How They Photograph Fighter Jets Thousands Of Feet In The Air

Often while browsing the internet, we come across images of aircraft in the skies, or even movie makers when they shoot jaw-dropping aerial scenes showing dogfights or air crashes, making us feel like we¡¯re really there.

Air & Space Magazine

And most people when they see such shots wonder how did they manage to capture these images, thousands of feet above the ground? Well, we have actual videos of the behind the scene action that goes along in the field of aviation photography.

A video trending on Twitter gave us a glimpse into the adrenaline-driven photography session where two photographers are sitting at the payload bay of what looks like a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The photographers are capturing aircraft and jet fighters flying by while being latched on to the surface with a simple harness.

F-15, Typhoon, and Tornado. pic.twitter.com/J8ItZAANfH

¡ª Tech Burrito (@TechAmazing) September 23, 2020

The first few seconds you see fleets of aircraft throwing out white smoke in formation, capturing a view that would otherwise be impossible to witness. However, seconds later the video shows F-15 Typhoon and Tornado jet fighters flying right behind the payload doors of the aircraft as the photographers engross themselves in the viewfinders of their cameras, getting the best shot they possibly can.

Twitter

You can also see one of the photographers signal the pilots to change their alignment a bit to get the perfect frame, just like wedding photographers.

It goes without saying that aerial photographers have to undergo strenuous training to be able to capture images in such conditions. Not only are they susceptible to unusual atmospheric pressures (even though the aircraft fly in a lower range), but at the same time, they experience powerful G-force that can make anyone's tummy churn, while not forgetting how scary it feels sitting on the edge like this, trying to capture the perfect shot.