Kites were used long ago for air photography but you are gonna have to have a good sized kite and a clear area to fly it in free of power lines (new the heavy duty high-tech kite lines CONDUCT electricity!). Even with the newest steerable multi-line kites, control would be a big issue as would camera/operator safety. As a long time kite hobbiest and stunt kite flier, I would not advise this route for serious commercial aerial photography - might be fun to "play" with but not something I would risk for clients...
I knew a pro who owned one of those big "Blimp" photo systems that he towed behind his car in a trailer to locations all over the southeast. He shot medium format film and from seeing all his images taken from many shoots, control and camera aiming were the biggest issues with only a couple good shots per 220 roll - and those usually had horizons that were way out of whack and had to be custom printed to fix. Helium to fill the big blimp was expensive and he had to pay for storage for his trailer when not in use, so I was not that impressed with the system as more than a cool toy.
There are a couple companies out there that make telescoping camera masts and another has a "super elevated tripod" system. These can be towed behind even a compact car or mounted to a truck and those look very promising. They put a video camera with your camera and you have full control over aiming (tilt/pan/etc) the camera via remote control on the ground based display screen. Used by tv media in some areas already. Prices were under 2k, which is what you would pay for a few hours in a jet chopper rental, so its not that bad and seemed really portable and versatile...
Other non-traditional options include portable hydraulic lifts (rentable from construction supply houses) and one that I'm surprised more people dont think of - bucket trucks like used by utility companies. Some heavy equipt. operators rent these also, and many come up cheap on the surplus market.
I have shot from these many times while working in an electric companies photo dept. and they are awesome platforms for (lower) elevated images as long as it is not a windy day - then they become simply scary!
At under 5k new, Paraplanes are powered parachutes and I was told by a dealer that they are good for photography as you can fly hands free while in them and they are much less likey to be unstable in winds than an ultralight aircraft. Have not tried one (yet - its on my list!) but there would likely be restrictions for flying over populated areas and the need for a close-by launch/landing area that could be an issue too.
Airplanes can be used for air work, but altitude restrictions over populated areas must be observed and you cant control your shooting locations as easily as in a helicopter. With planes, some older, slower planes with removable windows or doors work better than others. I've had luck shooting from high wing Cessna's (150,172,182,Cardinal RG) where the passenger window can open totally and also in the old classic Piper Cubs where you can open the door/window for good viewing although struts and the landing gear have to be shot around in both planes. Did a job once in a Piper Cherokee Six (low wing) that was modified for air work with a removable baggage door in the back and it worked really well with nice clear shooting area but it was windy as a mother in that thing! Planes are cheaper tan choppers to rent, but you give up some nice things...
Which brings me to my hands down favorite way to shoot fromt he sky - helicopters! Choppers make shooting from the air a joy as long as you are in a stable enough craft and have a GOOD pilot experienced in that vehicle for photo missions. Vietnam vets were always my favorite pilots when shooting aerials for the utility company, which we did several times monthly as those guys could fly the pants of most younger pilots and had no troubles with complicated flight directions. A good pilot and good pre-planning of the shoot makes things go smoothly and when it comes to the kind of helo to use, bigger is always better. My favorites were the Bell Jet Ranger/Long Ranger and Hughes 500 (Magnum PI kind of chopper) for comfort and stability but they are VERY expensive to rent so you need a client with deep pockets. I have shot in a Korean war era chopper (horrible!) and in itty bitty Hughes 300 and Robinson 2 seaters and while shooting was possible (just cant carry anything and body parts may hang out open door!) none of the "little" choppers were as stable or safe as the bigger ones, although I was likely spoiled from too many jobs in the big jet choppers.
If you do plan on shooting from a plane or chopper, be sure to search the story archives at sportsshooter as someone there did an excellect article on safety for air shooting that should be required reading by anyone before shooting from a plane or chopper.
Happy landings!
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Eric in Florida
