How does one become a skydiving camera man?

Question

Starting from scratch, what must one do to qualify to work as a skydiving camera operator? Also, what kind of money can one make (just a part time or weekend gig to help pay for jumps n'at)?

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do is become a skydiver.  Earn your license and start jumping a lot.  After about 200 jumps you might be ready to start jumping a camera.  There are many new issues that come up with you add the camera to the helmet.  Equipment and emergency procedures change and you need to be able deal with all of that.  After jumping a camera for awhile and getting the higher licenses and ratings you should be able to start flying camera for tandems at the very least.  That can bring in a fair amount of money.  If you join a four-way team as a camera man you could get a lot of experience, but likely not paid unless you've been hired by the team for the weekend.   There are some other things you can do as well.

Norm Kent is one of the best skydiving camera men on the planet.

http://www.normankent.com/

You should be able to get more info there.

The best thing to do right now is just get your license and learn to skydive and land a parachute safely.

Blue Skies!