5 tips for photos taken from above

How beautiful our cities are seen from above… Each amateur photographer likes taking these shots which always allow showing off. Here are some tips from your favourite professional photographer to make things easier.

The first thing you will certainly think of to take pictures from above is to use a drone. However you need to be aware that they are subject to strict regulations and most of the time those rules will prevent you from flying over the cities you would like to photograph. Fortunately, your professional photographer has more than one trick up his sleeves and offers you some useful tips.

Take your photos from locations up high

Our cities and countryside benefit from rich history often symbolised by awesome buildings; whether it is a belfry, a citadel, or monumental churches. Many of them are currently still accessible to the public and therefore to you and your camera. Don’t hesitate to climb up the stairs, sometimes tortuous, to get to the top of the monument. Intently placed to protect the city they overlook, they usually offer a breath-taking view on the surroundings. You can also explore regions where, nature as well can offer gorgeous panoramas. You will then be able to immortalize valleys, but also the cities and villages spreading throughout them.

Prepare your photo shooting

The advice may sound a bit stupid, but how many photographers have been on sites and then unable to access an appropriate point of view to take a picture, because of the crowd present would make it impossible. When you have spotted a public site from where you can take your pictures, check the opening time and opt to go at the very start of opening. You can also choose to wait as long as possible until closing time to see the crowd disappear. The choice will be dependent on the light and the city’s position, for example, comparing it to the sun’s path. Another advice: there is little point in climbing the hundreds of steps of a belfry if, outside, the weather outside is rainy and the horizon is blocked by thick clouds to say the least. This does not mean however that a cloudy weather will not be the perfect scenery for a no less perfect photography.

Multiply panoramic pictures

Once in an elevated area, you will certainly be subdued by the resulting view. Opt for wide angle lenses or, why not, for the panorama mode of your smartphone. You will then move your smartphone from left to right to get a stunning shot. It is important though not to tremble and to keep a straight line compared to the horizon, if you don’t want to get your resulting picture sprinkled with small breaks. If you take pictures with a more sophisticated camera, don’t hesitate to take several pictures, on the same level, to be able afterwards, to collate them one overlapping each other with a photo editing program.

Use a filter or specific settings to make your photo admirable

Many amateur photographers do not understand why, while they have immortalised a panorama that seduced them, the top of the picture is overexposed or, on the contrary, the bottom of the picture is too dark. It is simply due to the contrast between the sky, by definition very bright, and the photographed city, inevitably darker. To fix the issue you can use filters which allow darkening the upper area, and thus benefiting from sufficient light over the city located on the lower part. Indeed this requires the use of already more sophisticated equipment, but the result will be a picture that is really pleasant to look at.

Take your photos in the evening

If the location where you what to take your picture from allows it, don’t hesitate to wait until the sun has set. Cities tend to light up with a thousand lights, literally providing a touch of magic to your pictures. Good news: in winter the sun sets even earlier and the opening hours of some locations do not change. You have then the opportunity to be on a monument and to take pictures without any disruption. You will need to put on some warm clothes though; the temperature might be rather cold on top. Another tip is it to try some longer shutter speed. This will allow you to produce special effects, for example, with the headlights of cars moving across the city. In this case don’t forget to install your camera on a tripod.

Taking pictures of a city from above sometimes requires using sophisticated equipment. Therefore you can hire a professional photographer to get the perfect shot of your city or the place where you live.