As we enter the full holiday season here in the UK many people will be looking forward to heading overseas for their summer break. With prices for home-based holidays skyrocketing, it is often cheaper to fly abroad than to book somewhere in the UK for a one or two-week holiday. For the children and grandchildren being able to travel on an aeroplane simply adds to the excitement. Over the last few years with the aid of the smartphone taking photographs on board the plane, especially before take-off, has become very popular.
The best way to take photographs on board an aeroplane
Where you are sat on the aeroplane has a big impact on the type of photographs you will be able to take. It probably goes without saying that a window seat is by far the best option for the majority of people who are looking to take photographs while on board an aeroplane. If you have been able to book a window seat and are ahead of the wing you will be able to take landscape photos. If you are situated behind the wing, you will be able to take photos of the engine.
It is advisable not to take a photograph directly over the engine of the plane. This is because it can create blur due to heat waves.
Before taking any photos and prior to the plane taking off it is a good idea to gently clean with a soft cloth the inner window. There may well be smudges and fingerprints on the window and we most certainly do not want these to appear on our shots.
The next step is to ensure that you have turned off the flash as this would only reflect off the window and ruin the shot.
With regards to settings, it is advisable to use RAW Format as RAW files enable you to have more control when it comes to editing. This can be especially important when taking photographs in tricky light conditions. The aircraft travels at an extremely fast speed and there are a lot of vibrations that occur. For these reasons, it is best to use a fast shutter speed. And finally in relation to settings if your camera or phone has an image stabilisation mode it is worth turning it on as aeroplane journeys are rarely smooth.
Once we are ready to start taking those all-important photos one of the next things to consider are all the internal reflections from the cabin lights. A simple way to block these out is to cup your hand around your phone/lens. An alternative to this is to use a lens hood.
It is then a case of getting your camera or smartphone as close to the window as possible and then pressing right up to the glass as this helps to cut out reflections.
After taking plenty of photos you are likely to find that you have several incredible shots. These could be printed and framed to create a stunning photo collage. This is something that you could keep for yourself as a reminder of the holiday or is something you could give as a gift to the other people who went on the trip with you.