Take photographs from Airplane Windows: Tips and Techniques

The beauty seen from an airplane window is not an unknown fact. It provides photographers with great opportunities to take photographs of the amazing views.

Here are a few tips which will help you to capture the beauty seen from the airplane window:

• Try to get a window seat. If you are not officially assigned a window seat, try to switch seats with fellow passengers.

• Get your gear ready : Keep your camera in your carry-on luggage. Using a 28-80 mm lens is preferable. A 28-200 mm lens gives you the freedom to different compositions.. Always carry extra batteries and memory cards with you.

• Clean the window glass to remove any dust particles that could blur the image or show up in the picture.

• The most common mistake one does while photographing such shots is of putting the lens right up against the plane window to cut down the reflections and to keep the camera steady. This might help in avoiding the reflections, but it doesn’t help in getting steady shots. To keep the camera stable, use a lens hood or cup your free hand around the lens and get as close to the glass as possible but do not touch it.

Photo by Steve and Sara

Photograph by kizioko

• Manual Focus: While shooting through glass, the camera auto focusing system can get confused. Hence, switching to manual focus is a better option. Focus on the main focal point to achieve better-looking images.

• Avoid Flash: Switch off the flash of your camera. The flash will reflect back because of the glass into your lens. Plus, it might be annoying for your fellow-passengers.

• Shoot Early: Take pictures as early as possible because water or ice builds up on the windows at higher altitudes. Shoot early when your windows are clearer and this will help in getting better shots.

• Watch for photo opportunities. The sky, the sun or an aerial view of the landscape below can look great. Even areas of your plane like the wing of the aircraft can be a great subject for photography.

Photograph by tim caynes

• Landing: You have more time to shoot during the landing as the plane is moving more slowly. Look for photo opportunities during landing.

• Aerial Shots : There will be a fewer opportunities to get aerial shots of the ground. The key is that you must always be ready for such moments. Such moments generally occur when the plane begins to bank before landing or after taking off. Such moments don’t last long, so, the only thing to do is to keep the camera settings ready beforehand and be fast.

Photograph by Small

• Post-Processing: Generally, the glass windows of airplanes are dirty and have scratches on them, which might show up in the image. Use a photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Picasa to clean up the image and remove the spots.
Do not discard an otherwise great looking image from your camera just because a part of the window is visible. Remember that the image can be cropped later.

• Avoid using Polarizer Filter. They don’t work well through airplane windows and can cause odd shapes and colors because of the scratches or other flaws on the airplane glass.

So next time while you are traveling in a plane try using these techniques while photographing the beautiful view around you.