Architectural Photography

Drones in Architectural Photography

In the past, architects had to rely mostly on hand-drawn bird’s eye view maps or sketches of properties. Some would hop on a helicopter and take photos of the properties from above. Although these produced good images, the process they had to go through was quite inconvenient. So when drones came into the limelight, a lot of architectural photographers grabbed the opportunity and started using the unmanned aerial vehicle for photographing their subjects.

With drones, architectural firms and their clients no longer need to hire helicopter services or find the perfect position for getting the right angle. They simply delegate the task to the drone and the professional photographer (which is also most likely the drone pilot).

Aside from the convenience, there are many other reasons why architectural and real estate photographers now prefer to use drones.

Benefits of Using a Drone

Here are five of the most significant benefits of drones to architectural photographers:

  1. Drones offer versatility
    Drones are small so they are able to fly to as many areas as possible, even the hard-to-reach ones. Additionally, they can penetrate areas that are difficult to navigate (e.g., densely wooded areas where tall trees cover the view from above). And the best thing about all these is that drones can pan, get close ups, take a continuous shot, and even perfectly frame a subject.
  2. Drones have very minimal noise
    Unlike helicopters, drones are quiet. They do not have a heavy buzzing or whirring sound. As such, they can take good close up shots of the house, building, or property. Since drones are quiet, they can be used to take architectural and real estate photos of exclusive neighborhood or areas where silence is a must (such as zoo or a church).
  3. Drones offer convenience
    As previously mentioned, drones are very convenient to use. The set up time is quite minimal (less than a minute if you’re using the Mavic Pro or the GoPro Karma) and there are no complicated requirements.
  4. Drones offer first class image quality
    Drones are equipped with the latest image technology, so you are guaranteed to get high-resolution architectural and real estate photos. If you want to take it up a notch, you can use drones with a 1-inch image sensor (such as the Mavic 2 Pro and Phantom 4 Pro). If you have the budget, try the DJI Inspire 2 drones.
  5. Drones offer flexibility of use in architectural photography
    In architectural and real estate photography, drones can be used in a variety of ways.
    • First, it can be applied for site planning, before the actual construction starts. Photographers can make 3D maps using drones.
    • Second, it can be used during the design phase to give clients a visual orientation of the building or structure being/to be built.
    • Third, drones can be used to monitor construction progress.
    • Fourth, drones can be used to capture high resolution images of the completed project for a variety of purposes, but primarily for sales and marketing.