Drone Photography: The Ultimate Guide to Drone Photography
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The drone may very well be one of the greatest feats of modern-day photography technology. With the aid of these fine tools, photographers everywhere can shoot from unique perspectives and angles that would otherwise be impossible using an ordinary camera. Needless to say, if you are an aspiring photographer or videographer, it is imperative that you at least learn the basics.
Luckily, thanks to the rise in demand for these devices, the prices have dropped, which makes it the best time to grab one of these aerial video recording tools. Ready to get started? Here is the ultimate guide to drone photography.
What is drone photography and its advantages?
Just as the name suggests, drone photography is simply capturing videos and still images by an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV), popularly known as a drone. It has rapidly gained popularity as one of the most exciting advances in the photography realm, as it allows you to capture extremely unique viewpoints of subjects from an aerial view.
A few other advantages of drones in photography include:
They are extremely flexible
- Drones can maneuver through hard to reach areas where airplanes and helicopters can't reach. They can get closer to buildings, allowing filmmakers to take tricky shots from there.Have minimal interference
- Unlike the noise you'd expect from a helicopter rotor blade, drones have little noise and are therefore allowing for clearer recording.Zero carbon emissions
- Since they run on battery power, drones are less harmful to the environment, especially when compared to using the more fuel-intensive helicopters.Safe
- Drones also make it safer for people to record videos. They can fly really high and access areas where it would otherwise be dangerous for people to reach.They can capture the entirety of the landscape
- This is especially useful for real estate agents and home sellers. As the drone flies high and takes imaging from above, it is able to highlight the whole space, showing bordering property, access routes and all the perks of the location. It has become the best way to show off a property when selling.Drone photography is perfect when doing marketing
- Other than just real estate, aerial photography is also perfect for promoting or marketing a product. With this, you get to achieve more stunning panoramic views of an item that will better capture customers' attention during a promotion.How to calculate drone photography prices
Usually, drone photography prices would be calculated per hour and can go from anywhere from $70-$300 per hour. It can also be charged more wholesomely at about $200-$350 for the whole project. But this can vary based on a couple of reasons. They include:
Type of job
This basically refers to the amount of equipment, skillset and time needed to complete a certain job. Your typical non-demanding job would be relatively cheaper at about $200 - $1300. If the job requires more personnel to man the drone and more time, it’d be more costly, ranging from about $2000 to $5500.
Location
Location also has an impact on the cost you can charge for your drone service. Some areas are more difficult to navigate than others and will therefore cost more. Metropolitan areas might also come with some government restrictions for operators, whereby you'll only be allowed to fly in specific areas. You might also incur some costs obtaining permission to work there and might even need to hire more personnel. Here you can charge anything from $650-$750. For non-metropolitan areas, the standard price is around $450.
Post-processing
Sometimes, the client might request that you do the video edits yourself and send over a finished product. In this case, the price naturally increases. Post-processing involves any alterations you make to the video, including cuts, color grading, voice overs or music. The average cost of post-processing is $150 -$500 per minute.
Use PaintShop Pro to edit your photos
Now, as we've seen, your client might request that you present the final video or image after giving it a professional finish. And in this case, you'll need to use professional editing software. If you are looking for a comprehensive yet affordable photo editing software, we recommend you try PaintShop Pro.
With this, you get to enjoy all the perks of a photo editing software at a considerably low price. It features all the basic image editing tools, color pallets, patterns, brushes and textures, and has an easy-to-use user interface, so you can begin editing right away.
Conclusion
And there you have it. That's just about all you need to know about drones and drone photography. The good thing is that as technology advances, drones are becoming easier than ever to use. We now have advanced drones with face recognition computer vision and tracking technologies, which allow them to adapt to their surroundings and even take pictures autonomously.
They also feature larger sensors, improved stabilization systems and video resolutions, which rival some of the high-end handheld cameras we have today. Even a complete beginner can pick it up in a matter of minutes.
That said, to get a competitive advantage, you'll need to hone your editing skills more. Luckily, we have PaintShop Pro to make the process easier and far less tasking. So go ahead and visit PaintShop Pro and download a free trial.