*This article is dedicated to my lovely and patient wife who tolerates my hogging of the window seat to take pictures out of it. This is one of the side effects of being married to a photographer.
Are you a window seat person? Or are you a isle seat person? I am a window person, always was, always will be. If you are an Isle person, then this article is not for you. Since the first time I flew in an airplane, I have always been glued to that airplane window looking out trying to see everything down below. Getting a different perspective of the world has always been exciting to me. Now that I have grown up, nothing has changed. I am still trying to get that window seat. Only now I have my camera with me and I am trying to take pictures out the window.
Camera Settings
These settings are assuming you are traveling during daylight hours. It can be incredibly bright outside when you are flying high up above the clouds. The sun reflects off of clouds nearly blinding you. As the sun sets and it gets dark, these settings will have to change to be able to take pictures in low light conditions.
I would either suggest shooting in Shutter Priority, or Manual mode. Whichever you are more comfortable with. I shoot in manual mode because I like to get my settings right, then not have to worry about it changing on me. Just check your images every so often to make sure you are still getting a good exposure.
- Aperture: F8-F16 When you are taking these pictures out of an airplane, you can see for miles and miles. You want most of that vast landscape to be in focus. A higher aperture of around F8-F18 or higher will create a large Depth of Field and have more of the view in focus.
- Shutter Speed: 1/250th a second or faster. Airplanes are moving pretty fast and they are constantly shaking around. A faster shutter speed will help freeze any motion and prevent camera shake resulting in a sharper image.
- ISO: 100-200 if it is bright outside, 800-3200 if it is dark outside. Remember that the higher the ISO is set, the more noise will be introduced into the image.
Recommended Lenses
A good medium telephoto lens like the 24-70mm or the 24-105mm will get you close to those objects out the window, but still allow you to see the surrounding landscape.
I do not recommend a wide angle lens because it will make far away objects look really small, and you will get parts of the airplane in the shot as well.
Auto Focus vs Manual Focus
The Auto Focus seems to always want to focus on the window instead of what is outside the window. I like to use my DSLR because I can manually focus on the land below and not that dirty window. It can be extremely frustrating when the camera will not focus on what you intend it to focus on.
Choosing Your Seat
Not every seat is made equal. Some seats have little legroom when others have a lot. Some Seats might not incline while others do. And some seats might not even have a window! I use a website SeatGuru.com when picking my seat and it will tell you what seats are the best, and what seats to avoid. Some airlines such as Southwest Airlines does not allow you to choose your seat before hand. If I have a choice, I will not fly airlines that are first come first serve for seats because I like to know that I have a reserved window seat.
If possible I will try to sit towards the front of the plane in front of the wings. Your view will be obscured from this part of the plane. The engines also sometimes produce contrails and thermal distortions from the heat. Smaller aircraft may reserve this part of the plane for business and first class passengers. But larger airplanes often have coach seats in front of the wings.
When booking your tickets, make sure you know what to expect on your flight. Because if you are like me, you would be totally bummed out if I did not have a window to look out of. I could put up with a non-reclining seat, or a seat near the bathroom. But not having a window is where I draw the line.
What Side Of The Plane Should You Sit On?
Look over your flight path, are there any large monuments or geological formations like mountains or lakes along the route that you want to see from the air? On my most recent flight to San Francisco, I knew that I wanted to see the cascade mountains (Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Bachelor, The Three Sisters, etc so i knew I wanted to see East out my window. So I had to sit on the left side of the aircraft, also known as Port side. The Right side of the aircraft is known as the Starboard side. These terms originated from nautical terms aboard ships. Sailors used these terms to avoid confusion because the terms “left” and “right” are relative to a persons orientation.
The Sunny Side vs. The Shady Side
Do you want to sit on the sunny side or the shady side of the plane? I usually try to opt for the shadow side of the airplane so the window is not lit up from the sunlight showing all the dirt and grease on the window.
The Window
- The window is often fairly dirty. A combination of dirt and grime from traveling all over the world, plus the sticky hands of passengers touching the window can make them difficult to take pictures through. Sometimes I will wipe down the window with a napkin if it means having a better image quality.
- When the sun is shining through a window, it can make it much harder to get a clean image though. The sun now illuminates all the dirt and grime, and those little grease marks that seem to cover the window.
- The edges of the windows also distort the image. Try to have your camera look through the center of the window where there is the least amount of distortion.
- Get your camera right up close to the window, but do not touch the window. The aircraft is vibrating and if you touch the lens to the glass, the camera will shake just like the airplane is.
- Getting the lens close to the window will mean you are less likely to get the edges of the window in your image. You will also have less chance for there to be a glare reflecting on the inside of the window and appearing in your image. You can also take a dark t-shirt of sweatshirt and hold it over the camera to guarantee there wont be any glare from behind the camera.
When the airplane is up near cruising altitude somewhere around 30,000 feet. The outside air temperature is below freezing, and the airplane window can start to ice up further obscuring your view. There is not a lot you can do about this but to just be aware.
The best part of the plane to sit in if you intend to take pictures out the window is in front of the wings. If you sit behind the wings, they jet out into your frame and every picture you take will be an advertisement for the airline you are flying. Most commercial jets have Winglets at the tips of their wings that point up and down at the tips of the wings to help reduce drag. But the Winglets also are convenient locations for the airlines to advertise their brands. But the last time I flew, I flew Virgin America, and their Winglets had the American flag on them which is much better than words.
Other Tips
- Remember to be considerate to the people around you. It can be extremely annoying If you are using a camera that makes noise when the shutter is released. They will not be happy if you are taking pictures an entire flight
- Share the window. If you are flying with somebody else, consider trading off seats to share the view.
You are now ready to take the absolute best pictures out of that airplane window. Now its time to book your tickets for an adventure to someplace new and exciting. Just remember to keep that camera handy during the flight. You never know what you are going to see from your window seat. Now enjoy your flight! ✈️