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Aerial Photography FAQs |
Frequently asked questions about Aerial Photography
Everyone can use aerial photography! Many people use aerial photography for many reasons. Aerial photographs are often used to show off a property to sell that property or to showcase their position in the community. But aerial are used for a wide variety of reasons by a varying clientele. Aerial photography’s value is in the eye of the beholder. To everyone, aerial photos do give the big picture. How else can you see an entire house or entire city all in one aerial view? Our clients have used their aerial photos for:
Everything looks different from the air and for the aerial photographer; our challenge is to pick out that needle in a haystack…your site. We are often told, “You can’t miss it.” Oh, yes we can. What looks obvious to you on your property can be completely obscured from the aerial photographer’s vantage point. Before we take off on an aerial photo shoot, we have to make sure that we have the right site in mind. We need the address of the site and a good description of what the property looks like. If possible, a ground photograph as well as any other descriptive items can help including plat maps showing property lines. Can a passenger come along on an aerial photography flight?Many of our clients ask if they can come along on our aerial photography flight. The answer is no. Aerial photography is our business and our insurance is for taking aerial photos only. We are not insured for carrying passengers in addition to our aerial photography services. What kind of camera do you use to take aerial photographs?Aerial photography of today is a modern technology. Here at the 111 th we shoot exclusively digital. We currently shoot with a professional 11 mega pixel digital camera equipment. How large a mural can we make with the aerial photographs you take for us?In aerial photography, bigger is always better. There is something wonderful about seeing tiny details show up in an aerial enlargement. Your aerial photograph can be enlarged up to 40” x 60” with little or no loss of resolution. What kind of aircraft do you use for aerial photography?Our aerial photography is performed in both fixed wing airplanes and from helicopters. Our favorite aerial platforms are the Cessna 177 Cardinal RG, a retractable gear, strutless, high wing aircraft that allows a wide, unobstructed view. And yes, we do open the window to take the aerial photograph. For most aerial photographers, shooting from a helicopter is the exciting way to shoot aerial photographs. For most of our helicopter shoots, we fly in a a two-seat Schweizer 300 CB. The pilot sits right seat with the door on and the aerial photographer sits left seat with the left door removed. A safety harness is highly recommended because the seat belt can easily become unlatched with all the movement, camera straps, GPS wires and other paraphernalia being carried along by the aerial photographer. The safety harness a romantic gift from my husband. One mountaineering clip is attached to my safety harness and the other safety clip is attached to some sturdy part of the aircraft. And no, an aerial photographer NEVER steps out on the step or skid of the helicopter to get an aerial shot. That is only in the movies. Real, professional aerial photographers stay belted and safety harnessed in their seats, turning from the waist up to get their aerial photos. What is the difference between aerial photography from an airplane and aerial photography from a helicopter?
Most aerial photography can be performed from an airplane with certain limitations. FAA rules and regulations require that a pilot of a fixed wing aircraft or airplane maintain a minimum altitude over congested aerea is 1000 feet. For an aerial view that needs to be done at lower altitudes, a helicopter is ideal as there is no minimum altitude for a helicopter; the only requirement is that in case of an emergency, there needs to be a safe place to land the helicopter without hurting any other person or property on the ground. Also aerial photography of sites located close to an airport or in difficult terrain like around steep mountainsides or around tall power lines, makes a helicopter the aircraft of choice to accomplish the job. How often do you take a photo flight?During most times of the year, we fly at least once or twice a week on aerial photography missions. We almost always fly with several locations to shoot, but we are always conscious about time of day that a property needs to be taken to show it off to its best advantage. For most aerial shoots, we like to fly and shoot at the height of the sun’s angles. In the summertime, it is high noon, so flying can be done between 10am and 2-3pm in the afternoon. In the winter months, with the sun much lower in the sky, high noon, is never that high and shadows are already long by 3:00pm. Can aerial photography be done in any weather?We prefer to shoot our aerial photography in good, full sun days. In situations where the aerial photographs are needed in a hurry, we can be contracted for a custom shoot to shoot in almost any weather. Do you have any stock aerial photographs?The 111 th Aerial Photography Squadron has been shooting aerials since 1995. Since that time we have archived our negatives and now digital files in our large and growing aerial photo library. Additionally, we are the California resellers of Air Photo USA, producers of vertical aerial photography of most of the United States urban areas, all seamlessly stitched together and available on CD. Our client’s can purchase the CD’s for aerial coverage of an entire city or county or they can purchase a digital file or print of just the aerial view of city block. We are also contributors to StockAerialPhoto.com: a stock aerial photography library on the Internet that is constantly being updated and added to and where aerial photography can be researched, viewed and purchased online. If we had an aerial photo taken years ago, can we get a copy?Here at the 111 th Aerial Photography Squadron we keep all our aerial photography negatives and digital files in our aerial photography library archive. Every aerial photograph we have ever taken is identified with a file number. If you have a copy of the aerial picture we took, that file number would be on the back of the aerial photo. With that file number we can easily locate the original negative or digital file and provide you with a copy of the aerial photograph of your choice. If you do not have the aerial photograph that we took and you are certain that we were the aerial photographers that took the aerial, than we can research your request with the name of the person who originally ordered the aerial photograph and or the address of the site. Do you only take aerial photography?The 111 th Aerial Photography Squadron primarily does aerial photography. However, because of many requests for photography other than aerials, we have created the 111 th On-Site Photography services to provide ground-based photography including portraits, ground and interior architectural photography. We now offer aerial video as well. For samples of our video, please go to our stock aerial video website. Pro Aerial Video.com. Here you will find our videos (california) and a massive collection of other videos from our stock footage contributors. How do you find my house/site/property to do aerial photography?Finding sites from the air is one of the most difficult aspects of aerial photography. In order to make things easier on an aerial photo mission, we use our mapping programs to not only locate where a property is, but also to ascertain the property’s latitude and longitude. We utilize a GPS (Global Positioning System), which uses satellites to pinpoint a position anywhere to allow us to fly directly to the site. We still need additional information to assure us that we have the right location see: What does an aerial photographer need to take an aerial photograph of my site? How many aerial views do I get with my aerial photography purchase?We always try to provide at least 8 – 12 aerial views of a client’s property. For most aerial photography shoots, we provide north, south, east, west close-in aerial views and north, south, east, west showing the property with extended views of its vicinity. We will always try to give the client the aerial photograph they have in their mind, if possible and we always give the client a choice of aerial views. How much does aerial photography cost?In most cases, aerial photography is based on location of the site and the aircraft used. Sites located within our home flying area which is northern California, which we have determined is 50 miles from our home airports, which are San Jose, California’s two airports and South County Airport in San Martin, CA. Can you help us get an aerial photograph outside your flying area?Yes, because of our association with the Professional Aerial Photographers Association International we have a network of aerial photography colleagues all over the world. One phone call to us and we are your portal to aerial photography anywhere! How long have you been an aerial photographer?The 111 th Aerial Photography Squadron has been in business since 1995. Our aerial photography has been utilized and can be seen in some of California’s biggest businesses. What is oblique aerial photography?Oblique aerial photography is an angled view of a property or site. The oblique aerial photo is most often used to produce the beautiful aerial views for both real estate sales shots and also for showcasing any property, business campus, etc. Oblique aerials are also the only way to get one of the most beautiful and popular views: the horizon shot. An oblique aerial photograph with a line of blue horizon requires that the aerial photographer fly and shoot on the clearest day possible. Haze and smog is the enemy of all aerial photographers, but it shows up most in the bit of blue sky that all aerial photographers strive for. What is a vertical aerial photograph?A vertical aerial photograph is an aerial view shot directly or straight down from the aircraft. These rooftop aerial photos are most useful for engineering and layout of large land development projects or tracts. Individual vertical aerial photographs can seamlessly be stitched together to produce large mosaic aerial imagery with very high resolution. Do you do Aerial Video?The 111 th Aerial Photography Squadron is one of the few aerial photographers in northern California that provides broadcast quality aerial video. Using the same electronic newsgathering (ENG) camera equipment that produces those stunning and very still aerial video imagery seen on news programs, we can be hired to produce a custom aerial video for our clients. |
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