How To Decide If Your Listing Needs Aerial / Drone Photography.

When considering whether or not to invest the dollars into drone / aerial photography for your listing, it's a good thing to consider why you think you might need drone. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to see whether or not you actually need drone / aerial photography for your listing.

• Is the listing you are considering for aerial / drone photography a high-value listing?
  Whether your vision of luxury is a mobile home on 10 acres of pristine land, or a palacial mansion with sprawling gardens, aerial photography can set your listing apart from all the others.
  
  
• Is this listing a water-front, golf course, lake, or green belt property?
  These kinds of listings and many more can benefit from drone / aerial photography. Maybe you want to show an aerial view of a beautiful landscape backdrop, a world-class golf course, a beautiful water-front, or gentle waves of ocean lapping up the beach. Drone / aerial photography is a fantastic way to show these features, and more.
  
  
• Is the listing an acreage property?
  Any time a property includes acreage, it's always a great idea to include several photos from a drone. Many aerial offerings can do things like outline the property with a visual indicator where the property lines begin and end.
  
  
• Does the listing have nearby attractions that an aerial view would show?
  Very often, aerial photography can be used to show features that are blocks away, or even miles away such as a nearby amusement park, or a down-town view of a large city.

Comparison Of Aerial / Drone Photography Pricing

When comparing prices for aerial / drone photography, make sure that you are comparing "apples to apples". One of the largest contributing factors to the price of aerial / drone photography is the number of photos that you will receive for the package ordered. Most packages range in numbers of photos from 1 to 10. It is not uncommon to see a photography company such as USHomeHub offer varying packages with different numbers of photos to ensure that you only get the number of photos you need for the listing you are representing.

Aerial / Drone Photography Pricing

How Weather Conditions Can Affect Your Aerial / Drone Shoot

Drone shoots can be affected by a variety of weather conditions that would prevent the drone shoot from taking place. Here are some of the biggest reasons that weather can play a factor in getting your drone shoot done.

• Rain / Precipitation
  Rain conditions can certainly affect whether or not your drone pilot will be able to successfully shoot your listing. One thing to remember is that due to weight concerns, drones have very small cameras on them. The fact that most drone cameras are very small means that they also have very small lenses. Even the tiniest rain drop on the lens could obscure the subject of the shoot, which in this case would be your listing. Many times, even the spectre of rain in the forecase will cause most drone pilots to re-schedule potential shoots just to be on the safe side.
  
  
• Wind
  Wind can be a major consideration as to whether your aerial / drone shoot will go off without a hitch. Depending upon how windy the flying conditions are when the pilot is ready to shoot your b listing, you could be faced with anything from a temporary delay to a complete rescheduling of the shoot. Most modern drones can easily fly in wind conditions of 5 MPH or less, and some of the more sophisticated and powerful drones such as the DJI SPark can fly in wind speeds approaching 15 MPH, or even more. At USHomeHub, we only use the very most advanced drones, and can easily take photos in windy conditions of up to 20 MPH.
  
  
• Fog, Smog & Smoke
  If there is even a hint of fog, smog, smoke, or anything that could obscure the view for the drone, it would be wise to consider rescheduling the shoot.
  
  

How No Fly Zones In Can Affect Your Aerial / Drone Shoot

Your drone shoot can be impacted in a way that will prevent you from ever getting a drone in the air if the listing is inside a "No Drone Zone"

Lots of areas could qualify for "No Drone Zones", and include common landmarks, national monuments, prisons, military insitallations, airports, nuclear power plants, Coast Guard boats, Navy boats, some state, and national parks, stadiums, sporting events, concerts and more. You can use our chart below to determine whether or not your listing is inside a "No Drone Zone".

• Altitude (400 ft)
  A major consideration for aerial photos is whether or not the drone will have to fly higher than 400 feet to get the shots that you want. These considerations become especially significant when considering aerial / drone photos for an acreage property. If you want that "Google Earth" look to the shot, and the property is more than a few acres in size, you may not be able to get that "eagle eye" perspective you want. One technique that the drone pilot may use to get that top-down view of the property is to take several photos from different locations, and stich them together for a composite image that shows the entire property in one photo. While compositing photos together is time consuming, USHomeHub offers this service completely free of charge to ensure that you get the views you desire.
  
  
• Airports (5 miles)
  Where proximity to an airport becomes an issue, there are things your drone pilot can do to safely fly within the 5 miile restricted flight zone, but it may end up costing you additional dollars to do so. Time is money, and when an aerial pilot has to contend with being inside the 5 mile restricted airport zone, it can take a while to get tower authorization to fly in the restricted zone. It can often take hours to get a tower response, and even then, the response may not allow you to fly in the restricted zone. If your property is inside the restricted zone be prepared to go out to the property several times to get the photos, and each trip will most likely cost additional dollars.
  
  
• Military Bases (7-10 miles)
  Where military bases are concerned, suffice it to say that you're not going to get authorization to use a drone near the military installation. This is where a photographers "pole" might be helpful. Often a pole can be used to get a higher perspective on the home without taking a drone into the air. This may prove to be the best option for homes and properties that are near military bases and you would like to have that lofty perspective.
  
  
• Landmarks & National Monuments (varying)
  Almost all of the national monuments and landmarks easily recognizeable are now "No Drone" Zones. Most of the national monument "No Drone" Zones are just a radius of one mile, but you would want to check with the local authorities to ensure the exact readius of the no fly zone for the monument or landmark in question.
  
  
• National Parks / National Forests
  If your listing happens to be inside of a national park, then there is a 95% chance that your property will not be able to benefit from aerial photos due to the fact that 100% of the national parks are "No Drone Zones", and getting authorization requires a written and signed document from the Director of National Park Services in order to fly in that area.
  
  Conversely, if the listing is in a National Forest, there are almost no restrictions on flying in a national forest except the altitude restrictions, and any restrictions you might have for national monuments and such.
  
  
• Nuclear Power Installations - (3 Miles)
  If you are wanting aerial photos of a listing that is near a nuclear power installation, you will need to ensure that the home is not within a 3 mile radius of the nuclear power installation. There is currently no authorization waiver that will allow you to fly within the restricted radius of a nuclear power installation. If you're inside the 3 mile radius, you might want to consider "pole" elevated shots.
  
  
• Washington D.C. - (15-30 Miles)
  Washington D.C. is definitely one of the most restrictive areas to fly a drone in. Washington D.C. is governed by the Special Flight Rules Area which incorporates a two-ring system for aerial / drone flights. There is an inner ring, and an outer ring. The inner ring is a 15 mile radius in which flying a drone completely prohibited without special authorization from the FAA. The outer ring is a 30 mile radius ring in which you must still get authorization from the FAA to fly in, but is far less restrictive than the inner ring.
  
  
• Temporary Flight Restricted Areas (TFRs) - Varying Mileage
  Temporary Flight Restricted Areas are kind of self-explanatory. Very often these temporary flight restrictions can be issued if there is military, police, or even diplomatic activity in the area. During these times in which the TFR is in place, it can often be difficult if not impossible to find out when the TFR will be lifted, and until then, getting aerial photos of your property will not be able to take place.
  
  
• Wildlife Sanctuaries (Varying)
  If your listing is in or near a wildlife sanctuary, your aerial pilot will need to check with the local parks and wildlife authorities for the special flight restrictions that may be present for that area. Sometimes, it can be as simple as a height restriction or as complex as not taking off within a certain distance of any wildlife such as a deer, moose, bear, whale, etc.
  
  
• Prisons (2 miles)
  Under no circumstances is a drone to be flown within 2 miles of any prison installation. There is currently no process for gaining a waiver to fly a drone within the restricted zone of a prison. If your listing is within 2 miles of a prison, and you wanted aerial photos.... You're out of luck.