Aerial photographer: a new and growing profession!

Advantages and specifics of aerial photography, and advice from those who made it

It is no longer enough to say: "I'm a photographer."
Today, the less prohibitive costs of reflex cameras and some photographic equipment have turned photography as a hobby into a mass phenomenon, allowing many more people to become passionate about it and, over time and with a lot of study and sacrifice, including financial ones, to turn photography into a profession.

But this mass diffusion of photographic art and work undoubtedly brings greater competition, so you need to specialize and refine your skills in a specific field to stand out.

So, alongside the already well-known specializations of fashion photographers, advertising photographers, event photographers and documentary photographers, the specific role of aerial photographer is also emerging, better known by its English name aerial photographer.

Let's take a look together at some characteristics of this particular profession, with examples and advice from those who became famous thanks to this type of photography.

What are the advantages of specializing in aerial photography?

Beyond the interest and passion of each individual, working and specializing in aerial photography (and filming) has considerable advantages to consider:

• The possibility of having clients from cross-sector industries, from advertising agencies to construction companies, from the tourism sector to the sale of photo reportages.
• The possibility of creating an alternative and diversified portfolio and selling your shots directly from your own website (take a look: on the sites that sell photos online, commonly used by companies and individuals, aerial photos are few and almost all alike, mostly landscapes).
• Greater earning potential, also because clients who request this specific type of shot need it for complex projects and have more funds available to invest (just think of the film industry, which will follow in the wake of the next film directed by Ron Howard and based on Dan Brown's book, Inferno, whose main action scenes will be shot with a drone).

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What does a professional need to break into the field of aerial photography?

Of course, you need to study and have (and know how to use very well) the right equipment. A photographer specialized in aerial shooting must have:

• Familiarity with requesting special permits for aerial shooting (they will take care of everything, not the client).
• All the specific equipment needed for aerial photography, from telescopic poles to hot air balloons to drones (obviously you need to be recognized by ENAC in Italy and by all civil aviation authorities in each individual country).
• Good ability to promote yourself on the web, so knowing not only the platforms for a website and online portfolio but also social networks (especially visual ones) and SEO techniques.

You may also be interested in the article 5 tips for starting your own photography business

Some insights from those who made it.

London-based Jawson Hawker began shifting his focus as a photographer to the field of aerial photography in 1991. From then on, he never stopped and never looked back.
For those interested in this photographic specialty, we recommend taking his personal website as an example: few texts, many images, an easy-to-find store and intuitive, fast navigation.

Less skilled with websites, but decidedly unconventional in his technical choice, George Steinmetz deserves a mention, having taken a good part of his photos from a paraglider.

This gives his shots an additional dynamic quality in a field where he is already among the pioneers.

American Debbie Kinney Cruikshank won several international competitions before opening a rich and highly sought-after online gallery. A pilot and photographer, her project starts with her but does not remain individual: through an associative network of photographers, many of them her students, she has created a very rich database of evocative aerial images of the whole state of Oregon.

Get inspired too, become unique in your field!