Although I’ve mixed a whole lotta R/C helicopters into shoots, there are many more times in my profession when climbing into a real A-star is essential to get the shot. A recent assignment in the Caribbean presented another on of those lovely occasions…and while I’ve touched on shooting film + photos from a helicopter in some past posts, I’ve never gone deep on the how-to of shooting from a heli.
And before you dismiss this and say “This is so outrageous, when will I ever get to shoot from a helicopter” …I’ll just say that every photographer who has ever shot from a chopper has said those same words, only to find themselves ripping heavy G turns and shooting from blue skies at some point in their career. So stick with me. And one other note – yes flying around can be expensive, but it can also be done relatively affordably depending on how long you fly, what chopper, and of course…who’s paying 😉
Here’s a few teasers of some of the stuff I cover in this video:
// Helicopter safety. It is critical that you understand how to navigate your way safely in and around this machine. There are two hard and fast rules that all helicopter people live by when it comes to helicopters: 1) Never walk around the tail-end of the helicopter while its on the ground and 2) the pilot is always in charge. Always.
// Personal safety. Strap in! There are a couple of ways to get this done and the video runs thru several of them… If you walk away with one piece of advice, it’s if you’re hanging out of the helicopter – always be connected to it by at least two (2) connection points.
// Gear + settings. In the vid I lay out exactly what gear I take up with me (it includes the D4 and D800), but for the sake of driving some points home I’ll repeat… here two of my gear guides:
1) Remove the lens hoods – this will prevent excessive movement due to rotor downdraft as well as your forward motion, and 2) keep the gear well attached to yo and always pass or move gear with both hands when the door is off. 3)I always shoot manually, mid-ISO 400 range, and a minimum of 1000 shutter speed (I really like 1600 or greater). 4)Shoot with large volume cards to avoid having to change cards while hanging out of the bird.
….and many more in the video
Good luck – hope this helps those of you who are just getting into it, have a fantasy of flying that you’ll someday realize, or hell maybe even a seasoned pro will pick up a tip here and there. And as always if you’ve got other tips to share – please do.
Music by the one and only Big Chocolate.
Great tips. I would love to shoot out of a helicopter, you know, once I get over my fear of heights lol
Great video, but one thing – what do you do about video, your shutter speed would be really low (40-60 range) then i guess you get at lot of vibration??
How do you stabilize for shooting video at low shutter speeds?
/Meik
When shooting video from a heli you’re usually mounting the camera onto the front of it in a gyro of some sorts…
It’s much more complex than just hanging out of a plane and shooting (from what I’ve and seen and heard at least… Could be more straightforward, just haven’t seen that in my expierence)
Shutter speek in video is different that a still photo. For video you’re looking for someway to stabilize the whole camera system. gyros are one option. Support by bands attached to the heli or yourself is another way. Anyway that you would stabilize applies to in the air only x10 which probably a more expensive option. The go pros did well because an arm and pole with a camera on the end or on a headband is a good way to go because the body absorbs a lot of the small vibrations from the heli. There is also some stabilizing you can do in post but the more you do to stabilize the camera the better off you’ll be. I hope this was helpful.
Hey Meik, maybe I can weigh in here. Not sure why Chase is recommending “… mid-ISO 400 range, and a minimum of 1000 shutter speed (I really like 1600 or greater).” unless you really have to freeze all motion. I shoot from a helicopter quite a lot for my marine work and here are my settings: iso 100, shutter speed 1/60 and at times as low as 1/30. That keeps the boat I am shooting tag sharp and the water very smooth. It just makes it look good. Shooting boats at 1/1600 is crazy. And here is the secret: You use a gyro. I personally have the KS-6 and it’s perfect for for my 1ds M III, even with a 70-200. Even boat-boat, rough water. It’s just an amazing piece of equipment and I usually don’t shoot handheld without it. Here is where you can get one, I think they may rent them as well: http://www.ken-lab.com/ Works even better for video.
It takes all the vibration out and for video allows you to do smooth pans. Of course if you’re shooting a building or landscapes using a higher shutter speed doesn’t make as much of a difference.
Hope this helps,
Richard
PS: Chase, not sure if you’ll agree with me, but would love your input on the above. Better yet, lets shoot some boats together, I’ll be shooting in Florida Keys in a couple weeks 🙂
Perfect timing Jarvis! I am shooting a wedding in a couple weeks where we will be getting lifted to the top of a mountain for the ceremony and then afterwards up to the other side of the mountain for the bride and groom photos including shots from the helicopter of the bride and groom with the sweeping vistas in the background. Do you attach or suspend the camera from the chopper with rubber cords? Do those high shutter speeds eliminate the vibration in the helicopter? Thanks so much!
Andrew
Awesome guide, some great tips there.. I shoot very regularly from Helicopters and I’ve learned a few things from this. Thanks Chase!
Thanks once again for paying it forward Chase. You have given incredible amounts of information through you blog, videos, and webcasts to all. Your recent video on pack, prep, and travel with a GoPro was just what the Doc ordered. I was searching high and low for just the right setup, and yours works great for my situation.
Thanks for the tips, and keep them coming.
Lee
Thanks Chase!
Could you talk more about aerial video? I do aerial photography and looking in to doing aerial video projects, but having a some trouble getting streamlined with the footage and editing.
Love your videos!
Thanks!
Laura