Eric Cheng - Aerial Photography and Videography Using Drones

Eric Cheng

You couldnt ask for a better field guide to this new frontier.

From the Foreword by Adam Savage, co-producer and co-host of Mythbusters on Discovery Channel

Aerial Photography and Videography Using Drones

Eric Cheng

Peachpit Press

Find us on the Web at www.peachpit.com

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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education
Copyright 2016 by Eric Cheng

Senior Editor: Karyn Johnson
Development Editor: Stephen Nathans-Kelley
Senior Production Editor: Lisa Braziel
Copyeditor: Kim Wimpsett
Proofreader: Liz Welch
Compositor: WolfsonDesign
Indexer: James Minkin
Interior Design: Mimi Heft
Cover Design: Mimi Heft
Cover Photo: Eric Cheng

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ISBN-13: 978-0-134-12277-9
ISBN-10: 0-134-12277-1

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

Essential reading for anyone curious about consumer quads, especially all my family and friends who cant stop asking about my funky flying camera.

Norman Chan, editor of Tested.com

... the ultimate guide for aerial imaging. From techniques, to demystifying gear, to understanding the regulatory environment, this is essential reading for new and experienced operators alike.

Gregory McNeal, JD/Ph.D., co-Founder of AirMap, Professor of Law and Public Policy at Pepperdine University, contributor to Forbes.com

Drones dramatically change the way we think about film and photography, allowing for the capture of completely new perspectives. Eric leads you down a path of getting to know this new language; its thrilling and beautiful.

Damian Kulash, Jr., lead singer of OK Go and music video director

Aerial photography has been overly complicated ever since cameras were first introduced to DIY drones. Eric delivers a much-needed introduction to give you the best possible start in the craft.

Austin Furey, marketing manager, Flite Test

ERIC CHENG is a technologist and award-winning photographer. Throughout his career, Eric has combined passions for photography, entrepreneurship, technology, and storytelling. His work as an image-maker has been featured at the Smithsonians Natural History Museum and in many media outlets, including Wired, Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Make, ABC, Good Morning America, CBS, CNN, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, and numerous news networks across the globe.

Caught between technical and creative pursuits, Eric has bachelors and masters degrees in computer science from Stanford University, where he also studied classical cello performance. He leads regular photography expeditions and workshops around the world and has given seminars and lectures internationally at events including TEDx, e.g., the Churchill Club, DEFCON, Photoshelter Luminance, Photographers@Google, CES, SXSW, AsiaD, Creative Mornings, NASA UTM, and others.

Eric was formerly Director of Aerial Imaging at DJI, the creators of the popular Phantom camera drone, and is on the advisory board of the U.S. Association of Unmanned Aerial Videographers (UAVUS), Drone World Expo (DWE), and UAViators Humanitarian UAV Network. He is a Field Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, and also serves as a mentor at Startupbootcamp.

Erics photography can be found at www.echengphoto.com. He publishes Wetpixel.com, the leading underwater photography community on the Web, and writes about his aerial imaging pursuits at skypixel.org.

Eric lives in San Mateo, California, with his wife, Pam, and son, Mako.

For most of my professional life Ive told stories of one kind or another for a living. For the last 13 years Ive co-hosted and co-executive produced the show Mythbusters on Discovery Channel. Were all equipment junkies on our crew; high-speed cameras, helicopters, GoPros and Blackmagic cameras, 3D, VR, underwater photographyyou name it, and weve tried it to help tell our stories. The funny thing is, every time I get together with Eric Cheng and we start talking about gear, I begin the conversation under the impression that our little show is on the bleeding edge, and invariably I find that Eric has a vast amount of previous experience with exactly the tech Ive only recently discovered.

Our second cameraman, Duncan, got interested in flying platforms for cameras a few years ago. He started with planes, but when he lost one in a river on a shoot in Utah he started investing in custom-built quadcopters and then octocopters. At what seemed like an incredibly opportune moment, Eric took his expertise over to DJI and supplied our crew with a couple of drones. Quite frankly, hes changed my life.

Holy cow, do I love aerial photography! As a producer, it provides me with a scope I could never afford with any other tech. Helicopters cost as much to rent for a day as a high-end, off-the-shelf unmanned aircraft system (UAS) costs. Moreover, these incredible pieces of technology can move through spaces a helicopter never could, and capture images that would be impossible to get with anything else. Its not just an aerial photography system. Its a crane. Its a dolly. Its my POV falling off a building into water. Its the most exciting development in storytelling Ive come across for the kind of shows I make.

As with any new technology, there are growing pains. People are already overusing UASs. I encounter at least four aerial shots from them in every reality show I see. Some of these shots stick out like sore thumbs. They say, Hey! Look at the cool piece of tech Im using to show you this house!

Of course, the goal is to make the tech invisible, to show the audience viewpoints and perspectives that enhance the story and draw viewers in, not remind them that they can buy a flying camera at Target next weekend. We need early adopters who can show people how to properly utilize the new toys, rather than simply show them off. We need aerial photographers who break new ground while remaining properly grounded in the essentials of the art.