Aviation photography is the act of taking images of aircraft, either in flight, or on the ground. Types of aviation photography include air-to-air, ground-to-air, ground-static, and remote photography. Military aviation photography, especially air-to-air, requires additional skills, as the photo and target aircraft often fly at velocities of over Mach 1, while under moderate to high G.
Air-to-air photography is the art of photographing aircraft in the air, while using another aircraft as a photo platform. The subject aircraft is photographed while both aircraft are in flight. This allows the photographer to position the subject in specific locations and angles to get the most desirable shot. Proper lighting is achieved through correct placement of the aircraft relative to the sun, and is accomplished flying only at certain times of the day and/or by flying at a heading that lines the sun up on the subject aircraft properly.