Thanks to its larger 1” sensor, the Mini 5 Pro raises the bar in terms of photo quality compared to previous models of the DJI lightweight line; however, to get the best results, it is crucial to expose correctly
In this article, I will show you all you need to know to achieve the best exposure for still images
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Lighting Conditions
The choice of light conditions is crucial for optimal results. The central hours of a sunny day are to be avoided, as the shadows are very harsh and the contrast too strong
The best conditions for drone photography are during the two hours before and after sunrise or sunset, known as golden hour and blue hour
Another possibility is when the sun is covered by clouds, delivering softer shadows. The idea is to reduce the dynamic range, which is the difference in luminosity between highlights and shadows
My favorite time is about half an hour after sunset, with the last twilight acting as the fade light and the artificial lights as the main source
How to Use the Histogram
The histogram is the only tool I use for exposure. It tells us a lot about a scene’s lighting conditions: when the bars touch the right edge, the image is overexposed. This must be avoided, as burnt highlights cannot be recovered while editing. I always make sure to leave a gap between the last bar to the right and the right edge of the histogram to preserve the highlights
When a few bars touch the left edge, the shadows will be dark, but can still be recovered in post-processing, to some extent. But when too many bars are clustered against the left edge, the shadows will be too dark
When most bars are in the central part, with gaps on both sides, the image has low contrast. These are ideal conditions and correspond to the best hours of the day mentioned earlier. It will be simple to add a bit of contrast while editing for excellent results
When the bars touch both the right and left edges of the histogram, we are in a high-dynamic-range scene, generally with the camera pointing toward the sun. These are the most difficult situations; it is better to leave a small gap to the right to preserve the highlight
The shadows will be very dark, but we can try to recover them, at least partially, with some advanced post-processing, or by merging to HDR, as we will see later on. For this reason, beginners should avoid shooting photos toward the sun
Manual or Auto Exposure?
When shooting footage, auto exposure causes annoying shifts in brightness when the luminosity changes. This is not an issue with still images; therefore, automatic exposure can be used successfully for drone photography
In Auto mode, the exposure is set by the software; we can only access the EV value to adjust the overall luminosity. I prefer to set the value at -0.3 or -0.7 to prevent overexposure. As we will see later, an even better solution is to use Automatic Exposure Bracketing
In photography, there are three exposure parameters: ISO, aperture, and Shutter Speed, but with the Mini 5 Pro, as with most other prosumer drones, we have only two parameters to deal with, as the aperture is fixed
When using manual exposure, we can set the values for ISO and shutter speed independently. The MM value at the bottom cannot be modified; it displays the luminosity resulting from the values chosen above compared to the optimal exposure computed by the software
For ISO, it is preferable to use the base value, 100, for best image quality. With its large sensor, the Mini 5 Pro collects plenty of light, and we rarely need to increase the ISO. If needed, we can increase the ISO value up to 800 with no noticeable loss of quality
Regarding Shutter Speed, we can avoid any unwanted motion blur issue by setting a value of 1/30” or faster if the scene contains moving elements or if the aircraft is moving during the shots
Slower shutter speeds can be used for unusual creative photos. The aircraft’s motion can be used for long-exposure shots with surprising results. Experiment with shutter speeds between one and two seconds by flying towards a target forward, backward, or even sideways for different effects
The blurring effect is more pronounced at a slower shutter speed or when flying closer to the ground. Another variation is to turn the camera down for a top-down shot to take photos while descending or ascending
With the aircraft in a static position, a shutter speed of ⅕” or slower generates some blur in the elements in motion to make them appear as we would see them in real life. The slower the shutter speed value, the more pronounced the blurring. The still elements should remain unaffected by the blur
The drone doesn’t necessarily need to be flying; in urban situations we can position it on a level surface and use it as a traditional camera
In the Mini 5 Pro, the slowest available shutter speed value is 2”. There is also a simulated long-exposure mode with values from 2.5 to 8” for extreme results.
To use long shutter speeds in different light conditions, a set of ND filters is needed. These are the ones I suggest
AEB
In the video photo menu, we can select Automatic Exposure Bracketing mode to record the same shot with 3, 5 or 7 exposure values. When shooting photos, I always use this mode to make sure that at least one copy is perfectly exposed, a sort of insurance against wrong exposure
It is also possible to merge the shots into HDR to improve the rendering of images taken in difficult lighting conditions. In previous DJI lightweight models, the resulting images often look overprocessed, while the Mini 5 Pro produces sensational results even in the most difficult situations
To merge the images to HDR, I use Luminar Neo, my favorite photo editing program. Here you can find info about Luminar Neo, together with a discount coupon (code Vicvideopic). It is an affiliate link, so I get a small commission in case of purchase