GREAT, EASY DRONE SHOTS to get TODAY to up your game, man.
These are better explained visually if you really can’t stand to watch the Video.
Having a drone gives you the big advantage of not being limited by the ground. THAT’S IT.
Notice I didn’t say the big advantage is flying as high as a satellite and orbiting the Earth. Just because you can go really high, really far, really fast doesn’t mean you should.
Most of my best shots are close to the subject and close to the ground, and most of my go-to shots that are easy calls to make with no planning are not difficult to do at all. Just be willing to do a retake if you jerk the gimbal quickly by accident.
Here are 5 (ish) shots that you can try today with little effort and still look fantastic.
Cinematic Drone Shot #1:
Low, Fast, and Over-Water
You’ll have to hover about 5 feet over the water, anything lower and the sensor might see it as a potential collision and stop the drone mid-flight.
Cinematic Drone Shot #2:
Just Straight Down
You’ll have to hover about 5 feet over the water, anything lower and the sensor might see it as a potential collision and stop the drone mid-flight.
Notice this shot is called “Just Straight Down” not “Kind of Down.” That means point the gimbal 100% down toward the Earth. Anything tall, like these buildings in my gif, give great perspective.
Even better if you have something symmetrical below like a road dividing the screen or an option for a cropped field of view, like on the Mavic 2 Pro. The small zoom in will look like a long lens and show any changes in height on the surface (like the building or trees) really well.
Cinematic Drone Shot #3:
Right Down the Line
Step 1: Find Line
Step 2: Follow Line
the end
Use a road, a jetty, a giant uncooked spaghetti – anything straight that can divide the frame evenly. If you want to step this one up a little bit, fly into the sunset or tilt the gimbal up while flying at a continuous speed. It may take a hundred feet to make sure you’re direction isn’t a little wonky.
Cinematic Drone Shot #3.5:
jk Kinda-Down is a shot too
Works for car dealerships, houses, solar farms. Anything with lots of repetition. If there are trees on a hill or rows of identical buildings it will show off the number and feel like even more are coming.
Cinematic Drone Shot #4:
Eagle on the Mountain
This one can be tricky because you have to perfectly match the yaw of the drone (how its body rotates clockwise/counterclockwise) with the flight speed and direction. It’s pretty tricky and basically impossible with the (infuriating) built-in settings that come default in all DJI drones.
Make sure your settings are all super cushy and padded so all movements are eased without any jerking. This is actually my biggest secret for getting good shots so just copy my settings from the course if you want it to look this smooth.
Cinematic Drone Shot #5:
Low Pass with Lots of Action Below
This is like kinda-down but not so high. This one can be slow if there is a LOT of action below, like a volcano going off or a pack of lions chasing a herd of water buffalo. Just try to position it as if the background is what you want to focus on, like its a backdrop that won’t change at all, and let the cool stuff pass beneath the drone like you don’t even care about it. This can be waves splashing and whatnot.
There is a HUGE urge to point AT THE ACTION while you’re flying.
DON’T GIVE IN.
Commit to your shot and you will be so happy after you look at the footage and see that it is mature and steady, instead of reactionary and jerky. You’ll film 20 seconds but have 10 usable seconds this way instead of two 3-second shots.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
These should be easy enough to try without tons of controller function at the same time.
You only have one or two things to worry about: Direction (forward/back/left/right) and
Yaw (left to right pivot like while you’re camera is following the house on the hill.)
This makes most of these shots super easy and they still look great so long as you are patient and willing to fly back into
The real trick to getting all these shots to work way more easily and professional looking, is to have the gimbal and drone action set to a soft, relaxed setting on everything. I show you how to do this right here in the post about maximizing your drones potential through its action:
And one just for fun:
Alex Harris
Licensed Part 107 Pilot
Videography Instructor at Drone Launch Academy
