Real estate marketing is one of the most challenging industries today. Now that it’s become more common for buyers to search for properties online, it can be tough to stand out or make a good first impression with more traditional professional real estate photography. But thanks to advancements in imaging technology, real estate photographers can now capture homes from a unique perspective—via a drone.
In this article, we will discuss how drone photography has shaped and benefited real estate marketing, as well as recommend some of the best drones for real estate photography today.
Growing Popularity of Real Estate Drone Photography
Before the birth of consumer camera drones, aerial images were captured using costly methods. You’d have to hire a helicopter to fly you around and use expensive photography equipment to get good shots. As a result, only high-end properties were frequently marketed using aerial real estate images.
But now that drones have become portable, affordable, and customizable, it’s become a trendy tool in real estate marketing. It’s finally possible for anybody to achieve fantastic bird’s-eye view shots of their property — that is, after the drone has been registered and the drone operator has acquired the permit for professional use of small uncrewed aircraft systems (UASs).
Today, drones and the internet are considered to be two of the most important technologically advanced innovations to enter real estate marketing. Drone photography has not only made listings stand out among the rest, but also helps secure sales.
Benefits of Drone Photography in Real Estate Marketing
There are a handful of ways that drone photography is benefitting real estate agents and buyers everywhere.
Produces Compelling Images
Perhaps the best reason why anybody would want to see aerial photos is that it generates interest from its viewers. Drones make it very easy to create dramatic shots using integrated features like automatic point-of-interest camera targeting, making for professional real estate photos that will be more attractive to buyers.
Highlights More Property Features
With drones, you can easily take photos of backyards, walking paths, pools, the landscaping, and other property features that are important to many buyers and would normally require multiple photos to cover.
Helps You Stand Out
Although real estate drone photography is becoming more popular, there are still a lot of listings that settle with ground-based images. Adding great-looking drone shots to your set will make yours more informative, thus helping your listing stand out among competitors.
Attracts Clients
When you show the real estate market that you can produce fantastic aerial images and effectively represent a property, there’s a big chance that you’ll end up impressing more real estate agents and homeowners who might end up contacting you for more business opportunities.
Saves Money
Gone are the days when real estate agents had to bag high standing properties in order to get the chance to take aerial shots with helicopters and incredibly long zoom lenses. Now even regular homeowners can afford drone shots to help sell their properties—and for an affordable price.
Limitations of Real Estate Drone Photography
As wonderful as aerial photography is, it will never be enough for real estate marketing on its own. They merely serve as the cherry on top of a spectacular real estate photo set, which should include the following shots using a non-flying camera:
- Steady shots of certain property features that require special lenses
- Interior shots of small spaces
- Homes surrounded by trees or other buildings
- Ground-level shots of the entire property
If anything, this only means that real estate photographers and agents can make it without a drone, but having one will significantly increase the production value and click-through rate of your listing. To make the best use of a drone, you can go for one that has collision avoidance and obstacle avoidance features (check out our recommended drones below).
Recommended Drones for Real Estate Photography
If you’re looking for a drone that can take great photos and videos for real estate listings, consider these most popular flying platforms used by many of today’s real estate drone photographers.
DJI Air 2S 4K Drone
The DJI Air 2S 4K is the perfect drone for real estate photography. It features a one-inch image sensor with video of 5.4K at 30fps and 4K and 60fps, which gives you the flexibility to crop in as needed, or to slow down that footage without compromising quality. This real-estate drone features a 10-bit D-Log-M color profile that records up to 1 billion colors, ensuring your images and footage virtually pop off the screen—and entice potential buyers or renters to learn more.
Key Specifications:
- Large 1” CMOS sensor with Intelligent HDR
- 10-Bit D-LOG M color profile, with up to 1 billion colors
- 4K up to 60 FPS, and 5.4K up to 30 FPS
- 34 min of max flight time with a single battery
- Forward, backward, upward, and downward obstacle avoidance sensors
- Autonomous flight modes like Mastershots, FocusTrack, and ActiveTrack 4.0
DJI Mavic 3 Drone
Another can’t-beat real-estate drone is the DJI Mavic 3 Drone. This powerful drone captures video at 5.1K, with a 46-minute maximum flight time—providing ample time to nail that specific shot. The drone features a combined 28x in hybrid-zoom capabilities, letting you really highlight the property’s best assets. And, with the all-new 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad camera, you can rest assured those real-estate images will impress potential buyers.
Key Specifications:
- 2 Cameras (Hasselblad and Tele)
- 4/3” CMOS Hasselblad Camera
- 20MP Photos
- 12.8 Stops of Dynamic Range
- 5.1K Video Recording, DCI 4K/120fps, Apple ProRes 422 HQ
- Upgraded Flight Time of 46 Minutes
DJI Inspire 2 Standard Kit with Zenmuse X5S Gimbal
The DJI Inspire 2 Standard Kit with Zenmuse X5S Gimbal has all the features of a top-notch real-estate drone. It offers 5.2K at 30 fps and 4K at 60fps, which means your content will wow even on the largest screens (and, you can crop in without compromising quality). Equally important is the 360-degree rotating gimbal, which provides superior flexibility when it comes to capturing the shot you want. This drone flies for 27 minutes straight via a dual-battery system.
Key Specifications:
- 20.8 MP stills
- 5.2K in CinemaDNG RAW, Apple ProRes
- Built-in 3D noise reduction, 3DLUT color management technology, advanced sensor correction
- 27 minutes maximum flight time
Sony Airpeak S1 Professional Drone
The Sony Airpeak S1 Professional Drone wows photographers and videographers with its powerful flight performance—think up to 55.9 miles per hour—plus its maximum flight time of 22 minutes (sans payload), and carrying capacity of 5.5 pounds. It is fully compatible with Sony’s Alpha series of full-frame mirrorless cameras, including the A7S series for those geared toward video, the A7R series for high-quality images, and the A9 series for up to 8K quality.
Key Specifications:
- Maximum speed of 55.9 mph
- Flying time of up to 22 minutes without payload
- Stability in winds up to 44.7 mph
- Detachable propellers
- The world’s smallest drone in its class to carry Alpha series full-frame mirrorless cameras
- Works with Airpeak Flight mobile app for controlling, camera, and in-flight gimbal
- RCR-VH1 remote controller for aircraft and camera operation also available
Autel Robotics EVO Lite+ Standard Package
For a more budget-friendly real-estate drone that doesn’t skimp on quality, look no further than the Autel Robotics EVO Lite+. This powerful Autel Robotics drone offers 20MP photos and 6K video content with up to 40 minutes of straight flying time. The result? Attractive videos and photos that you can slow down and crop in on while retaining top-notch quality. You can even see what this drone records from up to 7.4 miles away in 1080p resolution.
Key Specifications:
- 1″ CMOS Imaging Sensor
- 20MP Photos
- 6K/30fps HDR Video
- 3-Axis Mechanical Gimbal
- 40 Mins Flight Time
- 7.4 Miles Transmission Distance
Autel Robotics EVO II V2 Pro 6K Rugged Drone Bundle
Another drone option for real estate photographers is the Autel Robotics EVO II V2 Pro 6K Rugged Drone Bundle. This jam-packed kit includes the Autel EVO II, the only folding 6K drone on the planet, along with a remote controller, charger, cables, two batteries, six propellers, a hard case, and more. It’s everything you need to get this impressive drone off the ground to either market or monitor those properties. You can control the drone from up to 5.5 miles away.
Key Specifications:
- Omnidirectional Obstacle Avoidance With 12 Visual Sensors
- Dynamic Track 2.0 subject tracking
- Up to 40 minutes of flight time
- Fly in virtually any wind condition with 39 mph wind resistance
- Hyperlapse In 6K with .jpg and RAW files recorded simultaneously
- Adjustable aperture range of f2.8 to f11 and a maximum ISO of 12,800
- 20 MP 1” CMOS sensor with 6K up to 30 FPS, and 4K up to 60 FPS
