Many individuals have likely experienced traveling by airplane for various purposes, whether for leisure or business. For most regular passengers, selecting an airplane seat may not have much consideration. However, for photographers, choosing the right seat can be significant. Each seat offers photographers a unique perspective and can yield different image results.
When it comes to capturing excellent landscape or city images from an airplane, early morning and nightfall are often considered the best times. Therefore, if you want to capture memorable and stunning pictures, it is advisable to choose flights that coincide with the takeoff and landing times. During these periods, the sun is at low height, providing a sidelight that enhances the three-dimensional quality of the images.
Speaking of seat selection, it is important to note that you have to choose window seats because you often use the window as a frame composition to take pictures. You should select seats toward the front of the plane in Economy Classes for good images. Please avoid booking a seat above the wings.
Indeed, it can be helpful to research flight routes and specific landscapes or city buildings you would like to capture before your flight. If there are no specific landmarks to focus on, it is important to consider backlighting and frontlighting when taking pictures. When taking pictures with backlighting inside a plane, any dirt or scratches on the glass can become more noticeable in the captured images. Cleaning the inner airplane window is easy, but removing dirt on the outer glass is challenging. Shooting pictures with front lighting is less of a concern. Additionally, the resulting images often have vibrant colors compared to backlighting.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the selection of airplane seats for photographers, please leave a comment below.
