Battery Life:
The Unspoken Tyrant: Prepare for the emotional rollercoaster of watching your battery percentage plummet faster than your hopes on a windy day.
It's highly recommend having a few spare batteries (I have at least 3 at all times) as well as multiple memory cards so you never run out of space.
My top tip: every time you change a battery, change your memory card too – JUST IN CASE anything were to happen to your drone on your next flight, you at LEAST have your earlier photos and videos back safe in your bag.
Crashing Gracefully (or at Least Not On Camera):
Because every master drone pilot was once a clumsy apprentice who bought a second drone within a week.
For safe flights:
Take a moment to check what is around you and your drone. LOOK ABOVE YOUR HEAD AND SIDE TIO]from where the drone is taking off. Note any branches/trees/wires/buildings/etc. Once in the air, KNOW where your drone is in relation to everything around it and identify potential crash hazards so you can avoid them.
Take a moment to update and set your return to home settings: what height it should return to home at (change this depending on obstacles in your current area and for wind speeds), and WHEN it should return to home (eg: if your drone gets disconnected from your controller).
Start taking photographs on auto mode so you can focus on flying first:
For your early flights, leave the drone on “auto” photo mode (instead of “pro”) so you can focus on flying (and not crashing), but you can still take photos as you go. But don’t worry – auto mode doesn’t mean you’re locked down with no controls.
On auto mode, play with + or – EV to get the exposure right (shifting to – EV will darken the shot and + will lighten the shot).
If you want, turn on the histogram and/or overexposure warning so you know when highlights are getting blown.
Shoot in RAW file format:
If you haven’t tried it yet, you really should. RAW shots contain a lot more data than standard jpegs and will give you a LOT more flexibility in post-processing…and even if you currently don’t do much post-processing, you might in the future. If so, those RAW files will be ready and waiting!
Avoid getting tunnel vision!:
Don’t get stuck on just ONE composition and lose battery when you could have taken even more shots. Make sure to turn your drone 180 degrees (fully around) at LEAST once
Experiment with different heights to capture unique perspectives and compositions.
Adjust your camera settings and angles to avoid propeller shadows and motion blur.
The best drone gear for travel:
Once you’ve got your drone and controller, there are a few drone accessories to recomend:
A compact drone travel bag, and having a multi-port battery charger saves you the time and effort of individually charging each battery.
For better photography, invest in neutral density filters that allow you to take photos on bright days, and a circular polarizer filter that make midday- and water-drone photos pop.
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