Skydiving Photography Considerations

Being a skydiving photographer is just as extreme as
being a skydiver. So if you plan on becoming one,
there are some considerations that you might want to
deliberate on first before you go out and buy your
camera. Here are some of them.

The Price Of Art

Getting to fly a camera is just as fun as skydiving
gets. However, it could also make your fun into a
frustrating and expensive affair in a great hurry, and
can eat out your valuable jump money much faster. Why
is it expensive? Well, first off, you still do pay for
your jumps even if you have a camera. Well, you do,
but maybe for about your first 50-100 jumps with the
gadget on. Your proficiency on using the equipments
and techniques would have to improve first so that
time would come that somebody would see it’s worth it
to pay for your slot. Take note that it’s your skill
with the art that should improve and not your flying
skills.

This is just one reason that you should make sure that
your precious money spent on the camera equipments
would not be wasted because of inexperience.

For What Purpose?

First off, just like with other major purchases, you
should have an idea on what exactly you want to do
with your equipment. One camcorder can be useful for
AFF, tandems, freeflying and 4-way; however, if you
don’t know which model and brand you should get,
you’ll probably end up with equipment that don’t
exactly function the way you want it to.

Get A Master!

If you’re new to this stuff, it would be best that you
find a mentor. Try your best to find an experienced
camera flyer to ask input from them. Also try to ask
how they started in the field, what equipment they got
and why. You can also ask them about expensive and
hard lessons that they’ve learned through experience,
as for sure any camera flyer that has adequate
experience has at least one eye-opening story in store
for you.

Shopping Galore

Apparently, once you’re done with your homework, then
it is time to go shopping. Nowadays, there are a lot
of options and choices available for you that
sometimes it’s overwhelming just to know who you
should trust and know exactly where to go. Should you
buy through mail or locally? Should you avail of the
extended warranty they are selling you? Should you get
extra batteries? How about getting a wide-angle lens?

There are more choices to make that you’re probably
clueless with, which is just one of the many times
that you’d really benefit from having a mentor.

Safety First

For newbies or want-to-be camera flyers, taking
precaution in buying your equipment is the right way
to do it. You should always make sure that what you
buy would really provide you what you need.

For example, if you are planning to shoot a freefly
revolution and have some awesome head-down footages,
then getting a large 3-chip camcorder would probably
not be the right choice. However, if you’re planning
on challenging one of the top-of-the-line freefall
photographers for the “Top Dog” title, then you may
want to get the most feature-heavy and powerful camera
available in the market.

Basic Requirements

Obviously, if you want to be a camera flyer, you would
have to meet some basic requirements, such as being
able to skydive. At least having basic training and a
bit of experience would do. Of course learning how to
operate the gadgets and some of the techniques are
important too, but these can all be learned within the
whole process.