Drone photography 2021: a journey from high above
Last updated: January 6, 2021

The time of traditional photography is (almost) over. Technology has taken photography to the next level so that we can see things from a very different perspective. How did a little flying camera add so much value to our world?

Drone photography is super hot in 2021.

Dive in with us and you’ll discover Wonderland.

🌎 🌍 🌏

We here at TechACake.com decided to explore the topic and provide our readers with all they need to know about making pictures with drones. Those flying machines gave us a unique perspective and we simply can’t wait to share our findings with you.

We felt inspired by the endless possibilities of drone photography and we’ll provide you with plenty of links to help you up with your research.

In this article we’ll:

Show you plenty of amazing examples of drone photography.
Discuss drone photos on Instagram as well as the best hashtags for drone photography.
Share helpful links with you.
Answer different drone-related questions you might not even know you had.

From now on, instead of looking up in order to see the tree tops, we’ll look down and see the whole park. So to speak.

Today we go on a journey far far above (well, drones are allowed to fly not more than 400 feet up, but we’ll talk about that in a minute).

Photo © Instagram / boyanoo

Yes, with drones the power of images has gone to the next level. A bold visual statement like this can take your breath away. And gain popularity in social media, of course.

Drone photos 2021

When you use a drone for shooting images you get a totally DIFFERENT view.

It goes like this:

The one controlling the drone stands on the ground with the controller connected to the smartphone and basically sees everything the drone has to show them on the screen. Several years ago such things existed only in movies (shot from helicopters).

Today you don’t need to buy a helicopter so you can make awesome images from the sky. Drones are affordable and you can find them basically in every tech store. So, without further ado let’s get straight to the point:

What is so special about drone photos?

Accessibility: Every person with a drone can make photos or videos from the sky.
Distinctiveness: Produce unique footage that has never been seen before.
Location: explore landscapes that have received little to no attention from photographers before.

In a time when every person has a camera in their pocket an innovation in photography is a HUGE deal. In fact, most of the award-winning pictures nowadays are taken by drones.

You can shoot all kinds of images from the sky and show the world an entirely different perspective. They are a bit abstract and you can do some extra editing so that the image is sharp and the contrast is just how you imagined it. (Before and after drone photos might be helpful if you are a beginner drone photographer.)

People have started to hire drone photographers for business. Until quite recently the only way to hire an aerial photographer was if you owned or rented a helicopter. That’s why aerial images were expensive and not easily obtainable.

Today however, this is not an issue anymore. Many people have started sending their personal drone up there and taking amateur or professional drone photos. Those images received a warm welcome on social media and on YouTube. And with good reason!

Drone landscape photography requires a lot of preparation and

Speaking of altitudes:

How high can drones fly?

400 feet (0.12 kilometers). A sUAS (Small Unmanned Aircraft System) is allowed to fly at no more than 400 feet. If you’re asking yourself WHY? Well, at that height the drone is saf800ely away from helicopters and airplanes.

Travelling with your drone might bring you the extra stuff you need for your private adventure. Make sure you have packed all the gadgets and chargers and have an awesome time!

Drone videos 2021: a tour over our amazing earth

If you want to kill a couple of hours with something that’s both entertaining and inspiring - you can explore those videos taken with drones on YouTube. How awesome is that you can see the landscape of an island from above?

Drone videography is gaining momentum and let me tell you:

Photographers all over the world are shooting from the sky with their drones. And we get to see how truly amazing our planet is. Enjoy the freedom of flying far above and beyond - this is one of the best features of drone cameras.

Think about it:

Nowadays, with the COVID-19 lockdown and everything, you can enjoy videos from all over the world and have some of that Wanderlust satisfied. Why not try drone videos and have a flight over Iceland for example?

When it comes to creating epic drone videos — there’s literally no limit. When those guys who shoot videos with drones travel, they make a research beforehand and make a list of places they will shoot. On Google Earth they explore locations and if they see a landmark that is worth the shot, (pun intended), they go for it.

Off-road travel is what every drone photographer needs to be prepared for in order to make a spectacular footage. Pre-planning the shots is essential for every drone photographer, because the battery life of the drones is still pretty limited — around 30 minutes.

Can you shoot HD videos with drone cameras?

Oh, yes. You can enjoy HD video quality with the 4K technology we’ll cover in a minute. The DJI FPV goggles are one of the newest inventions in the field — it allows the person controlling the drone to experience first-handedly the footage the drone shoots. In reality it’s even more awesome than it sounds. It’s a completely new flying experience!

Photographers and amateurs all over the world send their little flying machines out there and produce quality content for the public.

Best drone photographs 2021

To the air we turn our eyes and see…

… a drone.

Drone aerial photography is making huge steps forward every year. It took us some time to figure out exactly how much the world is going to change thanks to drones when they started selling those little flying machines in the beginning. However, many people nowadays have already discovered the magic behind this tech gadget and we’re super excited about it.

Now:

What are the uses of drone photography?

Today, photographers all over the world are flying their cameras in the sky and taking amazing photos that make us hold our breaths. Aerial photography has found its way into the world of science. It is used in:

Cartography
Archaeology
Urban planning
Environmental studies
Military purposes

Let’s not forget that many people nowadays make drone photo shoots of their weddings. It’s trendy in 2021.

Now:

Some images taken with drone cameras are extremely hard to get in normal conditions. Sending your drone at a very high point and shooting videos or photos takes a certain talent. However, more and more people nowadays are digging drone footage and we believe we’ll get even more in that field in the years to come.

We chose to show you the best of the best of drone photographs today. You will find them all over the article because we chose not to cluster them all at one place.

Maybe this is a great time to say that we recommend all the Instagram users whose photos we shared with you today. (We found so many awesome images that it was super difficult to select the crème de la crème but it was worth it.)

In case you are wondering:

Are there many different types of drone photos?

Let’s see.

Types of drone images:

Top down shots - 90° shots, straight down from the camera to the ground
Horizontal shots - imagine a video of a drone following a moving car in front of it. This is Horizontal.
45° shots - allows you to shoot in a great distance and you get a lot of depth

Experimenting with different shots and different perspectives is one of the main features that gets the creative juices flowing with drone photography.

You don’t need to have the best drone for photography in order to shoot some pretty awesome images. At least all the experts say so. Speaking of experts…

Let’s see what drone technology has to offer in 2021:

4K Technology: 2021 from the sky

Let’s go straight to the point:

What is 4K?

It’s a 4,000 pixel horizontal display resolution. It’s used in digital cinema production. In other words, that’s any horizontal resolution with a pixel count of 4,000 that’s used in video production.

4K cameras definitely cost a lot more than regular drone cameras. In 2021, the best drones for photography have 4K cameras though. Some of them are even equipped with 8K cameras nowadays…

8K is (obviously) a horizontal resolution with 8,000 pixels. Now, is there a HUGE difference between the two? Absolutely. Let’s have a look:

Water-proof, easy to carry, subject tracking, interchangeable lens system

Regardless if you are a professional photographer or an amateur, you’ll need some help when choosing your first or next drone. We made a checklist for you:

How to choose the best drone for me?

What am I going to use the drone for - 4K videos or still images?
How much am I willing to spend?
Am I looking for a high-end or a low-budget drone?
How much flying time am I looking for?
How much battery life do I expect the drone to have?
What kind of camera do I want?
4K or 8K camera?
Modern or classic design?
Easily portable or large-sized?
Waterproof or not?
Audio-sync recording option - yes or no?
Omnidirectional sensors - yes or no?
Optical zoom - yes or no?

Now you have a great starting point.

Enjoy!

Drone selfies 2021

Selfie drones are hot in 2021!

That’s right. You can take selfies with drones too.

What is a drone selfie?

A drone selfie is an image taken from above that includes the photographer. A selfie drone is controlled remotely and basically you can make a selfie everywhere.

Straight top down views are amazing, aren’t they?

If you’re into selfies and you’re looking for a way to make them even more spectacular but you don’t know how, consider a selfie drone. You can get a mini drone for as much as $25. Or maybe something more expensive as a mini selfie pocket drone for about $125. Of course, if you’re serious about it and you’re willing to take things to the next level - you might want to consider a high-end selfie flying camera for $499.

Have fun taking drone selfies, guys!

And speaking of fun, we just can’t stay away from:

Drone photography on Instagram

If you want to showcase your drone photos, one of the best places to do it online is, of course, on Instagram. And if you’re just looking for the best photos or videos made by drones, Instagram is also the place to be. There is so much going on there.

If you haven’t searched for:

#dronephotography

Now is the time. Trust me!

We’ll provide you with a list that will cover you in the beginning. Here we go:

Best Instagram hashtags for drone photography:

#dronestagram
#droneshots
#aerialphotography
#droneoftheday

Check them out, guys. It’s a great feeling to find something completely new to you on Instagram, isn’t it?

Have fun!

Now, if you’re looking for some amazing drone photographers to follow, we made a great little selection for you:

Best drone photographers on Instagram:

With so many people taking stunning photos and posting them online, you can’t go wrong with those guys.

Drone photography: tips & techniques

Trial and error is one of the best ways to learn anything.

However, in the era of easily accessible information, you don’t need to waste time on discovering the wheel again.

People share so much on social media and YouTube - let’s learn from the best!

Now:

Shooting on location might seem easier than it is in reality.

During our research we stumbled on some pretty informative videos and websites. We’d like to share them with you guys, so you have plenty of quality data to start your drone adventure and be successful.

Tips, tricks and useful information for every drone photographer:

Beginner’s Guide to Drone Photography (Canva.com article)
Amazing gallery of images and awesome content - a whole website dedicated to drone pictures and news (Full Drone)
Things to know before buying a drone (article)
Landscape drone photography (video tutorial)
How to take better drone videos? (video)
Techniques to master (video)
Biggest mistakes people do when flying their drone with a camera (video)
Advanced techniques (video)
Expanded list of hashtags to use on Instagram (here)
List of drone photographers to follow (Canva.com article)
Inspiration for drone photos (article)

This is it, guys.

We hope that you learned something new today.

It was a beautiful experience!

In conclusion

Explore the world from above, guys! And stay safe!

Drones are popular and affordable for regular folk nowadays. You can start exploring the world yourself, or follow drone photographers on Instagram and enjoy drone footage on YouTube.

You’ll have a truly wonderful time either way!

Creating images by using cameras attached to drones provides photographers all over the globe with all the freedom they need.

The best thing is: you can easily be one of them!

Today we explored the world of drone photography together. It’s a wonderful experience, isn’t it? We gave you some basic knowledge and links to help you get started.

Did we help? Leave a comment and let us know.

See you soon on TechACake.com.

Enjoy your day!