Aerial Photography is one of the services of Grey Eagle Photography!
As a retired Navy pilot and recreational flyer, one of the skills I have learned is taking pictures from the air. I offer that service to others for purposes of documentation of construction, land layout, wildlife habitat studies, etc. I rate myself as a technical photographer for hire, documenting images in the manner that the customer can use for whatever purpose.
While “drones” are a media field day at present, the real drones, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) or in the industry vernacular UAS’s (unmanned aerial systems,) are capable of precise navigation, stable flight, and sophisticated photography and video, and feature autonomous flight with backup systems for safety, lost communications, and more. What is now often referred to as a “drone” is really just a model airplane being hand flown by a hobbyist or professional, but only capable of being flown in line of sight. Mind you, they are handy for real estate photography, local events, police work, and just getting a slightly different view of the world. Sometimes the pictures are up to the standard of a professional photographer. For purposes of internet imaging, a high resolution level of quality is not really required. So they are an inexpensive way to provide still and video services close to the ground and in a limited distance from the operator.
For higher quality, and higher altitudes and distance coverage, the uncommon wisdom would dictate using a manned aircraft since the cost per hour is about one fifth or less that of a sophisticated unmanned system, assuming one could get permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly where the customer would like to have images taken. That is the niche in which I operate. For most purposes hand held digital images from my Nikon series of DLSRs do a great job with minimal expense in equipment. I would add with some lack of modesty that years of experience add significantly to the probable success of such a venture.
Coming Soon! A checklist to help you successfully hire an aerial photographer.