Aerial Filming and Photography
Flights should be planned so that emergencies don’t put structures or persons in the vicinity at risk—you must observe the low flying rules unless an exemption has been granted; in practice, you can get down to 200 feet for photography, but you will need to keep a record of when it was taken advantage of, as you would with any other.
If a door needs to be removed, loose articles and surplus seat belts should naturally be secured and manoeuvres carried out where possible so the side of the aircraft without the door is uppermost; people near the open door should wear a bit more than the seat belt supplied. This point is controversial—very often a photographer will expect the door to be off, not have a mount and just use a normal seat belt. No way, José! In this case, I would insist on at least a rope around their middle loosely attached to an anchor point as well, but a professional outfit—which includes your Company—will have its own despatcher's harness. Think about it—the photographer needs to shift to get a better position, so he undoes the seat belt to help him get it! Then falls out!
A camera mount will normally be fitted by the company supplying it, but you should oversee the work and annotate the loadsheet accordingly (it should not be fitted unless there is a Supplement to the Flight Manual covering its installation).
When the mount is in place, the C of A changes to Aerial Work, therefore no passengers should be carried without an exemption, or unless they are essential to the operation, which includes the photographer. The C of G requirements will change as well. If you get a choice, sit the cameraman on your side—keeping the target inside an area in the top front part of your side window will give him the field of view required. It's important to get what's wanted first time, not only for economy, but also noise nuisance. Camera crews are famous for wanting "just one more shot" and going "a little lower", but you shouldn't push yourself or the machine.