Want To Take Aerial Photographs? A number of years ago I learned to fly, something I had wanted to do for many years. Growing up on a working dairy farm in mid-Michigan installed a love for working machinery, and the one that interested me the most was an airplane. Along the way I married my flight instructor, and later on he bought me a 1949 Piper J-3 Cub, the perfect airplane for taking aerial photographs. The way you enter this aircraft is through a set of panels, one of which goes down and the other goes up, leaving the aircraft with a large opening on the right side of the aircraft - perfect for taking photographs! So What Do You Need To Do First? The first thing you need to do is either learn how to fly, marry a pilot or work out an arrangement with a pilot who has an aircraft suitable for aerial photography. While the Piper J-3 Cub is ideal, and high-wing aircraft like a Cessna 172 Skyhawk will work very well. The key is to be able to have an aircraft that will fly slow enough to allow you to open a window and which will give you a clear, unobstructed view of your target. The next requirement is to have a day with the proper lighting and when the air is calm and not bumpy. It is hard enough to hold the camera steady with the wind slip whipping about the cabin, you don t need turbulence to contend with at the same time. What Equipment Do You Need? After a lot of hard work and time you finally have an arrangement to have an aircraft available for your aerial photography shoots. You know great aerial photographs sell well, whether of a farm, a business or a residence. But you need the right equipment to get those great photographs. I have found that the Canon Digital Rebel is an excellent choice  reliable, simple to use and easy to adjust while in the cramped space of an aircraft. Why not purchase a really easy to use digital camera that will give you all the functions you need to get those great aerial photographs. A Rebel sxi camera would be my first choice. So How Do You Get Great Aerial Photographs? One of the most important things to remember is to frame your photograph well. By this I mean place your subject squarely in the middle of the picture frame, not off to one side or the other. Also, as you look at your target make sure you choose an angle which has the least amount of background clutter to interfere with the focus of the picture. Because you are in an airplane you can get very unique views of your subject property, including interesting views straight down or even showing the context of the subject property within a certain geographic area. Be sure and take a lot of photographs and always make sure the lighting is from behind you, not in front of you. This will prevent flare from entering the lens and ruining an otherwise great photograph. Prepare To Photograph Your Subject! Many digital cameras allow you to make some adjustments to improve the quality of your photograph. For example, most digital cameras allow you to choose white balance manually, typically you can choose sunlight, cloudy day, fluorescent or incandescent light or even automatic white balance, so be sure to select the correct setting to match the outside light. Many will also allow you to choose the ISO setting of the camera, so set it to 400 to begin with. ISO indicates your digital camera s sensitivity to light. The higher the number, the less light is needed to take a photo that is correctly exposed (not too dark or too light). Next, choose aperture priority on your camera, and set the F stop to F 16 or F 22. Then look at the shutter information that your camera is telling you. If it says a shutter speed of 1/60 or 1/125 or greater, then you can hand hold the camera to take the picture. If it says the shutter speed is 1/30 or 1/15 of a second or less, then you will need to put your camera on a tripod to avoid blurring your picture. If you let your camera choose the F stop you will probably notice that the car is not in sharp focus from front to back when you see your picture on the computer. Now Take Some Pictures! Look at where the light is coming from and move the aircraft so the light is behind you. Frame the subject so that you can see several sides of the building at the same time, in addition to frontal and side views straight on. When photographing your subject to include more than just the front focus somewhere between the sides and gently squeeze the shutter while holding your breath. Then take your picture! Modern digital cameras usually display a histogram on the LCD on the back of your camera. As you look at the histogram you will see hills and valleys that look like a sine wave. Make sure that you have adjusted your camera so that these peaks and valleys are in the center of the histogram and not over to one side or the other. If they are off to one side it means that there are no pixels, or no image, there. To fix this problem change the exposure setting on your camera to either add or subtract exposure by increasing or decreasing the F stop settings by ½ or 1/3 stop increments as needed while retaking the picture and rechecking the histogram for proper pixel placement. Keep checking the histogram to fine tune your picture. How To Use Your Aerial Photographs Today most aerial photographers simply send someone to go door to door with prints already made up, and the cost of those photographs are usually several hundred dollars. These purchases become emotional, spur of the moment purchases, and once these sales are made it may be years before you will make additional sales to the same property owner. One thing you can do is differentiate yourself from your competitors. For example, offer to have one of the photographs printed on canvas. These prints on canvas make wonderful gifts, can add interest to home decorating and provide lasting memories for the generations to come.. Lastly, congratulate yourself for a job well done! I knew that you could do it! About The Author Betty A. Muscott is a successful child photographer who provides valuable tips and advice for young parents on taking photos of childern and how it can enrich their lives, how to createpersonalized photo gifts, tips on buying a good digital camera and how to decorate their home with pictures on canvas.                © 2007 by John Michael Enterprises, LLC