I have been busy writing a new website called Aerial Photography Northern Ireland - it is designed to educate people about the various types of aerial photography that are available in Northern Ireland.
It describes the various types and more importantly the benefits and disadvantages of each system. Traditionally in Northern Ireland, the main type of Aerial Photography available has been using full size aircraft, now with the introduction of other various types available, namely by Elevated Aspects Aerial Photography, people have choice.
Arguably the person who is commissioning the aerial photo wants to choose the appropriate type. For example, a construction company will want a close up shot of a warehouse they built, so a low level aerial photo would be best. Using this method results in a photograph that shows not only the roof but also the walls. Conventional aerial photography from a plane normally results in the roof of building taking up most of the photograph.
The Law And Photography From The Air
Many of the methods used to take such aerial photos are governed by rules and regulations imposed and policed by the Civila Aviation Authority. For instance an aircraft that is used to take aerial pictures MUST be flown by a pilot who holds a commercial licence, if the photos are for commercial gain. It is illegal for a pilot who holds a private pilots licence to take aerial photographs that are for for commercial purposes.
Likewise an aircraft used for aerial photography must have two people on board, the commercial pilot and the photographer. It is illegal for a pilot to take commercial photographs whilst flying an aircraft.
Costs of Aerial Photography
The Aerial Photography Northern Ireland website also has an important section on costs and how to roughly calculate the cost of an aerial photograph.
As you can see from the above paragraph, it takes two people to take aerial photographs, the pilot and the photographer plus the hire of the aircraft and the photographers time in post processing of the photos.
For further information visit the website which will be officially launched at the end of August 2008.