The Little World

Outwit Fokker, de Havilland, and Sopwith.

If you take photos of WW 1 aircraft, you likely miss out on some of the best colour if you fail to use a flash. The design of a bi or tri-plane means that the fuselage is covered by the upper wings – any shots taken from a standing position sees the upper wing and masks the rest.

Go along with a camera at ground level. Look down into the viewfinder if possible. Imagine yourself on the ground near the plane in real life.

Use a pop-up fill flash if your camera has one. They are often omitted from modern designs but you can get miniature ones to slide onto a hot shoe. Set the camera to TTL, the fill flash to -1 1/3 stop, and throw illumination in through the wings.

You’ll be pleased with the result.