Airshow photography: camera settings for jets, propellers and aerobatics

The Eurofighter thunders down the runway on afterburner, two minutes later a Spitfire lazily flies its turns, then an aerobatic team paints smoke arcs across the sky. Hardly any photo day is as varied as an airshow – and hardly any demands so many camera changes. If you want to photograph airshows, you don’t need a miracle camera, just a few clear starting values for each group of subjects and the routine to switch between them quickly. This guide gives you exactly that: settings for jets, propeller aircraft, helicopters and formations, plus exposure, autofocus, focal length and the routine on show day.

Airshow settings: the short answer

For jets, start at 1/1000 s or faster; for propeller aircraft and helicopters, at 1/250 s or slower while panning with the aircraft. Three more settings apply to all subjects: continuous autofocus, burst mode and an exposure compensation into the plus, because the bright sky otherwise pulls the metering down. Everything else – aperture, focal length, position – you adapt to the individual display.

The most important insight for show day: you need at least two basic setups. A jet setup with a fast shutter speed and a propeller setup with a slow one. If you only have one of them in your head, you end up with either blurred jets or frozen propellers.

The basic setup for every airshow day

Before we get to individual aircraft types, it is worth having a baseline that you set in the morning and barely touch for the rest of the day.

• Exposure mode: Shutter priority (S or Tv) is the easiest way in, because shutter speed decides everything at airshows. Advanced shooters like manual mode with auto ISO: shutter speed and aperture are fixed, and the camera only adjusts the ISO. With an evenly blue sky and constant sun, even a fully manual setup works well, because the light on the aircraft hardly changes.
• Autofocus: Continuous tracking (AF-C, AI Servo or Continuous AF) is a must. A small to medium-sized zone works well as the focus area. Modern cameras with subject detection for aircraft or vehicles take a lot of work off your hands. Details on modes and focus areas are in the guide autofocus for aircraft.
• Burst mode: The high burst rate gives you several chances per pass. Afterward you pick the frame with the best aircraft attitude.
• File format: RAW gives you latitude in exposure and white balance, which is worth a lot against a changing sky. Because of the large amounts of data you need fast cards of sufficient size – more in memory cards for burst shooting.
• Image stabilization: With jets at fast shutter speeds it helps keep the viewfinder image steady; for propeller panning shots you should choose the panning mode, if your camera has one.

Jets: fast shutter speeds, fast tracking

With jet aircraft it is comparatively simple: nothing is turning that would need to blur visibly. So you can freeze the motion. With 1/1000 s you are on the safe side for most passes. For very fast, close passes, long focal lengths, or when your hands are no longer quite steady after hours at the fence, go to 1/1600 or 1/2000 s.

You usually pick an aperture between f/5.6 and f/8. With a single aircraft at a long distance the depth of field is large anyway, but stopping down slightly gets a bit more sharpness out of many telephoto zooms. The ISO follows from that – in sunshine it usually stays low.

Fighter jets like the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-16 or the Dassault Rafale offer special moments in solo displays:

• Afterburner: On takeoffs and full-power passes the exhaust jet glows. It looks strongest under overcast skies or in the evening hours, when the ambient light is weaker.
• Condensation: On humid days, tight maneuvers create veils of vapor over the wings and fuselage. Keep your finger on the shutter button during tight turns and high-speed passes.
• Top-side passes: When the jet shows its upper surface in a turn, you get the planform with weapon stations and livery – often the most spectacular picture of the display.

The guide identifying fighter jets in Europe makes it easier to tell the types apart in the sky.

Propeller aircraft: expose long on purpose

This is where the most common airshow mistake happens. If you photograph a Spitfire with the jet setup, you get a razor-sharp but motionless propeller – the aircraft looks like a model on a string. For propeller aircraft the rule is therefore: start at 1/250 s and pan the camera cleanly with the aircraft. The blades then blur visibly and the fuselage stays sharp.

If you want a solid propeller disc, go step by step to 1/160 s, 1/125 s and below. How far you need to go depends on rpm and number of blades: a propeller with many blades closes the circle at the same shutter speed faster than a two-blade propeller. The math behind it and a table by blade count are in the guide photographing propellers: the right shutter speed.

At airshows you typically meet three groups of propeller aircraft:

• Warbirds like the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane or the P-51 Mustang fly comparatively slowly and in wide arcs – ideal for practicing slow shutter speeds.
• Aerobatic aircraft like the Extra EA-300 are small, agile and constantly change attitude. Here 1/250 to 1/320 s is more worthwhile, because clean panning is hard during rolls and turns.
• Transports like the Airbus A400M or the C-130 Hercules often show surprisingly tight maneuvers in displays. Their many-bladed propellers form a solid disc even at moderate shutter speeds.

In sunlight, long exposures mean a lot of light on the sensor. At 1/125 s you quickly end up at base ISO and a small aperture on bright days. From about f/16 at the latest, diffraction visibly costs sharpness, and dust on the sensor shows up as a spot in the sky. A weak ND filter gives you room to work. How to guide the pan cleanly is explained in the guide on panning technique.

Helicopters: even longer than propellers

Helicopter displays are rarer but rewarding subjects: they spin on the spot, tilt, fly backward. The same principle applies to the photo as with propellers, only more so. Main rotors turn much more slowly than aircraft propellers. At 1/1000 s the blades look practically frozen, and even 1/250 s often shows little motion. Start at 1/250 s and work toward 1/125 s and slower. Since helicopters in a hover cover hardly any distance, slow shutter speeds are easier to pull off here than with a warbird on a fast pass.

Types and recognition features are summarized in the guide identifying helicopter types.

Aerobatic teams: room for formation and smoke

For many visitors aerobatic teams are the highlight – and photographically a discipline of their own. The Red Arrows fly their display with nine BAE Hawk aircraft, the Frecce Tricolori fly nine aircraft in formation plus a soloist – for decades on the Aermacchi MB-339. The guide Europe’s aerobatic teams gives an overview of the European teams.

Formations follow different rules than single aircraft:

• Pull back the focal length: The longest focal length cuts off wingmen and smoke trails. If you work at 400 or 600 mm with single aircraft, you often end up at 150 to 300 mm with formations, and even shorter for big shapes in the sky.
• Stop down: The aircraft in a formation don’t fly in exactly one plane. An aperture around f/8 makes sure the front and rear aircraft are sharp.
• Plan for smoke: The colored smoke trails are part of the subject. Leave room in the frame for the formation to fly into, and for the smoke behind it.
• Anticipate crossings: In solo passes two aircraft fly toward each other and cross in front of the crowd. Aim the camera at the expected crossing point and start the burst shortly before – tracking is hardly possible here.

Subject	Shutter speed	Aperture	Focal length (full frame)	What matters
Fighter jet in a solo display	1/1000–1/2000 s	f/5.6–f/8	300–600 mm	AF-C, burst, top-side moments
Jet with afterburner on takeoff	1/1000 s	f/5.6–f/8	200–500 mm	expose a little tight so the glow doesn’t blow out
Warbird on a pass	1/250–1/125 s	f/8–f/11	300–600 mm	even pan, propeller blurred
Aerobatic aircraft	1/250–1/320 s	f/8	300–600 mm	fast changes of attitude, small silhouette
Helicopter	1/250–1/60 s	f/8–f/16	200–500 mm	blur the rotor on purpose
Formation with smoke	1/1000 s for jets, 1/250 s for propellers	f/8	100–300 mm	room in the frame, all aircraft sharp
Static display	not critical	f/5.6–f/11	24–200 mm	perspective, details, keeping people out of the frame

The values are starting points, not fixed rules. Camera, lens, light and your own steadiness while panning shift them.

Exposure: why the sky tricks you

Your camera’s exposure metering assumes that a scene averages out to a neutral gray. A small aircraft against a large, bright sky doesn’t fit that pattern. The camera mostly sees brightness, adjusts downward, and the aircraft ends up too dark. With a gray, overcast sky the effect is even stronger than with deep blue.

Three ways lead to correctly exposed aircraft:

• Exposure compensation: In the automatic modes, add about +2/3 to +1 stop. With a light gray sky it can be more.
• Expose manually: You set the exposure once for an aircraft in good light, such as a taxiing jet or an aircraft in the static show. After that it doesn’t matter whether there is sky, cloud or forest behind the subject.
• Check the histogram: After the first frames of a display, check whether the fuselage has enough detail and light liveries don’t blow out.

You have to be careful with white liveries and afterburner shots. Here too much plus compensation quickly becomes too much, and the brightest areas lose detail. When the aircraft flies into the sun, no compensation helps: you get a silhouette. That can look beautiful on purpose, as the guide backlight in aircraft photography shows, but for documentation shots it is lost.

Focal length and gear

At airshows you are almost always farther from the action than at the airport fence, because the display line is kept at a distance from the crowd for safety reasons. Long focal lengths are therefore standard. Telephoto zooms of 100–400 mm or 150–600 mm on full frame are common. The comparison of 100–400 mm telephoto zooms gives an overview of popular models. Cameras with a smaller sensor give you extra reach through the narrower angle of view – what that means in practice is covered in APS-C, MFT or full frame.

A second, shorter lens is worthwhile for formations, smoke shots and above all for the static show, where you often stand only a few meters in front of the aircraft. If you only want to carry one lens, a telephoto zoom starting at about 100 mm is the best compromise.

You will find the rest of the packing list – batteries, cards, sun protection, drinks, hearing protection – in the airshow day checklist. Don’t skimp on hearing protection in particular: fighter jets in the display are extremely loud, with background in the article aircraft noise and your hearing.

Position and light

The best setting is of little use if the sun is behind the aircraft. At airshows the display line is fixed, so you can prepare well. Check in advance on a map which direction you shoot in from the spectator area and when the sun is behind you. The method is explained in the guide planning with the sun position.

A few practical rules for your spot at the fence:

• In the middle of the display line most maneuvers come together right in front of you, and many displays are aligned to the center of the crowd.
• At the edge of the spectator area you often have more room and see takeoffs and landings with taxiing better – good for panning shots.
• Be there early: At big shows the front spots fill up quickly. A stool or a small step ladder (where allowed) gets you above the heads.

You will find an overview of the big events and their quirks in airshows in Europe for plane spotters, and details on Germany’s biggest aerospace trade show in the article on ILA Berlin. The Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, the Farnborough Airshow and the warbird shows at Duxford are also especially productive photographically. If you have to shoot through a mesh fence, the guide shooting through fences and glass helps.

Show-day routine

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• One setup for everything. The result is frozen propellers or blurred jets. Two custom memory slots solve the problem.
• No exposure compensation. Aircraft against a bright sky come out too dark. Compensate into the plus or expose manually.
• Single AF instead of tracking. On passes the distance changes constantly. Only continuous autofocus keeps up.
• Focal length too long for formations. Cropped wingmen are the most common mistake at team displays. It is better to leave a bit more room and crop later.
• Panning too late. If you only press the shutter button when the aircraft is in front of you, you shake. Pick up the aircraft early in the viewfinder, pan with it and release during the motion.
• Too much material, no plan. Thousands of burst frames need to be sorted. How to do that efficiently is in the guide editing burst shots efficiently, and the basics of post-processing in editing aircraft photos.

Conclusion

Photographing airshows means above all switching between two worlds. You freeze jets at 1/1000 s and faster, and you show propeller aircraft and helicopters in motion at 1/250 s and slower. Continuous autofocus, burst mode and a plus correction of the exposure form the basis for both. With aerobatic teams you pull back the focal length and stop down so that formation and smoke fit in the frame. If you also know the program, display line and sun position, you spend the day photographing instead of changing settings.