In the photography industry, to have a successful business, it’s necessary to be passionate about two things: photography itself, and the subject you want to take photos of. In some cases it’s children, in some, it’s sports. But there’s another kind of photography that rarely ever get recognition—aerial photography.

Lani Savage is an aerial photographer. She has loved flying ever since she was a little girl, and quite understandably, because she came from a brood of pilots—her father and her brothers are all one. Determined to pursue what she wants, Lani registered for flying lessons at an open house in Redlands Municipal Airport in May 2008.

She then took flying lessons at M.Y. Air Flight School at the Redlands airport, and pilot ground school courses in San Bernardino Valley College. She was taught by Richard Thompson, a veteran aviation teacher.

According to Lani, learning how to fly took a lot of studying and determination. “I wanted it so bad – I can’t tell you how bad I wanted it,” she said. But all her hard work soon paid off: she finally got her flying license last January.

Once she got her license, she figured that she has to do something with it. Lani says that “I think everyone who feels passionate about flying is looking for ways to get in the air,”

“I asked, what could I do to be at the airport all the time? You want to figure out some way to do it all day, every day,” she added. And that’s when they bought a camera. Liam, her 18-year-old son, who does graphic design and photography, made business cards and a Web site. Wings Photography was born, and soon enough, people started calling to request their services.

Photos by Wings Photography

Lani rents a plane, which is most of the time a Cessna 170, because its doors come off easily. She flies with a professional pilot to where the photos need to be taken. The pilot takes control of the plane, and Lani takes the shot.

Lani’s clients are usually local pilots who want photos of their planes in the air, or people requesting photos of the Redlands, construction sites, and landscape. Her services cost between $200-500 each project.

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