On photographing kites in flight

04 September, 2012

Kite-flying provides a unique opportunity to experiment and photograph something different. It also helps in practicing photographic techniques which are helpful in various other forms of photography like photographing against the sky.

AS WE know that kites are colorful and come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, therefore, photographing them, along with flying your own ones, can be a good hobby to bring a new meaning to two different crafts.

A good DSLR camera works the best for photographing flying kites. It is often recommended that a 24-70 mm or 24-105 mm lens with a constant aperture is a good choice for the kite photography.

Kike festivals and kite flying seasons provide a good opportunity for such photography to explore the surroundings and pick spots and angles that might work well and lock in your settings to capture the best actions.

Dial up your camera to ISO 200 or higher for better tonal quality; shutter speeds between 1/80 to 1/250 sec; and aperture between f/4.5 and f/4 to freeze the action with a good sharpness for capturing the pictures of kites.

Besides the camera setting, a firm rest for the camera, the situational awareness, and a good angle with good possibilities of zooming-in for isolating the subject or zooming-out for more context. Shooting high and low are great options to have a sense of scale.