When many consumers saw the first UAV vehicles hit the markets, their vision went starry-eyed. “The future is here,” became a common news article and forum thread title for those who were excited about the new tech. And as hardware advances occurred, prices went down and more and more people were able to get their hands on flying second shooters, making their own independent property photography business explode.

And for those in real estate? The impact of UAV / drone property photography can’t possibly be understated.

Why it’s a Smart Move

In the real estate business, photographers know that they have precious little time to really sell the property they’re looking at. A terrible photo or video can kill a sale before anything else. With UAV stills and 360 video, though, you have a unique opportunity — you can present an entire property and show off the unique features that the location has.

Those who are in the booming universe of commercial real estate will find that they can suddenly capture every aspect of the property they’re showcasing — any sprawling campus, land, or park area can be more easily showcased through UAV images, giving your clients the ultimate way to show off their property.

The potential that an unmanned vehicle has for gathering pristine footage can’t be lessened. UAV and drone images truly give clients and prospective buyers the “big picture” when looking into their future purchase.

Broadening Market Need

If you decide to step into UAV property photography and videography, you may find that your client list grows a bit, too. Residential real estate is one avenue making use of UAV images, but so too is commercial real estate, the federal government with images of state and federal parks, city and county developers who need images of civic development, school boards seeking images for potential parents, and property surveyors.

The Fine Print

While some may look at UAV photography as nothing more than a hobby, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in America and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA )  within Australia take drone flying extremely seriously. The FAA had their eye specifically on realtors when they laid out their 2012 Modernization and Reform Act which stated some pretty hard regulations for realtors.

For this reason, getting into UAV property photography and videography isn’t as simple as buying a quadcopter off Amazon, strapping a camera to it, and sending it up into the sky. Be sure to do complete all your local research, cover yourself with the correct Public Liability insurance and apply for certification and or permits if you decide this is something you want to add to your repertoire.

Author :  Tim Collins Chief UAV Controller & Photographer Sky Images Australia

Contact iMAGECLOUD  if you’d like to see how you can grow your business in 2016 through better technology and smarter software built for property photography businesses like yours!