Researchers at MIT and Cornell University hope to change that by providing photographers with squadrons of small, light-equipped autonomous robots that automatically assume the positions necessary to produce lighting effects specified through a simple, intuitive, camera-mounted interface.
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The idea of outfitting unmanned areal drones with lighting equipment for photography is brilliant. The idea that you can change lighting set-ups on the fly with such ease is great. It will change the industry forever. Faster manipulation of lighting rigs during photo shoots will allow the industry to be more efficient and complete more photo shoots faster or even in one day. With this new technology you could easily switch between two completely different lighting setups in no time. The other great feature that this new technology gives us is the ability to achieve complex lighting angles that are usually very difficult to produce. This will give photographers new opportunities such as the rim lighting effect as discussed in the article. The intelligence of the system allows for direct feedback from the camera to the UAV that allows the lighting instrument to always be in the perfect position to achieve the desired lighting angle. This is an amazing new piece of technology that can change the still photography industry immensely.
After visiting a popular music festival in my hometown, a blurb on the news mentioned that drones had been flying over the concerts taking pictures. Viewing these aerial photos of thousands of people, a sea I was just a part of, gave me pause. Drones really are the future, in more ways then one, a truth that never really set in until I saw those Sunfest pictures. Lighting by hand has proven to be a strenuous and laborious task, but giving drones the lighting equipment for photography means that all the angles you can't reach without assistance become fair game, and multiple drones may be used at once to create cross-beams of light, giving a new dynamic element to photos the likes of which we haven't seen. Drones have already revolutionized many industries, and it looks like lighting will be their next conquest.
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