Great video Steven thank you. I've been shooting with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro for 2 years now and I'm still amazed at what this little sensor can do. However, even in RAW it needs some help with extreme lighting conditions. I have mine set to shoot a bracketed series on each shot that can really help with shadows. Thank you again.
Use the “DJI GO 4” app and enable (AEB) auto exposure bracketing. I have mine set to a 3 shot series in 1-stop increments. If I’m not mistaken you can set it for 3-5 shots. Once you hit the photo button it will fire off 3-shots automatically. I’ve found this so useful I never change the AEB setting. I either use Lightroom to merge the three shots into HDR or export the 3 shots into a Photoshop layer stack where I manually mask in the brighter or darker frames. When I first got this drone I did a sharpness test and found the Hasselblad lens looses significant sharpness if stopped down smaller than f4.5. It’s like the pixels are smeared. So I purchased a set of polarizing ND filters that live on the lens unless I’m shootings early or late in the evening. If you’ve had disappointing results with sharpness, I highly recommend doing your own test and see if your sharpness improves at 4.5. Good luck and watch those power lines.
@@stevenbrookephotography no problem at all. This channel is such a valuable resource. I purchased your book sometime back and it stays on my desk. I printed it out, put it in a 3-ring binder with tabs to quickly find sections I refer to often. Can’t thank you enough for all you share.
I feel a bit reluctant to except the drone-thing. Those drone-shots seem to be everywhere. However, with Piranesi et alii you really made me think. Thank you! The roofline example at about min. 8:00 though reminds me of Vitruv: 'Because things don't appear the way they actually are the architect by means of reason and educated feeling has to do certain adjustments.' (I hope this translation from my german memory doesn't do too much injustice to the original.)
Thanks for your note, Friedhelf. I shared your apprehension about using a drone, thinking it was perhaps a gimmick that I really didn’t need except for the few conditions that I showed. However, I now come to think of it as just another lens. It helps me produce important points of view I could never have accomplished without it. And knowing in advance what it can do, I rarely have a project for which it has not proven useful.
Dutch architectural photographer Rob van Esch asked about the legal issues with using a drone. Yes, with heightened security and safety issues everywhere that definitely is an issue. To date, I have had no problems with any residential projects. Some hi-rise apartments were in the middle of heavily trafficked urban areas and no one stopped me. Were I to need a drone in a downtown area or near any banks, government facilities, military areas and the like I would definitely check for any regulations or restrictions and have my client do appropriate advance work. Some communities/cities do require you to register your equipment and/or pay a fee. So, are these hassles truly worth it for the photographic possibilities that a drone can offer? Absolutely.
Thanks for your note. If you are shooting on a tripod, which I highly encourage for all architectural photography, including that with a iPhone, then you should not have blurry photographs. Set the f/stop at f/11 or f/16, depending on your lens, and shoot whatever shutter speed is indicated by your meter, remembering to bracket on both sides of the mid-point. I recommend manual focus only , with live view and a loupe, to make certain that the front façade is in focus. And, I also recommend a cable shutter release. I never have found a need for ND filters. If I have extremes of contrast I make several exposures and layer them in post-production.
I'm practicing my drone in the extreme cold here... to take to Brazil. There's a lot of detail in baroque churches that I'm not capturing otherwise, I hope I can get something from within 40 or 50 meters.
I use a DJI Mavic Pro, which I purchased about two years ago. I ran it with an iPad, but now just use my iPhone. There are improved models (better battery life and better sensors/cameras) available and I recommend some research if you haven't purchased one, yet. Seeing actual RAW files may also be helpful in evaluating the equipment.
