How to Prepare for Your Aerial Shoot

Good aerial photography starts before the drone leaves the truck. What you do in the days and hours before a shoot significantly affects the quality of the final result. This is a practical checklist of what to address.

Property and site preparation

Remove visual clutter that you do not want in the final images. Dumpsters, job-site debris, temporary equipment, extra vehicles, and anything else that makes the property look occupied in the wrong way shows clearly from the air. Aerial photography is unforgiving of clutter because you cannot hide it behind an angle.

For lake properties: make sure the dock is in, boats are at their natural positions (or removed if you want a cleaner shot), and the shoreline is as groomed as it will be during peak season. If the beach is raked and the firepit is staged, that shows. If the winter cover is still on the boats, that also shows.

For commercial properties and construction sites: ensure access to all areas you want documented. Gate codes, contact names, and any areas with restricted access should be communicated before the shoot date.

Timing and light

For most marketing and portrait work, we will plan the shoot around golden hour — early morning or late afternoon. If you have a preference for one or the other (morning is typically softer; late afternoon tends to be warmer), communicate that when we are scheduling.

If you have flexibility on the shoot date, give us a window of two to four days rather than a fixed date. This allows us to pick the day within that window with the best forecast for the specific light conditions your project benefits from.

For construction and documentation shoots, the time of day matters less. Midday is often more practical for these projects and delivers consistent results for documentation purposes.

What to communicate before the shoot

Tell us about any specific shots you need. If there is a particular angle, feature, or aspect of the property that must be in the final deliverable, say so explicitly. We cannot read your mind, but we can build a shot list around your priorities.

Tell us about any areas to avoid. Privacy concerns, neighboring properties, restricted zones, or anything that should not appear in the imagery. We plan around these.

Tell us who will be on site and how to reach them. If you will not be present yourself, the name and number of a property contact who can let us in or answer questions is important.

Tell us if the property has any unusual features that affect flying. Tall trees, power lines, structures near the edges of the property, or anything that requires navigating around should be flagged in advance.

On the day of the shoot

You do not need to be present for most commercial shoots. If you are present, let us work without interruption during the flight — conversation and movement near the aircraft during flight affects concentration. Walk through the shot priorities before we fly, and we will check in after the flight to confirm we got what you needed.

If conditions change significantly between when we confirmed the shoot and the shoot day — a nearby fire producing smoke, unexpected construction equipment on site, or a major weather change — contact us before we make the trip.

After the shoot

Standard delivery is five business days from the shoot date. We will confirm a delivery date in your project agreement. When the delivery link arrives, review it promptly — revision requests and any questions about the deliverables should come within five business days of delivery.

One round of revisions is included: color adjustments, selection changes, or framing corrections on edited deliverables. Additional revision rounds are quoted plainly. Let us know what you need and we will handle it.