Real Estate Drone Photography: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

Drone photography has grown to become an essential offering for real estate photography, but between a complex regulatory environment, a whole new set of gear considerations for both photo and video, and the challenges of shooting from a new angle, it can be tricky to start. Fortunately, in this introductory guide to real estate drone photography, I’ll be breaking down everything you need to know to get started, including why drone photography is so necessary for your business and how to tick all the FAA boxes.

Why Use a Drone for Real Estate Photography?

Real estate photographers haven’t needed a drone in the past, but now it’s almost guaranteed to be requested for serious shoots, particularly in hot real estate markets. A drone offers a whole new perspective on the property, allows the agent or realtor to emphasize the beauty and surroundings of the lot, and just has that catchy and dynamic look that makes a listing jump off the page.

Aerial views are also essential for showing relative property sizes. You can shoot from above and from various angles to frame the property in context. I know this has been particularly helpful to round out the listing photos I produce for smaller homes in subdivisions where there otherwise would be few outdoor photos.

Side Note:

Avoid editing the photo to add things like representations of lot lines or sizes, as these technical aspects are a huge legal issue for property transactions, and you don’t want to be caught in the middle of that.