Real Estate Drone Photography: A Complete Guide
BY Zacc Dukowitz
23 February 2024Real estate drone photography is one of the most popular ways for drone pilots to break into making money with a drone.
Marketing is one of the most common types of real estate work for drone pilots—that’s when a realtor hires a drone pilot to get aerial shots of a piece of property to help them sell it.
Aerial photos, videos, and 3D models can help make a property come alive to potential buyers. And that’s especially true when it’s a bigger property.
Some are the most common types of properties drone pilots are hired to photograph include:
- Residential real estate. Homes, housing developments, and communities
- Commercial real estate. Malls, shopping centers, business complexes, golf courses, hotels, and hotel facilities
- Large areas of land. Big estates, golf courses, ranches, and farms
In this guide, we cover everything you need to know about real estate drone photography, including how much you can charge, the best real estate drones on the market, and how to find clients.
Want to jump around? Here you go:
- The Best Real Estate Drones [New for 2024]
- Finding Clients for Real Estate Drone Photography
- How Much Can You Charge for Real Estate Drone Photography?
- Do I Need a Drone License for Real Estate Drone Photography?
- Resources for Real Estate Drone Photography
The Best Real Estate Drones [New for 2024]
When it comes to real estate drone photography there are several good prosumer drone options out there, most starting at around $500 and going up to around $2,000.
What to Look for in a Real Estate Drone
Before diving into our list of drones for real estate drone photography, here are a few things to consider when shopping for a camera drone to use in real estate work:
- Quality of the camera. You’ll want a professional-grade camera with a high enough quality to allow you to take professional shots.
- Battery life. For an average residential shoot you may need about an hour of flight time and for a commercial shoot you’ll need even more, so make sure to keep this in mind when choosing your drone. The last thing you want is to run out of batteries halfway through a job.
- Flight modes. Some drones come with special pre-programmed flight modes, like DJI’s Intelligent Flight modes, which allow you to get special shots automatically. Whether you’re brand new or an experienced professional, these modes can be useful for capturing dynamic shots for your real estate clients.
- Payload options. As you get more experienced you may want to attach a different camera to your drone, which will mean you need to think about whether your drone allows for customized payloads.
Now that we’ve covered things to look for in your drone, let’s dive into our list of recommended camera drones for real estate drone photography.
The Best Real Estate Drones of 2024
Here’s our list of the top real estate drones on the market—follow the links to learn more about each one.
1. DJI Mini 4 Pro
The DJI Mini 4 Pro is known for packing advanced features into a compact frame, making it a good option for real estate photography. Its lightweight design (under 249g) not only makes it easier to fly—it also means you don’t have to register it, since the weight requirement for registration with the FAA is 250 grams.
Key Specs/Features
- Flight time. 45 minutes with the Intelligent Flight Battery plus, which is an upgrade, or 34 minutes with the standard Intelligent Flight Battery.
- Camera. 1.3” CMOS sensor that shoots stills at 48MP and video at 60fps HDR. Also allows for vertical shooting.
- Transmission. 1080p/60fps FHD live feeds up to 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) with 04 video transmission.
- Obstacle avoidance. Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance, with four wide-angle vision sensors and a pair of downward vision sensors.
Learn more about the DJI Mini 4 Pro.
2. Autel EVO Lite+
The Autel Evo Lite+ is designed for professionals and enthusiasts alike, offering advanced aerial imaging in a portable package. It stands out for its exceptional camera performance, making it ideal for a wide range of applications, including real estate photography, landscape capture, and more.
Key Specs/Features
- Flight time. Up to 40 minutes.
- Camera. High-resolution 6K video capability for detailed imagery.
- Design. Compact and foldable design for convenience and portability
- Obstacle avoidance. Advanced obstacle avoidance systems for safe flying
Learn more about the Autel EVO Lite+.
3. DJI Air 3
The DJI Air 3 stands out as a top choice for real estate photography, blending prosumer specifications with impressive flight time, transmission range, and photo/video capabilities, all at a pretty reasonable price.
Key Specs/Features
- Flight time. The Air 3 has 46 minutes of flight time vs. the 31 minutes of flight time found on the Air 2S.
- Cameras. The Air 3 has a dual wide-angle and tele camera system vs. the single visual sensor found on the Air 2S.
- Low light. The Air 3 is a good option for shooting in low-light and dark settings vs. no low-light support on the Air 2S.
- Obstacle sensors. The Air 3 has an omnidirectional binocular vision system and a bottom-mounted infrared sensor vs. the forward, backward, upward, and downward obstacle sensing found on the Air 2S.
- Transmission. The Air 3 has a max transmission range of 12.4 miles (20 km) supported by Ocusync 4.0 vs. the 7.4 miles (12 km) supported by Ocusync 3.0 found on the Air 2S.
Learn more about the DJI Air 3.
4. DJI Mavic 3 Pro
The DJI Mavic 3 Pro is a high-end drone designed for professional aerial photography and videography. It comes with three cameras, including a Hasselblad camera for exceptional image quality. Its advanced features include 5K video recording, a long flight time, and a variety of intelligent shooting modes, making it suitable for a wide range of creative and commercial applications.
Key Specs/Features
- Flight time. 43 minutes.
- Cameras. As we’ve already covered, the Mavic 3 Pro comes with three cameras—scroll down for details about each one.
- Transmission. 9.3 miles (15km) video transmission at 1080p/60fps provided by DJI’s O3+ transmission system.
- Obstacle avoidance. Omnidirectional obstacle sensing with eight wide-angle vision sensors and APAS 5.0.
Learn more about the DJI Mavic 3 Pro.
Finding Clients for Real Estate Drone Photography
When you’re just getting started in drone real estate photography it can be a little hard to get traction.
It’s a chicken-or-egg problem—how do you get clients if you don’t have a portfolio? And how do you build a portfolio without clients?
Here are some of the most common ways to get clients in real estate drone photography:
1. The “Free Shoot” Approach
One common path to building a portfolio of drone real estate photography / videography work and growing a client base is to offer work to clients for free.
Even if you already have a photography business, it can be hard to establish yourself with a new type of work. Offering clients a free shoot can help you establish credibility while also getting more work to build your portfolio in your new niche—as well as getting your name out for the new type of work you’re offering.
[Related read: Can You Shoot Down a Drone Over Your Property? And What Do You Do If Someone Shoots at Your Drone?]
Derrick Ward’s “Free Shoot” Story
When he was first getting started with offering drone services, Derrick Ward used the “free shoot” approach to land his first real estate clients in Utah.
Starting from scratch, he was eventually able to go from offering free flights to charging $250 an hour.
Here’s how he did it:
- He called all the realtors in the area to set up meetings and offered each of them a free shoot
- The first realtor to accept his offer was one of the biggest realtors in the state
- They were pleased with the work he delivered for free and hired him to do more work
- Derrick still works them to this day
Derrick flying in Southern California
By taking this approach Derrick was able to land several clients and build a client base in a short period of time.
He was also able to grow his portfolio of real estate drone photography and videography quickly, which helped him land paying clients shortly after he started giving away work for free.
Jonathon Russell’s “Free Shoot” Story
Another Drone Pilot Ground School alum, Jonathon Russell, also took the “free shoot” approach to grow his drone real estate photography business when he and his wife first moved to Hawaii.
The extra spin he put on the approach was to ask realtors if he could shoot properties they were having trouble selling, so he could highlight not only the quality of his aerial photography but also the direct impact drone real estate photography could have on sales in real estate.
Using this approach Jonathon and his wife Beth were able to grow their business from no clients at all to over 200 in just a few years.
2. Word of Mouth
Explore your existing network to see who might be able to connect you with a realtor in your area.
Once you land your first client it will be much easier to get your second and your third, and so on.
3. Drone Pilot Networks
Do real estate drone photography or other types of missions (you choose) for a drone pilot network to build your resume while still getting paid.
Here are the top drone pilot networks out there:
See our full list of drone pilot networks here.
4. Search Job Websites
Sites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn Jobs, and Glassdoor all list job openings. Go to one of these sites, enter your location, and type in ‘drone pilot’ or ‘drone pilot real estate’ to see if there are any open searches for real estate drone photography or related work in your area.
How Much Can You Charge for Real Estate Drone Photography?
So how much can you actually make doing real estate drone photography?
The answer is—it depends.
Some drone pilots make $25 an hour while others are able to charge $200 or even more per hour.
Like any professional skill, the amount you can make doing real estate drone photography depends on your level of experience and the depth of your body of work.
The amount you make is also tied to where you live. Real estate drone photography is going to cost more in Los Angeles than in Bakersfield simply because the cost of living is higher in L.A.
The good news is that although you may start out charging relatively low prices—say, $30 an hour—as you develop your portfolio and client base you’ll steadily be able to charge more.
To learn more about how much drone pilots are making in real estate, check out the results from our 2019 Drone Industry Survey.
Image source
Guidelines for Pricing Your Real Estate Drone Photography Services
Setting prices can feel a little arbitrary when you’re working for yourself.
Are my skills worth $50 an hour or $60? Or $160? Sometimes it can feel like shooting in the dark.
To remove some of that uncertainty, here are a few things to keep in mind when setting your prices for your work in real estate drone photography.
1. Minimal annual cost
When considering prices it’s important to be aware of the money you’ve already invested in your drone business.
To do this, establish a minimal amount you need to make to account for your expenses, including your craft, gear, insurance, education and any other expenses related to your drone business so that you break even.
The number you come up with should include all these different expenses for the entire year. That’s both expenses you’ve already incurred and projected expenses—if you know you’re going to need new gear or a new drone, include those amounts, too.
2. How much do you want to make?
After you establish your minimal cost, think about how much you’d like to make a year.
Make sure to be realistic—just because you want to make six figures doesn’t mean your business will support it just yet.
3. How many hours can you bill in a year?
Now think about how many hours you can realistically bill in a year, taking into account vacations and sick days.
Keep in mind that 40 hours is probably too much for one week since we’re talking billable hours here, not total hours worked. In addition to the hours you get to bill clients for, you also have hours devoted to administrative work, sales, and other tasks that you don’t get to bill.
When you take all these things into account, aiming to bill an average of 30 hours a week may seem like a pretty aggressive goal.
4. Now do the math
After you establish your minimal annual cost and your ideal annual salary, add those numbers together. Then, divide that amount by the total number of hours you can bill in a given year.
And there you go. The resulting number is how much you’ll need to charge per hour to make what you want to earn per year and cover your expenses.
Image source
Pricing Pro Tips
- If your client has a small budget then propose reducing the scope of work—not your price.
- Be aware of what your competition is charging so you can present facts as to why a potential client should hire you over your competition.
- Be ready to answer the question “Why?” about your prices. Being able to share the math from above is a good starting place, but keep in mind that most people will be focused on ROI—Return on Investment. If you can convince potential clients that the expense they make with you will make them more money by helping them sell their properties more quickly then your aerial photography services will sell themselves.
Do I Need a Drone License for Real Estate Drone Photography?
Yes.
If you’re doing any kind of work with a drone, such as real estate drone photography, federal law requires that you be certified by the FAA as a commercial drone pilot.
To obtain an FAA certificate you must meet a number of requirements, including passing the FAA’s Aeronautical Knowledge Test, also called the Part 107 test. Learn more about how to get FAA certification to be a commercial drone pilot here.
Want help preparing for the Part 107 test?
We’ve trained over 30,000 drone pilots, and over 99% of our students have passed the FAA’s Part 107 test on the first try. Learn more about how we can help you pass the test and become a commercial drone pilot at DronePilotGroundSchool.com.
Resources for Real Estate Drone Photography
Here are some free resources to help you learn more about real estate drone photography:
- How to Build a Real Estate Marketing Business that Includes Drones
- The Real Estate Section of Our In-Depth Drone Jobs Guide
- Real Estate Drone Photography Profile: How Derrick Ward Went from Free Flights to $250 an Hour
- Real Estate Drone Photography Profile: How Jonathon and Beth Russell went from 0 to 200+ Clients
Want to step up your drone cinematography skills? Check out the paid Drone Cinematography Masterclass created by our friends over at Drone Film Guide.
The course was made to help drone pilots master aerial cinematography, and provides professional instruction to help you level up your aerial videos. Learn more about the Drone Cinematography Masterclass on the Drone Film Guide website.
