I might organize some of these topics a little differently. Here is an outline of the first few topics.

Choosing a camera

1. Do you want excellent photos?
a. Better cameras are heavier and more expensive so flights involve more difficulty and risk.
b. For under $200 an old model (used) of mirrorless camera (e.g., Canon EOS M, 365 grams) offers DSLR quality images at 2 or 3 times the weight of point and shoot cameras.
c. For more than $200 many mirrorless cameras and small DSLRs are available.
2. Do you want good photos?
a. Point and shoot cameras can take very good photos when used carefully.
b. High end Canon PowerShots (Canon S100, S110) cost under $200 used, weigh 200 grams, and have features that improve aerial image quality (shutter priority, manual focus).
c. Small Canon PowerShots cost under $100 used and weigh under 150 grams and are a very good compromise for kite photography.
d. Action Cameras (GoPro) are lightweight and easy to use. They are more expensive than point and shoot cameras and typically have very wide angle lenses so details of the ground are not captured with high resolution.
3. Do you want adequate photos?
a. Large keychain cameras (e.g., Mobius ActionCam) and action camera clones (e.g., Xiaomi Yi) cost under $100 and weigh under 100 grams. The small sensor and lens of these cameras and minimal controls can limit image quality except in perfect conditions.
b. Raspberry Pi and Arduino cameras have small sensors and small lenses and need perfect conditions to take good photos.

Attaching a camera to a kite line

1. A system to attach the camera to the kite line should facilitate the following functions (in order of importance).
a. Protect the camera from hard landings (but not necessarily all crashes).
i. Experienced kite flyers don’t worry about this, but they can usually afford replacement cameras.
ii. Bigger, heavier cameras require stronger protection.
b. Be light weight.
c. Accommodate a good suspension system (Picavet or pendulum) that damps motion and prevents spinning.
i. Avoiding tangles in the web of Picavet lines requires some practice but the ride is smooth.
ii. A pendulum is very easy to use and gives excellent results.
d. Allow easy access to all camera controls.
i. Making sure all the camera settings are correct is important so being able to see the settings and change them at launch time can be critical.
e. Accommodate easy switching between nadir and oblique shooting.
f. Disassemble easily for compact transport and storage.
g. Be easy to modify and attach things to.

2. Static rigs hold the camera pointed in the same direction.
a. Typically, the camera takes photos at regular intervals (every 4 to 12 seconds).
b. This is the default for mapping (nadir) photos.
c. For oblique photography, a single camera orientation limits the potential view.

3. Pan/tilt rigs point the camera in different directions
a. Motorized rigs use small servos to rotate (pan) the rig and/or tilt the camera. Typically, the shutter is triggered when the servos are not moving the rig.
i. Continuous panning and interval shutter release can capture the entire 360° view. The panning may or may not stop during shutter releases.
ii. Autonomous control (autoKAP) requires electronics to send programmed start and stop signals to the servo(s) and synchronized signals to the camera shutter to cover all or part of the view.
iii. Remote control requires a radio transmitter (on the ground) and receiver (on the rig) so the user can remotely aim and shoot the camera. (If the user wants to see where the camera is pointing, an additional radio system can send video or data down from the camera.)
b. Non-motorized pan/tilt rigs use other energy sources to move the rig, so no electronics or batteries are required. Typically, the shutter is released at regular intervals while the rig moves continuously.
i. Wind-up spring mechanisms (egg timers) can be modified to pan the camera rig slowly as the camera shoots every few seconds.
ii. Rubber bands can replace the egg timer if you only have 50 cents and your flights last only 15 minutes.
iii. Propellers can capture wind energy and transfer it to rig movement.
iv. Escapements can harvest the rocking motion of the hanging rig and transfer it into rotational movement. The incremental panning movement allows some photos to be taken while the rig is not being panned.

Choosing a kite

1. Kite photography is done best with wind speeds between about 6 and 25 miles per hour.
a. No single kite can lift a camera gracefully at all wind speeds in that range.
b. Experienced kite photographers typically carry three to five kites to cover a range of wind conditions.
2. Kite photography is easiest when wind speeds are about 8 to 18 miles per hour.
a. A quality nine foot delta can cover most of this range (lifting small cameras), is very easy to use, costs less than $100, and is therefore a very good kite to start with.
b. Adding a lighter wind kite (e.g., Fled or 7 foot Rokkaku) will cover the lower end of that range.
c. Having only one kite will limit the conditions for successful kite photography, so you must pick your days more carefully.
3. The useful wind range of a kite also depends on the weight of the camera rig being lifted.
a. Experienced kite photographers often have multiple camera/rig combinations including light weight and heavier ones which extend the wind range for success.

That's a good point, Chris, and I like that you start at the camera.

Beyond framing kite photography, I think it's worth integrating several of the photography techniques we've got proposed, starting from "so, you want to monitor a landscape?" People are using web-mapping and imagery products, cell phone photos, timelapse, trap cams, pole photos, kite photos, balloon photos, airplane photos, passenger get photos... a high level landing page would be useful.

Deciding what types of photos to get.

Is a landscape view needed to show scale or impact, or is some physical factor being measured from photo to photo, i.e. murky water, or the changing shape and size of a waste pile?

How often are photos needed?

• Are photos needed to capture a fleeting, infrequent event like runoff? Continuous monitoring is probably the best option, see timelapse.
• Is an occasional check-in or one-time photo needed? Site visits may work best if the site is accessible

is flight needed?

• Can the subject be seen from ground-level?
• do people pass by regularly? Phone images may work.
• can a time-lapse camera be placed nearby? See time-lapse options.
• can images be captured from a nearby building/high point?
• can the images be captured with a pole (10M or less)
• is the site accessible, or are the flying areas far from the site? see picking a flying site.

if the site is not accessible

• can oblique images from a distant point work?
• can a kite be placed nearby? see can the kite get to the target site.

If flight is needed

• What angle are the photos needed at?
• Can a balloon be flown from the site?
• Can the kite get to the target site?

@Ecta64 How do you feel about the Kite Anemometer section and lift calculations? I really think a lookup chart of "I have X grams of stuff I need Y kite in Z wind to lift it" would be real helpful. You don't need to be able to answer the question, but do you think you could frame it given some of the articles on kite anemometry?

Glenn Davison has answered many of these questions in the AKA guide to kite flying. I can't believe I'd never seen it before. A+ excellent: http://kite.org/kitetalk/index.php?/files/file/38-how-to-fly-a-kite/

Whoa thanks for sharing that link @mathew - good Saturday read :) A++