A professional who photographs segments of earth and other subject material from aircraft to produce pictures used in surveying, mapping, volumetric surveying, or related purposes, such as recording effects of pollution or natural disasters, determining condition of crops and timberland, and planning cities or other large scale projects. Responsibilities include:

• Sets up and mounts camera in aircraft.
• Confers with pilot regarding plotted course, speed, altitude, and area to be photographed.
• Communicates with pilot during flight to ensure adherence to flight plan or make adjustments to equipment to compensate for changes.
• Calculates number of exposures and time lapse between them, using standard formulas to determine requirements for adequate area coverage.
• Adjusts camera shutter speed, lens aperture opening, and focus.
• Adjusts automatic exposure interval on camera equipped with time lapse control or times intervals with stopwatch and manually trips shutter.
• Maintains camera in level position and oriented to flight path when making photographs for mapping or surveying.
• May match individual photographs to form terrain map of photographed area.