GoPro and Drone Photography: Different Settings Compared

I am writing this blog post as a supplement to the book I recently released about drone photography.  In that book, I tried to consolidate every single tip, trick, and technique that I have learned while filming with my drones.  One thing that I left out was a section on the GoPro settings, what they do, and what I prefer to use.  So while I am updating the book, I wanted to do a blog post about it.   If you have already read my books, you know the general lesson here is that when you are shooting something like a landscape, you want to use the narrow setting while shooting something that is closer like a house or a surfer, you would want to use the wide setting.  I think the video does a better job of showing the difference between the two.  When watching, keep in mind that I was trying to fly the drone from roughly the spot (it was windy).  There is a big difference when flying FPV between wide and narrow, so make sure you practice a bit before heading out into the field (narrow is more challenging).

I also like to use the highest frame rate possible when shooting because it helps minimize  jello and allows for amazing slow motion.  Slow motion can also be a great editing tool if, for example, you only get a 1 second shot of something amazing before the prop or landing gear get thrown into the shot because of wind.   Utilizing slow motion, you can stretch out this 1 second to get a useful shot.  This is great when you are shooting dynamic, fast moving subjects in windy conditions!

If you found this useful, you might be interested in checking out my books on aerial photography.  As always, feel free to comment below or contact me for additional questions!