Top 5 Reasons You Should Use A Drone For Your Architectural Project Photography

It’s hard to imagine that drones have really only been a photography tool over the last decade or so and, in my opinion, they really didn’t produce the quality of images needed for architectural photography until the last few years. Before drones, photographers were using long poles and helicopters to get higher elevations. I personally owned a 25′ light stand that I would mount my camera onto and carefully hoist it into the air. I would need to wait for it to stop wobbling before I could capture my photo. Now I can throw my Mavic 3 into the air in just a couple of minutes and capture perspectives that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

Despite them being a very cool and useful tool, I try to be very intentional when using a drone as it serves a very specific purpose – to capture an “impossible” yet compositionally pleasing perspective that makes your project shine.

Here are my Top 5 reasons a drone should be used to help capture your project.

1. Difficult to reach perspectives
This goes without saying. Many homes are built on the side of a hill or in other challenging terrains where traditional tripods and camera positions just can’t get the perspective that is needed. The drone will allow us to get to a perspective that truly shows off the uniqueness of the design and parts of your project that people normally won’t be able to see due to these limitations.

2. Capturing Details and Footprint Photos
Whether you want to show the details of a roof, the shape of a lot, or the footprint of a structure, shooting from directly above can be a unique perspective that only a drone can capture.

3. Showing Your Projects Surroundings
Sometimes the surroundings are just as important as the project itself, and in many cases the only way to capture the true scope of the work is to view it from the air. This is especially true in larger downtown areas where the only way to get certain perspectives without a drone is by gaining access to rooftops or balconies of neighboring buildings.

4. Progress Documentation
This is not something I do enough of and I hope that by seeing a few of these, it will inspire you to hire your photographer (or me 😉) to also capture progress photos for you. I typically recommend coordinating key phases in the construction process with your photographer and capturing the project not just from the ground, but also the sky.

5. Drone Video Capabilities
As strange as it sounds, we hardly even notice when drone footage is being used in movies or shows anymore. It has just become so normal that it doesn’t register. The same should be said for your architectural video – it must incorporate drone footage (when it makes sense to do so). Here are three use cases where drone video made a lot of sense. By the way… if you are not yet using video in your projects, you should be strongly considering it.

If you have a project that would show best from a higher perspective, let’s talk about how I can help you.