Precautions for operating drone aerial photography

Abstract

UAV aerial photography has brought new perspectives and creative possibilities to the field of photography, but there are many things to pay attention to during operation. This article elaborates on the key points to pay attention to when operating drone aerial photography from multiple aspects, including pre-flight preparation, in-flight operation, shooting skills, safety and compliance with regulations, and post-flight maintenance. By deeply analyzing the importance and specific operation methods of each link, it aims to help drone aerial photography enthusiasts improve flight safety and shooting quality, and avoid accidents and shooting errors caused by negligence.

I. Introduction

With the continuous development of science and technology, drone aerial photography has gradually become a new favorite for photography enthusiasts and professional photographers. It can break through the perspective limitations of traditional photography, overlook the earth from the air, capture unique pictures, and bring a new visual experience to the audience. However, drone aerial photography is not a simple operation, which involves issues in flight safety, shooting skills, compliance with regulations, and other aspects. If these matters are not paid attention to, it may not only cause damage to the drone and shooting failure, but may even endanger public safety. Therefore, it is very important to understand and master the precautions for operating drone aerial photography.

II. Preparation before flight

(I) Equipment inspection

1. Integrity check: Before each flight, a comprehensive integrity check must be performed on the drone. This includes checking whether the aircraft itself has damage or cracks, whether the propeller is firmly installed, whether there is any damage or deformation, and whether the surface of the motor and propeller should be clean and free of foreign matter to ensure power output and balance during flight. At the same time, check whether the remote control, battery, memory card and other accessories are complete and functioning properly.
2. Power check: Sufficient power is a necessary condition for the smooth aerial photography of the drone. To ensure that the aircraft battery and remote control battery are fully charged, it is best to fully charge the aircraft smart battery before departure, and develop the habit of charging it in time after each flight, and prepare backup batteries to cope with long-term shooting or multiple shooting tasks. The battery of the remote control should not be ignored. It can be charged together with the aircraft battery after each flight to ensure that the battery is full when it is used next time, avoiding the embarrassing situation that the remote control is out of power during the flight, which leads to the drone losing control.
3. Accessory check: Check whether the Micro SD card is inserted into the card slot and the cover is tightly closed. It is recommended to use a high-speed memory card that meets the requirements to ensure the stability of video recording. At the same time, confirm that the protective film of the camera, visual system and infrared sensor system has been removed, and the aircraft’s visual, camera lens, infrared sensor, and fill light lenses are free of foreign matter, dirt or fingerprints, and are not blocked by the load on the fuselage or external accessories, so as to obtain a clear shooting picture.

(II) Site selection

1. Open and obstacle-free: It is crucial to choose an open, obstacle-free flying site. Try to stay away from people, buildings, high-voltage wires, trees, etc., and avoid flying in narrow spaces or indoors to prevent collision accidents. At the same time, pay attention to the flatness of the site, avoid taking off and landing on slopes or uneven ground to prevent the drone from tipping over and being damaged.
2. Avoid no-fly zones: Avoid no-fly zones when flying, such as areas around airports, military management areas, and key national institutions, where drones are strictly prohibited from entering. Violations of regulations will not only face penalties, but may also cause serious safety accidents. You can obtain accurate no-fly and restricted flight information by checking relevant documents issued by local government departments and the no-fly zone query tool on DJI’s official website.
3. Consider signal interference: You must also consider the signal transmission situation and avoid flying near signal interference sources, such as large metal objects, radio towers, etc., to ensure the stability of the signal between the remote control and the aircraft.

(III) Understanding of regulations

1. Real-name registration: According to the regulations of the Civil Aviation Administration, after obtaining a drone, you need to go to the drone real-name registration system for real-name registration. The civil aviation and public security departments will verify the submitted information. If the information is found to be false, the civil aviation management department will order it to be corrected and impose a fine.
2. Pilot license: According to the “Civil Drone Pilot Management Regulations”, the pilot must hold a drone pilot license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration to operate a drone with an empty weight of more than 4 kilograms and a take-off weight of more than 7 kilograms. In addition, when the flight radius of the drone exceeds 500 meters or the flight altitude exceeds 120 meters, the pilot must also hold a drone pilot license.
3. Flight declaration: When there are specific circumstances for flight activities, an application for flight activities should be submitted. If you need to fly within the controlled airspace, you must submit a flight application to the air traffic control agency of the corresponding flight control zone in advance, and you can fly only after obtaining permission. The airspace outside the controlled airspace is suitable for micro and light drones, and there is no need to submit a flight application.

(IV) Weather and time selection

1. Weather conditions: Weather conditions have an important impact on aerial photography effects and flight safety. Avoid flying in severe weather conditions such as strong winds (wind speed 12 meters/second and above), rain, snow, lightning, fog, etc. These weather conditions may cause the aircraft to lose control, the shooting picture is blurred, and the signal is interrupted.
2. Time selection: The light conditions vary at different times and weather conditions. You must be good at using light reasonably to take ideal pictures. For example, in the early morning or evening, which is often called the “golden hour”, the sun is at a low angle, the light is soft and the colors are rich. At this time, shooting natural scenery, urban buildings and other subjects can add a unique charm to the picture, making the scenery dyed with a layer of golden brilliance, and the photos look more artistic. At the same time, avoid the noon top light to avoid the situation of “death exposure”.

(V) Plan the flight route and shooting content

1. Route planning: Understand the topography and landforms of the flight area, the distribution of surrounding obstacles, etc. in advance through tools such as satellite maps, use DJI flight software, Lizhi flight software, etc., to carry out manual or intelligent route planning, and reasonably arrange the take-off and landing points, as well as flight altitude, speed and other parameters to ensure that the flight trajectory can meet the shooting requirements and maximize the flight safety, avoiding accidents such as hitting obstacles or entering signal blind spots.
2. Content planning: Clarify the shooting theme and content, and choose the appropriate shooting angle and technique according to the shooting needs. You can check out the location in advance, mark landmark buildings, river directions, mountain outlines, etc., make a flight “script”, plan where to take off, what angles to shoot, how to transition, etc., just like referring to the storyboard thinking of “Aerial Photography of China”, to improve shooting efficiency and quality.

III. Operations in flight

(I) Take-off and landing

1. Preparation before take-off: Before take-off, make sure that the remote control and the aircraft are equipped with memory cards, and the batteries are installed in place and have sufficient power. Choose clear and sunny weather, choose a good shooting location, and make sure that the shooting location is flyable. When you arrive at the destination, check the location and visually check whether there are any power lines, high-voltage lines, and interference signal towers, large steel bars, magnets, etc. around. Check what obstacles are around and how to avoid them. The take-off point should be away from the power lines. Find an open place for take-off and landing. It is safest to land 0.5-2 meters away from the H return point to ensure that there is an open space next to it. At the same time, the remote control and the aircraft should be linked to ensure that they can communicate and control normally.
2. Take-off operation: Hold the remote control correctly with both hands, press the thumb on the top of the joystick, and do not leave the joystick during the flight. Place the index finger on the button and dial on the top of the remote control, and hold the other fingers firmly on the back of the remote control. When taking off manually, use the eight-shaped stick to unlock the motor. The specific method is to tilt the left and right joysticks 45 degrees inward or outward to the limit area at the same time, start the drone motor, slowly return the left and right joysticks to the center, push the left joystick up about one-third of the stick, and watch the drone take off to a height of more than 2m and hover. Confirm that it is higher than the head of a person and prepare for operation. When taking off automatically, after clicking the automatic take-off button on the left side of the screen, press and hold the take-off button in the center of the screen for about 3 seconds, the drone will automatically take off to a height of about 1.2 meters, then push the left joystick up about one-third of the stick, and watch the drone fly to a height above the head and hover, ready for operation.
3. Landing operation: Slowly lower the throttle lever, and when the drone drops to about 1 meter above the ground, turn off the throttle, and the drone can land smoothly. Try not to try to land on the roof when landing, and never catch the drone with your hands.

(II) Flight Control

1. Remote Control Operation: The remote control generally has four control sticks, which control the lifting, forward and backward, left and right, and yaw of the drone. You should be familiar with the functions of each button and joystick on the remote control, and master the basic operations of the aircraft, such as take-off, landing, ascending, descending, forward, backward, left and right translation, rotation, etc. At the same time, according to personal habits and shooting needs, set the joystick mode of the remote control, such as American hand, Japanese hand or Chinese hand.
2. Signal Monitoring: Maintaining a good signal during the flight is the key to the stable flight of the drone and the successful completion of the aerial photography mission. When flying, the drone mainly relies on GPS and other signals to determine its own position, maintain its flight attitude, and achieve precise flight routes, so you should always pay attention to the signal strength. For example, before taking off, you should check the signal strength displayed on the remote control. If the signal is weak, check whether there are interference sources nearby, such as routers, signal transmission towers, high-voltage wires, and large metal objects nearby. These may affect signal transmission. You should try to choose a place away from these interference factors to take off. If you encounter emergencies such as signal loss during the flight, don’t panic. First, check the direction of the remote control antenna, and point the transmitting surface of the antenna (that is, the side of the antenna) toward the drone to see if the signal can be restored. At the same time, check whether there is any object blocking the remote control and the drone. If there is, adjust your standing position in time to ensure that the remote control signal can be effectively transmitted. If you cannot move, distinguish whether the image transmission signal is lost or the remote control signal is lost. In most cases, the image transmission signal is lost first. At this time, the drone can still be operated. You can try to make the drone fly higher or closer to the remote controller to regain the image transmission signal.