A Place in Four Pictures: Red Bluff

A bird’s-eye view of a place can sum it up in just one picture and that’s why drones are a such a useful tool to have in a travel photography kit.

A well-taken drone pic can transport the viewer directly to the place with little, if any, additional explanation needed. Drone pics are often used alongside other photos taken with a camera or phone to tell a picture story.

That said, you can still tell a picture story with drone pictures alone. The accompanying pictures taken at Red Bluff at Quobba Station near Carnarvon are an example of that.

Tips for creating a photo story

Once you’re at your chosen location, put your photographer’s hat on and start looking for pictures.

Set the scene: Look for a nice establishing shot that shows where you are.

Keep it simple: Identify a key element in the shot and use composition techniques like leading lines, frames or rule of thirds to draw attention to it. Simple easy to understand pictures are always best.

Keep it clean: Eliminate unsightly elements in the frame by changing your point of view or focal length.

Mix it up: A mix of wide and deep pictures or a close-up or detail shot in a series can add some variety

Pick your time: When we travel we aren’t always at a location at the best time for photography. The soft light and long shadows around sunrise and sunset are always nice, so if you can, time it so you are there for the “golden hours” to really make your pictures pop.

Once you’re home: Edit your pictures hard. Quality beats quantity. If you have taken lots of pics from a place, you may end up with several sets. Group them together like chapters in a book.

The same photographic techniques apply in the air. Simple easy to understand pictures are always best. Identify a key element in the shot and use composition techniques like leading lines, frames or rule of thirds to draw attention to it.

Once you have the drone airborne, choose your frames carefully and experiment with shots from different altitudes as well as the yaw of the drone and its camera (the yaw adjusts the angle of the camera and the drone). It’s amazing how much of a difference small adjustments can make to the look of the pic.

Some of the latest drones have dual camera lenses similar to what you have in your smartphone so it is easy to eliminate unsightly elements in the frame by simply zooming in a little.

Once your have the pics in the bag, edit hard!