ON LOCATION
/ Illuminate landscapes with a drone
1 Choose a location
A lone tree makes for a strong, stark shape against a twilight sky. Flying a drone in low light means the obstacle avoidance capabilities are limited. So use an open spot where there’s less chance of clipping a tree branch or wires.
2 The drone
We’re using a DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter to light our scene; it’s one of the best consumer drones. Importantly, it’s capable of carrying two Lume Cube LEDS with ease – a task smaller, lighter drones would struggle with.
3 Light sources
Our light source is two Lume Cube LEDS. You could use any LED (or even a lightweight Speedlite) but the Lumes are a good choice as they’re very bright, they can be controlled via an app and there are dedicated mounts for drones.
4 Varying angles
We can light our scene from any angle, but we are restricted as we can’t pull the lights too far away from the scene or they’ll be too weak. A top-down angle to the light gives our landscape scene an otherworldly feel. Shooting in low light means that a tripod is essential. With an exposure time of 10 secs here, we can fly the drone around the scene to paint with light. We can also shoot several frames in alignment and then piece them together later. After the sun dips below the horizon the sky can often display intense colours, so we chose a westward view to capture them. The light fades quickly so you’ll need to shoot fast – especially if you intend to blend several frames.