Source: Pexels
The real estate sector has provided an opportunity to drone photographers to make an income by practicing their hobby. Using drones for real estate photography comes with many advantages. This is because you are able to take impressive, breathtaking photographs from virtually any angle.
Previously, this stunt was only possible with the use of a helicopter. Well, this was not only cumbersome but quite costly as well. Now with the advent of the drone technology, it costs you far much less the cost of hiring a helicopter to take magnificent aerial photographs.
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The use of drones for real estate photography has gone a mile further to allow enlisting of virtual tours for real estate. This gives real estate agents an opportunity to be able to reach more people using the internet who can view these videos from any corner of the world.
Virtual tours also enable real estate agents to be more interactive in showcasing properties. This is done by creating rich experiences for the buyers. The advantages that come with using drones in real estate photography include:
- Drones can fly above difficult to reach areas to enable you to capture great images.
- Drones are equipped with great cameras that will capture images of properties on the highest quality enabling you to showcase the property in detail.
- Drones can be used to create natural virtual tours.
Using drones for real estate photography is highly recommended for the best results. In order to get started with drone real estate photography, you need to invest in the right tools and choose the right type of drone.
This will help you to have a high return on your investment because of the high-quality results that you are able to achieve. When your customers are satisfied with your work, you’ll be able to attract more.
Getting established as a reliable source for quality work is key to success in real estate photography. After ensuring you have the right apparatus in place, you are required to take and pass the FAA part 107 test to be allowed to operate commercially.
Use the multiple listing services
All the information about real estate is managed and controlled by the multiple listing services(MLS). There are many MLS across each state in the country, the rules stipulated in each one of them varies from one another.
This is why it is important to narrow down your research to your local MLS and get to know the rules that apply to the areas that you operate in. Be sure to note down:
- The types of image files that are allowed
- The dimension of images and file size that is allowed
- Laws that govern, creating and unbranded virtual tours
- How to automate the image upload and what options are available
- Image dimensions that bring out the best resolution for images
After doing research and made a decision about the type and growth of drone to get. Check if you have the following tools:
- At least two drones
- Charged batteries with an extra pair for each drone
- A number of SD cards
- Gloves
- Licenses and credentials
- Cell phone
- Drone control pads
Check the type of camera that comes with the drone and the quality of images and videos that it can produce. See if you’ll need to mount a third party camera to produce the highest quality of images and videos.
Invest in buying spare parts for your drones such as batteries and rotor blades. You’ll also need to ensure your drone for commercial operations. This will cover any loss in case your drone gets damaged.
Tips for real estate photography
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Before beginning your shoot, it is important to walk around the property and check the accessories to capture as well as the right angles. Check your rotor blades for any damage. If there is any crack, change the rotors immediately.
Check the return to home function(RTH) to ensure it turned on and the set to return altitude correctly set up. Check to see that the GPS function is on. Mount Martin the SD card correctly.
Prepare the property
Clean the outdoor area. Cleanliness speaks volumes about how well maintained the property is.
- Remove all cars out of view to allow for maximum area coverage
- De-clutter the yard and the interior of the house. Remove all personal items from the house such as certificates and photographs. Turn on exterior and interior lighting. Lighting is very important in photography.
- It is important to turn off the fan because it creates a whizzing sound that may interfere with video production.
Timing your shoot
The most breathtaking photographs are taken in the ‘golden hour’. This is the time before or after sunrise or just before the sun sets. It is known as the golden hour because this is the time where the photographer can take the sun from the equation.
Keep in mind that your time is limited and soon the sun will be out in full or completely down. Be quick. Take your photos in the right lighting. The evening is preferred as the sun’s rays subdue. Adjust the ISO setting to have the best results.
You can try to take multiple images by using the HDR feature. This will allow you to take many photographs from the same location each with a different exposure. You can merge these images later. Don’t forget that the grass is usually wet in the morning, so avoid landing or taking off early in the morning on the lawns. Shoot your images in RAW format for detailed and easy to edit pictures.
Capturing your assigned property
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Start by launching your drone slowly and steadily upwards. Watch the sun’s position and angle, careful to avoid it coming into direct view. Take a photo capturing text property directly from above. Then fly to the front of the property.
Fly around to capture the extra amenities such as decks, patios, lawns, swimming pools, balconies and the whole landscape.
Drone photography is important in showing potential home buyers details such as:
- An aerial view of the whole property
- The condition of hard to reach areas, for example, the roof and corners
- The condition of access roads and the driveway
- The surrounding area and close social amenities that surround the property
- The map and survey of the property
- The interior of the property showing each room and accessory
Creating videos
Don’t be tempted to create videos that are too long. It is recommended that you stick to creating videos that are 3 to 4 minutes long. This is important in grabbing the buyers attention and keeping things interesting.
Take short video clips preferably 10 to 15 seconds long for each then put them together. You may then put transitions in between the clips and other effects for the videos all this should be done with the aim of creating a natural flow.
Learn local laws and regulations
It is important to follow the rules and regulations that control drone use in your locality. These rules are different from state to state. A good place to get acquainted with the basics will be visiting the official FAA website.
Learn the latest laws governing drone use such as the maximum allowable altitude above ground level and areas to fly your drone. You need to register your drone with the FAA if it weighs more than 250 grams and less than 25 kilograms.
Keep updated with the most recent laws because they keep being changed from time to time.
Benefits of using drones in real estate photography
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Clear, sharp, colorful and well-detailed photographs and videos are very important in attracting buyers in real estate. Drones have made the art of capturing stunning beautiful photographs much easier because of their lightweight nature.
This makes it very easy to maneuver them around and be able to capture high-quality images. Drone aerial photographs and videos can help showcase more content as compared to ground photographs. Aerial videos and photographs greatly help the buyer to have a great perspective of the property to be sold as well as its surroundings.
Potential property buyers can also get to the distance between the property and surrounding neighborhood. A drone is a cost-effective and easy to use tool that will allow you to shoot breathtaking images from the sky as well as low altitudes to suit your marketing needs.
Each photograph provided by drones has shown high rates of success. Here are a few advantages that come with the use of drones:
Drones help you to highlight key features of the property: you can easily zoom in and out to highlight the properties special features. These features include lawns, swimming pools, parks, patios, and decks. They can be fit into a single photograph by capturing the picture from the right altitude.
It is affordable: the use of drones to capture aerial photographs is very affordable.
Drones are highly versatile: a drone is highly portable and works best in almost any landscape. Their lightweight nature allows them to fly to any allowable maximum altitude to give you a more detailed view. Furthermore, they are highly portable and compact in size.
Create immersive virtual tours: because of their compact small size, drones can be used to showcase the whole property. This can be done by flying the drone through the front gate and then to the front door, to each and every room.
