How to Shoot Drone Panoramas

Before shooting begins, David reminds you of the regulations for flying a drone. Safety is always the first issue in drone panoramas. You will learn how to create two different types of drone panoramas. The first type is the grand landscape. To prepare for the shoot, you set up your drone screen to pano-mode, then adjust your ISO and aperture to accommodate the natural light.

Once your drone is in the air, you maneuver your framing to fit your chosen compositions. David’s camera captures nine exposures, then merges them automatically. With these panoramas, you can also make adjustments in post production. It’s important to emphasize composition, the foregrounds you choose, the perspective, and how you create leading lines. In other words, the traditional basics of technique.

The second type of panorama is what David calls the small scene, photographing subjects from a low perspective. As a subject, he chooses a pond surrounded by woods. There is little wind, which makes the aerial photograph possible. First, he shoots in standard panorama, the nine merged images. Second, he switches to a 180 degree format to narrow the pond composition and water reflection.

For your panoramas, you will learn to capture dramatic images through trial and error by shooting many sequences. Experiment with the various options within your drone menu. The main thing to keep in mind is you still need to follow the basics of creative composition in creating drone panoramas.

Join Outdoor Photography Guide’s professional photographer David Johnston for tips on
how to capture beautiful drone panoramas.