Helicopter Photography Guide: How to Capture the Perfect Photo!
For many of us, taking a helicopter tour over a beautiful destination is one of those once in a lifetime experiences that you quote as 'the highlight of the trip' to all your friends and family when they inevitably ask “how was your vacation?”
While a photo will never be able to replicate the feeling you get of soaring through the sky—it is a great way to brag about your trip on your Instagram feed!
You can certainly get some great photos with the auto settings on your phone or camera—but we’ve written this post to share some key tips and help you get the most from your camera!
*This post utilizes affiliate links. If you choose to buy anything that is listed below we will receive money through the Amazon Associates program at no extra cost to you!
**We were not paid and did not receive any compensation (monetary or otherwise) by any company mentioned in this post. The companies mentioned are actually ones that we use and love!
Tip #1—Choose the Right Lens
An expensive camera can yield some great results—but many photographers will tell you that the glass you attach to your camera is just as important (if not more) than the camera body itself. However, if you’ve just spent over $300 on a helicopter tour—you may not want to spend another $500-$1000 on a new lens. For this reason, we recommend using the widest lens you already have in your kit. A wide lens will allow you to capture everything outside the helicopter while also giving you the opportunity to get creative with some shots from inside the helicopter as well!
What we use:
This combination allowed us to get wide photos and video with the GoPro (16mm in SuperView mode) while also allowing us to get higher quality photos at various focal lengths with the Canon and kit lens combo.
Overall we recommend choosing a lens that allows you to take both wide and close-up photos—such as a 16-35mm or 24-70mm lens.
Tip #2—Check Your Settings
As previously mentioned, the auto settings on your camera or phone are more than capable of capturing some epic photos of your helicopter tour. But if you’re looking to switch over to manual mode—there’s a few things you should know.
Helicopters move fast—so unless you want to land with a bunch of blurry photos you should set your shutter speed to around 1/1000th of a second. A ‘fast’ shutter speed is the most important setting to ensure that the speed and vibrations of the helicopter aren’t reflected in your photos.
The other setting to think about is aperture—When flying high above your subject, you won't need to worry too much about having a shallow depth of field. Our advice is to set your aperture to somewhere between f/8 to f/11 and capture the beautiful views with as much detail as possible!
Tip #3—Accessories to Think About
If you're taking a helicopter tour during the day then a circular polarizing (CPL) filter is the only accessory that we consider a ‘must-have’. One of the purposes of a CPL is to reduce or remove reflections on the surface of water, glass and other reflective surfaces. If that doesn’t sound like something you’ll need while flying over water in what is essentially a glass box then feel free to save your money—but if you want to get the best possible pictures then you’ll want to invest in a good CPL filter!
If you happen to be taking a doors off helicopter tour in a tropical place then you’ll also run the risk of your camera getting wet. To protect your gear we recommend using a waterproof shell. While this item may not help you get a better photo—it will help keep your camera from getting damaged!
What we use:
Gobe makes high quality filters with fair prices and promises to plant five trees with every purchase. Peak Design is a certified Climate Neutral company—which means they reduce their carbon footprint where they can and offset where they can’t by contributing towards eco-friendly projects such as reforestation and capturing harmful gases. The commitment of these companies to sustainability combined with their innovative approach to making extremely useful camera gear is why we have no problem recommending them to all of you!
Share your photos with us!
We hope these tips help you capture some stunning photos on your helicopter tour! We’d love to see photos of your aerial adventure so please tag @wanderlikeus AND use our hashtag #wanderlikeus in your Instagram posts and we’ll repost some of our favourites to our story!
