How To Photograph Aircraft Through Fences Without Ruining The Shots

Shooting aircraft through fences is one of the most common everyday problems in aviation photography.

Airfields, viewing areas, airshows and perimeter spots often leave photographers working through mesh, railings or security fencing. It can be frustrating, but a fence does not always mean the shot is unusable!

Get the lens close to the fence

The closer your lens is to the fence, the easier it usually becomes to blur the fence out of the image. A long lens, wide aperture and close lens position can help the wire disappear enough that it no longer dominates the frame.

This works best when the fence is close to you and the aircraft is much further away. That distance difference helps throw the fence out of focus.

Use a smaller AF area

Autofocus can easily lock onto the fence, especially if you use a wide tracking area. Fence wire has strong contrast, and cameras love contrast.

For aviation photography through fencing, try using a smaller AF point or smaller zone. Place it directly on the aircraft, ideally on an area with good detail such as the cockpit, nose, titles or wing root.

If the camera keeps grabbing the fence, use back button focus or switch to manual focus once the aircraft distance is predictable.

Know when the fence cannot be beaten

Some fences are too dense, too bright, too dirty or too far from the lens to disappear cleanly. Double fencing is especially difficult because even if the first fence disappears, the second may still soften the image.

That is when the better decision may be to move, shoot tighter details through a gap, or wait for a cleaner angle.

Shooting the a fence is always going to be a headache, but there are certainly tricks you can use to soften the pain!

Inside COAP Online, we go deeper into practical aviation photography fieldcraft, including how to solve problems before the edit starts. The Merge post for this Tutorial Tuesday drills further into autofocus choices, aperture decisions and how to test whether a fence is beatable from your position. You can explore COAP Online with a free trial at www.coaponline.com.