Oblique aerial photography – What is it and how is it used? by Keith McGregor

Oblique aerial photography – What is it and how is it used?
by: Keith McGregor

Aerial photography has many different uses and this will usually dictate the type of photography required. Oblique aerial photography is one of the most common forms of aerial photography primarily used for the commercial and residential property markets. The word oblique means having a sloping direction, angle or position, therefore oblique aerial photography is an aerial photograph at an angle.

Oblique aerial photography is usually undertaken using a high-wing light aircraft and a photographer with a hand held camera. A high quality digital SLR is best, not only due to the quality of the images but the weight of the camera body will aid the photographer in providing a sturdy platform from which to take photos.

Construction photography will usually use oblique aerial photography to some degree as it can provide a variety of angles from number of different directions. Where a large building is being constructed this type of photography will allow the customer to visualise the building in its surroundings before it is finished. Computer Generated Images (CGI) can also be used for this. A construction company may also commission progress photography which will use oblique images to show the progress of the building work at regular intervals.

Oblique aerial photography has several advantages over vertical photography:-

# It can show the front/vertical aspect of buildings.
# It can show a greater area of the ground looking into the distance.
# It can give a better perspective of height in surrounding terrain and buildings.
# It provides a more dramatic platform for CGI.
# It is more aesthetically pleasing for display event aerial photography.

About The Author

Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design

http://www.strawberrysoup.co.uk/