Aviation Photography: How Gulf Coast Aviation impacted me?

When I started my photography journey professionally, I started by photographing the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in 2019. This was when I purchased my first DSLR. Initially I thought that it would be easy. However, I realized that in order to make it in the field I needed a longer lens to capture the images that I wanted. While I adored aviation, I slowly started to realize that aviation is not prevalent in other areas of the country and I learned that while I love aviation it was hard to have a career in aviation photography.

Community Over Competition

This is something that I have noticed while in aviation and other photography. Some of the community acts like a clique. Some of us fit into the mold and others do not. Photographers will talk about others behind their back or make fun of others. I have had people ask me what my camera settings are and I have helped others with shutter speed and ideal aperture. I would rather help someone than laugh at them for not taking photos correctly or even attempting to take aviation photos.

The community has great people involved and others want ownership over everything. I get it is competitive to get a perfect sneak pass photo or vapor cones, but some of the attitude that I have experienced was not a fun part.

I have been cussed out before by people who did not even know me personally who were media affiliated. To say it has been a crazy ride within the community is an understatement.

How did aviation photography change me?

While I love everyone I met throughout photographing the Blue Angels, I realized how competitive the market can be. People are so cut throat within the aviation community. Some photographers will have a fight over who posts an image first. When in reality anyone should be able to post what they feel like. There is competition over hashtag usage among other things. Some of the competitive spirit is legitimate and other times it is petty. I am thankful for the people I have met along the way, but some of the community could be better towards others.

JPG vs RAW

Whenever I first started I shot most of my photos in JPG (surprise, surprise), but I had my settings pretty accurate in camera. This lead to minimal editing and to the naked eye no one can tell a difference. After I realized what my camera was capable of I started shooting in RAW and my image quality has drastically improved. I always photograph in RAW now and edit later.

How did you attend so many practices?

I am blessed to be a military spouse. This means I had DoD access to the base with my ID Card. While this lead to me photographing anywhere from 10-20 practices a season, it also meant that I periodically would help others get on base. This was before NAS reopened to the public.

People will literally go to Fort Pickens and other parks around the base just to watch a practice demonstration. Being from Pensacola, I have watched the team since I was a child. They have always inspired me.

The constant need to go viral

Aviation always pushed us to shoot for the moon. If I did not get so many likes, did people like my work. While I had two reels exceed 20-25 million views each last season, I realized this was simply not reality. Once you reach the pinnacle, you realize that your life is more than one viral reel. While it lead more people to know who I am, it does not mean that I should be known for one thing. I am capable of more than just aviation. I feel like people look at you and think "you're the girl that always is on a flight line". While aviation is something I enjoy and love, it ultimately can start to consume you over the competition with other photographers. We all fight for a capturing a handful of images that are different from the typical shots seen after most practices.

Getting to know the team members

Knowing the team members on a personal level has been the amazing part of the aviation photography journey. Having them see your work of them in the plane while they are doing their job is simply an honor. They will repost and share your work. Some of them even occasionally will want a copy of an image you took. All of this helps the team with staying current in a very technologically advanced world. Meeting them at autograph sessions with some of my photos was amazing. They are like "that's me" or "you caught a vapor cone". The members take pride in how the locals value the team and it truly shows.

Base Re-opening to the Public

With base re-opening to the public the experiences for many photographers are bound to change. For three airshow seasons the flight line has remained exclusive to those with DoD IDs. With this change means many photographers are going to try to squeeze into a very tiny photo area.

When I started in 2019, the photo area at time would have 50-100 photographers trying to cram into it. This meant that you were hit in the face or arms constantly by massive lenses. I get the need for the public to be there especially with the museum and other forms of funding, but let me reiterate, the flight line is going to be packed more than an airshow at times. This means your exclusive, never before seen photos are going to become the norm around the Pensacola region. This may or may not impact photography businesses.

Thankful

I am forever thankful for the four seasons I spent on the NAS Pensacola flight line. I grew as a photographer through fast paced photography, but it prepared me for chaos while at a photo session and ultimately how professionalism can impact other's. I will miss aviation whenever I am not able to participate in the art form in another state.