more!
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Jakub.Zurek
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by Jakub.Zurek »

I think composition/cropping is a crucial part of an image. Personally, I like some room to breathe around the edges, that's why A.net style images really do not work for me.

For aviation subjects, I find I use 16:9 pretty much all the time, as it helps to cut out the empty sky and focus on the fuselage. For example, two random images which in my opinion would have much less impact if they were 3:2.
ImageHispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon | G-AWHK | by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

ImageSpitfire Sunset by Jakub Zurek, on Flickr

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Ruislip Rustler
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by Ruislip Rustler »

Hammy wrote:Phantoms.


+1
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wallace
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Re: What makes a "good" aviation photograph?

Post by wallace »

There are times when all you see is just a picture of a plane and more often than it is the registration that is the most important thing about it - an item that is totally lost on the casual viewer.

Close cropping has it's place but not at the expense of composition or just to show a picture of a plane.

There are times when you don't need to show much of a plane at all.
ImageArran over Bute by Wallace Shackleton, on Flickr

And then where an aircraft is located is of more interest than the aircraft itself.

ImageG-PPLG MTO, Loch Lomond by Wallace Shackleton, on Flickr