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An essential part of your first, or 100th, skydive experience are pictures of people parachuting, whether it's you or your friends. There are some limitations to know about these images, though, before you consider spending the money on them.

An essential part of the whole skydiving experience has to be taking pictures of people parachuting. There is no greater thrill than taking the video home after your skydiving experience, popping it into the VCR or DVD, and watching you and your friends freefalling at ten thousand feet. A skydiving video is almost like reliving the experience all over again, minus the harness riding up on you!

But what are some of best ways to take pictures of people parachuting? And how much does such as skydiving video cost? These questions can be answered by the staff at the particular parachuting center that you go to, and answers will vary depending on your location and needs. But here are some general answers that are usually true no matter where you're jumping.

One main question that people have when they want videos or photos of a jump is whether or not they can get a group shot of all of their friends jumping at the same time. The answer is no, unless you're writing the military parachuting manual and are pro-grade stunt jumpers. In most cases, beginner or intermediate skydivers will have leaping at more than a quarter mile apart. That makes filming all of you at the same time impossible.

People also ask whether or not they can made their own photos or pictures of a jump. If you're on the ground, taking photos of your friends as they fall toward the ground, that's one thing. Shoot away! But if you're the one doing the actual skydiving, don't expect to be able to bring your own filming or photography equipment.

Don't worry, though. Most parachuting centers have multimedia experts at their disposal to make these videos and pics for you. Some even allow you to bring your music CDs, and they will splice the music into your video to make it as personalized and exciting as possible. They'll even let you add footage of an interview with you before the takeoff, an interview after your jump, as well as scenes of your take-off, exit, freefall, and your landing.

For still photos, the options aren't as varied, but the one benefit is instant access to your images. Many jump centers will take a whole roll's worth of pictures and either hand over the roll to you for instant development, or e-mail you the digital pics.