HOW TO SHOOT AERIAL REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A DRONE
Introduction To Real Estate Drone Photography
Getting those high-quality aerial shots of your property can be a crucial factor when it comes to selling your listing to prospective buyers. However, real estate aerial photography can be daunting at a glance, especially if you’ve never flown a drone before! In this article, our founder, Brad Filliponi, is going to show you how easy it can be. You will learn the key tips on how to operate a drone and obtain professional images using aerial photography.
Shooting With Your Drone
In this tutorial, we are using the DJI Phantom 4 professional drone to demonstrate the power of aerial shots. When taking off, always be cautious of power lines and trees as these hazards can be disastrous if you accidently fly your drone into them. When taking the shot, try to remove yourself from the photo so you don’t have to do it later in post. You can always hide underneath some tree foliage to achieve this. Keep your settings in auto, that way you can capture your images without having the hassle of changing settings
Note: Don’t worry too much about the weather as this can be edited using the image enhancement service.
Shooting The Birds Eye View
To create the bird's eye view, hover your drone directly above the desired area. Don’t worry about surrounding items, these can be removed by using our item removal service (as shown later in this tutorial).
Shooting The Aerial View
Don’t forget to take an aerial shot so you can easily identify schools, airports etc. that often aren’t visible. In this example, the property is so close to the ocean and a major shopping
Editing Your Drone Images
Create duplicate images of your original drone photos and use a program like paint to draw on edits and mark item removals required. Include measurements and outline the area on your bird's eye view. This will make it stand out in the image.
For your aerial shot, make sure you note the nearby attractions so we know exactly you require the drop pins.
By providing these duplicate images, it gives our editors a clear understanding of what edits you require to your job. Now you are ready to jump over to our BoxBrownie and submit your images to be edited.
Lodging Your Job
Once you have logged into your account, click on “Aerial Editing” and follow the instructions below.
- Give your job a title for easy reference.
- When uploading images, include your originals along with the duplicate images you have made edits on.
- Click the link underneath your uploads to group your original and duplicate images.
- Select the
birds eye images and group them and apply the same to the aerial images.
Once you have completed this step, your original and duplicate image will save as one. This means, you only get charged for the one image.
For the
- Select Single Lot Highlight from the Aerial Editing drop down box.
- Select the relevant item removal option from the drop down box if you require items from your image to be removed. Please note that a car is identified as a large item so you will need to select the large item option.
- You can then specify in the special instructions box the items that need to be removed and any other relevant information.
For the aerial image:
- Select the preferred Drop Pin option to highlight key attractions in the area
- Select Image Enhancement if required. This feature is ideal for those images taken in less than ideal weather conditions.
Once done, click next and make sure to revise your edits before submitting your job to ensure all requirements are listed. When you’re finished, click submit and you’re done. We then take care of the rest by turning your images from drab to fab in 24 hours.
Conclusion
Aerial photography is a great tool for any real estate agent looking to advance their marketing. Hopefully, this tutorial gives you the confidence to take aerial real estate photography with a drone and use it to present your listing in the best possible way to your potential buyers.
Please note: If you are using a drone in the United States for commercial purposes, you require a FAA Part 107 certification and your drone must be registered.
RELATED ARTICLES

As you make your New Year’s resolutions, hit refresh on your property photography skills by resolving to not let common errors hold back the potential of your property listings. Explore our blog to discover frequently occurring photo blunders and learn how to fix them for stunning results.
READ MORE
Drone photography services can achieve sensational real estate photos, but poorly presented drone footage (far too common in this industry) can bore, uninspire, even repel a potential buyer. Clients who know what they are looking for, want to know what they are looking at. Simple on-screen graphics that orient clients to important details, like, for example, property boundaries, can do wonders for aerial photographs. Here, we will prove this to you via the Before and After method.
READ MORE
Selling a home with a breathtaking view but struggling to capture the window detail in your 360 virtual tour? In this tutorial, we will walk you through the shoot process step-by-step and show you just how easy it is to showcase your listing in the best possible light and capture the attention of your potential buyers.
READ MORE
Capturing that perfect drone real estate image might seem like a daunting task, particularly if you’re new to the property photography game, but don’t let that scare you off. In this tutorial, we will walk you through each step of the process from choosing the right drone and taking the perfect shot to having your images professionally edited.
READ MORE
This 10-step guide will help you in selecting the best shot to represent your listing so that you can capture hearts and close deals fast with a standout hero image.
READ MORE
This blog is for all the real estate pros who like to shoot their own listing photos! Here are 10 easy tips that you need to be doing to take attention-grabbing property photos. Get ready to transform your listings and captivate potential buyers or renters!
READ MORE