Aviation Photography Blogs

So you’ve spent an evening at a night shoot, the shots look great on the back of the camera, and then you open them at home and they're a stop or two darker than you remember. It happens to us all! 

The aircraft is buried in shadow, and when you lift it in Lightroom the noise comes up with it.

You might recognise this one…

You pick out your favourite shots from an airshow, put them side by side, and they look like they came from three different days. One sky is deep blue, the next is closer to cyan, and the grey jet that looked neutral in one shot has a purple tinge in the next.

Each on...

You may have seen it yourself… Near the end of an edit there's often a point where the colour looks great to you, but slightly odd to everyone else. Sound familiar?

You've been looking at the same image for forty minutes. Your eyes have got used to it, the sky that looked right at the start now ...

When people talk about movement in aviation photography, the conversation usually goes straight to shutter speed. 

1/60th for a prop, 1/125th for a pan, and how low you can go before the aircraft turns soft and the shot is in the bin! 

It’s important to think about this because when you slow th...

Symmetry is one of the strongest composition tools in aviation photography. It can make an image feel artistic, powerful, organised and deliberate, especially when the aircraft itself has strong balanced shapes.

Aircraft naturally suit symmetry. Nose-on views, wings, propellers, rotor discs, intake...

Diagonals are one of the best ways to add energy to aviation photography. Aircraft are full of strong shapes and lines, and many of them naturally create angled lines through the image. Wings, noses, tails, smoke trails, rotor discs, runway markings and shadows can all help guide the viewer’s eye. 

Leading lines are one of the most useful composition tools in aviation photography, especially around airfields where strong shapes and lines are everywhere.

Taxiways, runway edges, painted markings, fences, hangar doors, aircraft wings, shadows and rows of runway lights can all help guide the v...

Avoiding Halos In Aviation Photography Editing

Halos are one of the most common editing problems in aviation photography. They usually appear as bright or dark outlines around the aircraft, especially along wings, tailplanes, fins, canopies, aerials and prop discs.

They are easy to create and easy...

Dust spots are a common issue in aviation photography because aircraft are often photographed against plain skies.

Blue sky, grey cloud, and smooth sunsets can reveal sensor dust all too easily. These marks may be subtle at first, but editing without checking closely can make them even more obvious...

Harsh midday sun is one of the most common lighting problems in aviation photography.

Airshows, fly-ins and airport visits often happen when the light is high, bright and contrasty. The aircraft may be worth photographing, but the conditions can produce blown highlights, dark undersides and flat-lo...

Aircraft taxi shots are a major part of aviation photography, especially at airshows, airports, arrivals days and ramp events.

They can look simple because the subject is moving slowly, but that is also why small details become more noticeable. The difference between an average taxi shot and a stro...

Autofocus is one of the biggest advantages of modern aviation photography, but it still needs guidance.

At airshows, the subject moves quickly and the background can change every second. A jet may be against clean sky one moment, then trees, smoke, flags or another aircraft the next. If your AF are...