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Why Drone Photography?

Lesson 2 from: Create Stunning Drone Images with Adobe Creative Cloud

Colin Smith

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Lesson Info

2. Why Drone Photography?

Lesson Info

Why Drone Photography?

so drones U A v s. We kind of talked about that a little bit. The thing about these is if you talk to the guys from D. J and you ask them and I will talk a lot about de g ay, because they just they don't really have any competition at this point. And the high end stuff free fly. You know, when you're talking $300,000 rigs free fly is in that space. But in the consumer drone space deejay have just crushed the competition. They just developing it so fast. Um, but the thing about it is what it really comes down to. This is two things on here, and everything else is to support that. The only two things that matter at the sensor and the lens and a way to get them there. So all of this really is about getting that his biggest sensor, and there's bigger lenses you can get out up in. This guy nets it So they've been working really high. That's why D j and make their own cameras now like honestly, you know, back when we used to fly to GoPro's just a couple of years ago. Now we're flying the DJs...

. It's like going back and past. It's like it's like such a step back. Not that there's anything that the GoPro cameras are great and they do things. But these cameras are designed specifically for these drones, and they got rid of everything except for the lens and the sensor. So, for example, this is a Sony Rx 100 sensor in here. We'll talk about more about that in a little bit, so these are just a mechanism to get a camera in a location that you could never do before. Now there's a couple of things that get me, like, way geeked out on this. I am. I'm an artist. Um, I have been working professionally as an artist for 20 years. That's what I do is my passion. And I do a lot of things and it's really hard, Like, I feel like I'm on office space like, What is it you would say you would do? Here is the question I fear. And of course, I live in Orange County, California. The number one question Where Mr what do you do? What? What I start. I mean, like because I just embrace everything. But one of the things I have done in part of my career is three D. Um, I actually spent a couple of years not full time, but going in and out Norman School of visual Effects and studied Maya and I have actually done visual effects in a couple of films. One of the film, my, uh, one of my shots actually made it on the trailer. So I I love three D, and one of the things I loved about three D is takes me back to the days when I was a kid. I wasn't that kid that was out playing soccer. I was that kid that was playing with things and building things and tearing things apart and painting and drawing that that was that was my passion is a kid. And so, um, going doing three d kind of reminded me of building those things. I could build those little things up. But the thing I love about sweeties to be ever used three d you take a photograph? That is the shot, right? You know, you're on a flat plane. It's a flat photo. You can make it pop off the page and all that stuff. And I love doing all that, but you can't, like, turn it. You can't look around the corner, but when you do three d, you can move that camera. You can move that view port anywhere you want, not just rotating you go up, you can go down, You can go around. That was something I always love. And I just remember, like as a little kid, you know, you just and my aunt's place my wouldn't let me get up before 10 a.m. Because she just, you know, British, saying, you know, I'm from I was actually born in Scotland are moved to New Zealand when I was five. And the British thing is Children should be seen and not heard. We don't have free range kids like like we do here, Over there you're like 10 o'clock get up. So anyway, so I remember like you have my little airplanes to be lying in bed and I'd be looking at the angles and flying have been looking at them and just learning to see and ah, that's why from Bristol forms of visual arts because learning to see is the key, you know, And that's something I could do a whole course on that. But that applies to everything you do when you apply. If you learn to see one thing, it applies to something else. So I remember just looking and knowing just learning as a little kid was the best angles to look at things. What makes them look powerful and dynamic? What makes them look like they're going fast? What makes them look, you know, certain ways what produces certain emotions, what sinister. You know, you're looking helicopter. It comes like this. It's like, Well, that's sinister, You know, like that, you know, it's more sinister, right? This is kind of nicer, you know, and and like And you look at angles and this is a persona because old things that we create all vehicles actually based on people, So I cars, you know, that make them look like people. So what? People have road rage, I think because of cars are so aggressive looking now, not like the happy little mini wins. The last time you flipped off someone in a happy little mini, you know? So, um so anyway, so just looking at the angles and seeing the world that way. So I got into three D, and I did that. It was Iolaus is so cool. But now I can do that with my photographs, and that is really what? Get that. That just gets me so excited because it's not about going 400 feet up in the air and sitting down Now I can get the exact angle I wanted I could never do there before. I remember I felt so limited, taking my photos a bit like Oh, man, look at that boat, That all, man, I wish I could get around there. But it's a cliff, you know, Or, you know, every every dot that it's like almost there, man. I want to get a little lower. I wish I could get a little higher and, you know, and the lights coming, this almost there. And it's like if I come back here in about four weeks, the sun's gonna be where I want, right? But I don't know what this thing I can fly anywhere. So the thing that makes a drone exciting to me is not height. It's not attitude. That's a compositional tool. And to me, just as important as Egypt, which is how close I am to you or how far away and also based on the second dimension, which would be you're Z axis you easy access your X axis, which is going side to side and in your why access is going up. Each one is just a important is the other. But when you put the three together, you're not adding. It's not like, Oh, I have 1/3 more opportunity. No, you have just gone from squared two cubed. And if you know anything about math, that's a lot. That's all I know about meth, but it's suddenly the possibilities at infinite and so that that just gets me excited so I can fly low. Sometimes I fly low and my friends are freaking out at night with water, and I'm like African See ripples from the props to You know what I'm doing love shots and sometimes you'll see like ripples come behind it, and that's a shot I want. That's the angle and one. That's a story I want to tell. And so these air storytelling to really at the end of the day. So that's why I'm excited about drones. And I hope by the end of today you're gonna be excited about drones to. So I'm gonna play a little video here. This is just his his own drones. You know, this is me, like flying. This is like a typical day. All right, so that's Ah, you know, typical morning for me. I shot that about two weeks ago, and, ah, if you like that, I've got a ton of those. I put him up on my YouTube channel, which is Photoshopped Cafe. That's actually a little section for one of them. I usually do a little love talking and stuff on, you know, explaining afterwards what I was doing and stuff like that. But I'm doing that live in person today.

Ratings and Reviews

user-74999c
 

I love this class. I have learned so much, and have already started using some of the techniques to shoot better photos. I just need more practice flying. I'm looking for the FB 360 template. Was it supposed to be in downloads and don't see it.? It's almost sunset so I'm headed out to fly and shoot! Thanks for the class!!

~user-cbe549
 

Really enjoyed this class. After using Photoshop professionally for over 25 years, if I learn a new trick or technique from a class, then I know it's money well spent, so Thank you Colin, I did learn a new technique. Really looking forward to putting more of these ideas into practice.

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