DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Shooting travel videos with a drone: here are some do’s and don’ts

Mar 13, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

So, you want to take your drone to your travels and add a new perspective to your travel videos. It sounds like fun, but before you do it, you need to be prepared. Mark Wallace from Adorama TV has brought his DJI Mavic Pro to travels around the world and he’s learned a lot about shooting travel videos from the air. In this video, he shares his experience and the lessons he’s learned. They will not only help you get great drone shots on your travels, but also help you do it safely and legally.

Mark divides the “do’s and don’ts” into two categories: the first group refers to flying tips, and the second one helps you choose the additional gear to bring along. So, let’s get started.

Flight tips

The first and the foremost, although Mark mentions it a bit later: do find a big open field when you fly the drone for the first time. Even if you have used a flight simulator before (or have at least played video games), take some time to practice first.

Do hold your shots for longer than you might think. When you find the place you like, set the drone to the position you want and get a slow, consistent shot. It will give you more of the usable footage for the final video.

Don’t annoy the locals and the tourists. If you want to fly your drone above a beach or a city, make sure that people (and the laws) are okay with that. Don’t fly too low, but keep the drone high enough (around 100 feet) so it’s not clearly visible and noisy.

Do check the laws before you fly your drone. For example, a lot of world heritage sites or national parks don’t allow the use of drones. Flying a drone in some capital cities might even send you to jail if you film some government objects. So, do your homework before you travel and before your drone takes the flight.

Do pay attention to the gusty wind warnings on your drone. A strong wind might blow your drone out of the sky, and it’s a very expensive mistake.

Don’t fly a drone out of your hotel window. If you crash the drone while trying to get it through the window (and it is very likely to happen), it will crash onto the sidewalk and might hurt someone.

Gear tips

The second part of the video is dedicated to the extra gear you should bring along if you want to shoot videos with the drone. Mark suggests you buy a Fly More package because regardless of the drone you use, you’ll need extra batteries.

In the package, you’ll get the charger that lets you charge up to four batteries at once, which is handy and saves you time. It also has a USB port, so you can also charge the remote, smartphone or tablet.

You’ll also need spare propellers. They get damaged easily, and if you only damage one of them, you can’t fly the drone. So, it’s important to have the replacement propellers at hand.

When traveling with the drone, you also need a good case or a bag. Remember to protect the gimbal before you put the drone in the case so it doesn’t get damaged.

The final piece of advice is not to take your drone case as carry-on luggage, at least not before you check with the airline if it’s allowed. In many cases, the drone needs to be in the checked luggage.

Hopefully, you’ve learned something new and useful from this video that will make your travel and drone shooting comfortable, safe and successful.

[Drone Do’s and Don’ts: Exploring Photography with Mark Wallace | Adorama]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

The dos and don’ts of landscape photography The photographer’s dos and don’ts of working with models How to remove people from travel videos and photos without editing How to create an animated custom Google Map for your travel videos

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: drone video, drone videography, mark wallace, travel video

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« A cheap and simple way to paint your own DIY canvas backdrop
Canon aims to take 50% of interchangeable lens camera market share »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy