Six tips & tricks for high-speed aircraft images

Over the past decade or so, the advent of digital photography has made aviation photography much more accessible. It’s one of the fastest-growing genres of photography, with more photographers visiting airshows, airfields and airports every year.

We asked aircraft enthusiast Marc from the MPB pricing team, to share his tips and tricks for nailing that perfect plane picture every time. Keep reading to learn more and discover his work. 

Over to you, Marc.

Take steps to ensure ideal positioning 

This is one of the most important aspects of getting good aviation shots. Make sure you get your positioning correct. With most airshows, they’re likely to get very busy—so arrive early and get as close to the flight line or runway as possible. Some larger airshows will use tier seating, which can be beneficial for seeing over the crowds. But it’ll mean you’re further from the action. As the aircraft flies past, you want to be as central as possible to the flight line to capture the action. It’s your best chance of getting the sought-after 45-degree bank.

Prepare your shots in advance

Most air shows are held over a few days, with different displays on certain days and some static displays. If possible, try and attend the same show for multiple days—this reduces the risk of missing anything, allows you to scout properly and means you become familiar with the displays and their routines. Predicting the aircraft’s movements will improve your chances of nailing every shot.

Plan for the weather

Unfortunately, when it comes to weather and aviation photography, the photographer and the aviators want different things! Aircraft love sunny days without a cloud in the sky. For photography, an aircraft against a blue sky is pretty boring. So, it’s best to shoot when clouds are high and patchy—this allows the aircraft to do its display, but also for you to get some lovely cloud-speckled backgrounds. For military aircraft, dark clouds work best as they add an element of drama to your photos. As most airfields are normally located on plateaus, the weather can change quickly—so make sure you’re prepared for the worst.

Hand-hold with high shutter speeds

It can be quite a challenge to capture sharp images of aircraft travelling at 500mph! A tripod is going to be a hindrance in this situation, so hand-holding your camera is a must. While your arms might complain, tracking an aircraft with a tripod is almost impossible. To freeze a fast jet as it flies past, you’ll need a shutter speed above 1/2000.

For propeller planes and helicopters, however, a shutter speed of around 1/125 will allow the propellors to blur—it’ll give you a much more immersive image.

For planes flying low, or landing, it’s important to use a slower shutter speed and pan. If you match your pan with the speed of the plane, you’ll end up with a perfectly in-focus plane and a beautifully-blurred background. It’ll make your subject really pop.

Consider your composition

The positioning of the plane in the air is key. The underside of an aircraft shot against a bright blue sky isn’t very appealing. But a shot of a plane banking at 45 degrees, where you can see the cockpit, will work much better. If you have a nice moody cloud in the background, don’t crop in too tight—a wide image will add so much more. For more impact, it’s worth thinking about converting an image to monochrome.

If you don’t have any clouds, planes that use smoke as part of their display can be a godsend—especially on a crystal-clear day. This smoke can add artificial clouds, so make sure you take advantage of it!

Pack your kitbag with speedy shooters and zooms

It goes without saying that lanes are fast. Speed is key when considering a kit for aviation photography. Some planes can complete a barrel roll in under a second. So, you’ll greatly improve your chances of capturing it at a favourable angle if you shoot more frames per second. At a minimum, you need 8 frames per second but, the more the merrier.

Take a lot of shots. Some of the best images are captured when aircraft are doing fast manoeuvres, so taking as many photos as possible is a must to get that special shot.

In terms of lens choice, a lens with a focal length of over 300mm is desirable. A zoom lens—like a Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS or Sigma150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM—will give you a lot more flexibility, as you can adjust zoom as the aircraft move around during the display. If you’re at an airshow, it’s important to take a wide-angle lens to photograph the static displays.

Bear in mind you’ll need to handhold this kit all day, so you should find a balance between weight, quality and versatility.

Thanks, Marc! You can see more of Marc’s work on his Instagram @115quidcamera. If you're considering what the best camera for aviation photography is, check out our review of the Sony A1.