Aerial photography is a captivating and efficient way to showcase a client's project, landscapes, or large-scale developments. In a recent shoot, I was commissioned to photograph 15-20 locations around Hong Kong. These varied from major highways, Happy Valley racecourse, residential properties in Kennedy Town, container ports, Tsing Ma Bridge, and then over to Sheko Beach with a final hovering around Shatin.
Working from a helicopter is both exhilarating and challenging, it requires great communication and teamwork, with many variables being taken into consideration. The team at Hong Kong Heli services were outstanding. With an experienced pilot, we managed to rise high in the air to photograph just in time, given the weather condition that day.
I hope you enjoy the images and the tips below!
Happy Valley Racecourse nestled between Hong Kong’s famous sky-scrapers.
A sea of concrete, Hong Kong’s Central district
Skyscrapers jammed into any free land
Admirality, a well known business district in the heart of Hong Kong
Victoria Peak, the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island
Sheung Wan, a neighbourhood not far from Central.
International Finance Centre (IFC) towers over Central Hong Kong
Happy Valley Racecourse, a rare view.
Stonecutters bridge towers over the Hong Kong Container terminal
Hong Kong Container terminal aerial view
Full load, containers waiting to be loaded and shipped
Stonecutters Bridge, entry to the Hong Kong Container port
Bridges connecting highways to the Airport
Can you believe this is Hong Kong!
Sheko Golf Club, surrounded by Hong Kong’s nature
Big Wave Bay, a popular surfing spot
Shatin, home to the Shatin racecourse and HK Sports Institute situated in the New Territories
Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong
A few tips for anyone who is looking to photograph from a helicopter.
Doors off is a must to get the angles you need and to shoot with an unrestricted view. Harnessed in you can slide around in your seat, lean out and feel the wind rush beneath you.
Take two cameras, a zoom lens and a wide. My gear, 2 x Sony a7r4 bodies, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8, Sony 16-35mm f/4, spare Sony a9 body, and a 24-70 f/2.8. Some flights will allow you to change lenses once the door is closed, others won’t. Make sure your camera is anchored to you with camera straps.
Shutter speeds, keep them high, a minimum 1/1000 of a second, this will ensure everything stays sharp, Aperture I ranged between 2.8 - 5.6, will depend on the weather and available light. ISO keep on auto, if the weather is changing a lot, then you may need to keep adjusting it accordingly.
Shoot in RAW, this gives you more flexibility to edit your images. White balance on Auto.
Remove all lens hoods and anything else that may come off, safety is the most important thing!
Clothing, dress to the weather conditions, only take what you need. It’s a cramped environment you don’t want to be getting tangled up in the headset, camera straps, inflatable life vest etc. Before take-off ensure your gear is sorted and easily accessible. In colder climates, a beanie and gloves are a must, the wind is a killer!
Time of flight, if you can choose. Early morning or late afternoon, this is generally the best light, you will have nice contrast and shadows from buildings. Shooting an hour before Sunset would be my go to time, we can’t always have the perfect weather though!
Plan your route, we spent 1 hour before the flight with the pilot to ensure we were all on the same page. The actual planning for this job took several weeks. Allow a little extra time for the shoot (if you can) things happen and sometimes you will need more time to get the shot!
Photograph inside the helicopter and whoever you are up in the air with, these are great memories to have and give a great perspective.
Memory cards, have at least a 32GB or 64GB, the last thing you want to be doing is fussing around changing cards and missing shots! I always record to two cards to ensure the footage is saved twice.
There are obviously a lot more tips and tricks but I hope this gives you a good look into what I did and experienced during one of my shoots. If you get the chance in Hong Kong to take a flight, do it! That bird’s eye view is something very special and gives you such a different perspective of the city we live in.
Behind the scenes, Alex filming video Christiaan on photography over the Happy Valley Racecourse
Flight plan and gear ready, 2 x Sony a7r4, two go pros for filming behind the scenes in cabin footage.
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