Aerial photographs are usually taken from an aircraft. Those held by HCC are vertical photographs, that is the camera points straight down at the ground and the photographs show the landscape in plan. Vertical photography is used in cartography, land-use planning, archaeology, environmental studies, and other fields. Vertical aerial photographs can also be used in GIS (Geographic Information Systems).
A second kind is known as oblique photography. Here the camera is directed at an angle towards the ground and the photographs show the side elevations of buildings. This type of photography is not widely used by HCC other than in property marketing.