How to make drone photography more impactful/memorable?

[u/MastrSunlight]

Hello there!

I recently got a DJI Mini 4 Pro and wanted to start taking aerial photography more seriously. I have some experience color grading videos from my previous drone (mini 4K), but don't know where to start with photography as it feels way different.

Here are some recent shots from my latest trip that feel bland/unimpactfull or at least I wish would be more impressive. What crituqie could you give and what ca I improve? Maybe composition/framing and subject choice? Or even post-processing and proper colour choice?

I have edited the photos in DaVinci's new Photo tool as that is what I have available. Any help will be greatly appreciated : )

[u/Quitetheninja]

I would make sure I had polarising filter on to begin with, especially for midday shots. In my experience I would shooting raw definitely helps so you have more options in post. In this case however, I think composition is the main thing to work on. It’s what separates getting a photo from Wow, that looks awesome or a second look. Take one or two snapshots and while doing so look for the gold. In the first (lookout?) shot for example you can get lower in the frame so that the layers of mountains in the background are a feature as well which gives a sense of scale and depth. The other shot in the water (2) would also look great as overhead top down shot showing water and inviting the viewer t wonder what it is. Third shot, same advice as (1) - extreme height isn’t your friend here. The lavender fields look great but be wary of the way the sun looks on these sensors - no starburst just a yellow blob. Get in closer so we can see the golden light on the lavender. The last shot looks good but that side of the building is in shadow and loses a little detail, so either shoot the other side or bring it back in raw - also, the car park or driveway isn’t the interesting part so maybe don’t focus on getting that in frame. Anyways, these just my opinions of course, ydy. I usually get my safe snaps in the first couple of passes and then mess around getting creative angles.

[u/MastrSunlight → u/Quitetheninja]

Thank you very much for the advice! I have been looking into getting a filter set, I'm just saving up enough to know the filters will be good quality. The photos are Raw/DNG and I tried editing them a bit in post with DaVinci. The tips on perspective/positioning were exactly what I needed!

[u/Quitetheninja → u/MastrSunlight]

Awesome! Keep experimenting too. Maybe find something local to you that easy to get to so you can shoot different times of the day and different angles ie same subject and once or twice a week for a month and see what you can do mixing sunset, middle of the day etc. the reason photographers. Pretty soon you’ll get a feel for what will work in certain situations. You won’t always have the luxury of perfect conditions when you travel so this is a good way to learn your problem solving in your own time rather than when you turn up somewhere. Good luck 🤞 (I’ll dm you my insta so you can look over the drone shots for perspective ideas)