Leveraging Aerial Photography and Drones in Construction

In recent years, drones (or UAVs) have revolutionized construction site monitoring. With the ability to capture high-quality aerial imagery, they are valuable tools for project management and decision-making.

Recognizing the role of drones and aerial monitoring in construction and the key applications of this technology in the industry can help you make an educated decision about these services for your business.

Let’s take a closer look at how construction businesses can leverage aerial photography and drones to enhance their operations.

Understanding Aerial Construction Site Monitoring

Drone construction site monitoring involves a systematic approach to capture comprehensive aerial views of construction projects.

Initially, professionals conduct a site assessment to determine the key areas for monitoring and identify any potential obstacles. The team then sets up flight plans, ensuring they comply with local aviation regulations and safety protocols.

Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (or sUAS) equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors fly over the designated areas, capturing detailed images and/or videos from various perspectives. Depending on the site's complexity, they operate autonomously or under pilot supervision.

After collecting the data, specialists analyze the imagery using advanced software. Detailed maps, 3D models, and progress reports provide project managers and stakeholders with real-time insights into the construction progress.

Aerial monitoring services offer several key features and capabilities that enhance construction site management.

• High-resolution imaging allows for the capture of intricate details, facilitating precise measurements and quality control.

• Drones equipped with the proper sensor can generate accurate topographic maps and 3D models.

• Real-time data transmission enables immediate access to site conditions, improving responsiveness to potential problems.

• Thermal imaging capabilities help identify heat loss, water infiltration, and other structural issues not visible to the naked eye.

Drones can safely reach inaccessible or hazardous areas, reducing the risk to human workers, and allows monitoring to be done remotely from anywhere in the world. The integration of these technologies into construction workflows improves efficiency, enhances safety, and helps meet strict deadlines, all while providing cost savings.

Applications of Aerial Photography & Drones in Construction

Drone construction site photography serves various applications in the construction industry. These include:

• Progress Tracking & Documentation.

• Site Planning

• As-Built vs As-Designed Analysis

• Digital Twin Creation for Building Information Modeling (BIM)

• Safety & Compliance Monitoring

Progress tracking and documentation entail capturing images of the construction site at different stages of the project to document progress. In site planning and design analysis, drones provide aerial views that aid in planning construction activities and analyzing the effectiveness of designs. Regarding safety and compliance monitoring, drones can identify potential safety hazards that may not be visible from the ground.

Benefits for Construction Businesses

The adoption of drone construction site photography presents several benefits for construction businesses.

Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency

Utilizing drones for site monitoring reduces the need for manual inspections and traditional surveying methods, which are often time-consuming and expensive. Drones quickly capture comprehensive aerial views, enabling faster data collection and reducing labor costs.

Their ability to access hard-to-reach areas without scaffolding or other equipment cuts expenses and minimizes downtime. By providing detailed and accurate imagery, drones help identify issues early. This creates an opportunity for prompt corrective actions and preventing costly project delays.

Enhanced Project Management and Decision Making

Drone technology revolutionizes project management and decision-making processes in construction. The high-resolution images and real-time data provided by drones give project managers a clear and up-to-date overview of the construction site.

This transparency allows for better tracking of progress, ensuring that projects stay on schedule. Drones also facilitate accurate site measurements and assessments. They aid in resource allocation and workflow optimization. By offering precise and comprehensive insights, drones empower managers to make informed decisions quickly. As a result, they can improve overall project coordination and effectiveness.

Marketing and Client Engagement

Drones offer a unique advantage in marketing and client engagement for construction businesses. High-quality aerial photographs and videos of construction projects serve as powerful tools for showcasing progress and capabilities to clients and stakeholders.

These visually compelling materials can be used in presentations, reports, and marketing campaigns. They easily highlight the company's proficiency and commitment to innovation.

Providing clients with regular aerial updates enhances transparency and trust because they can visually track the project's advancement. This increased engagement not only satisfies current clients but also attracts potential audiences.

Choosing the Right Drone Service Provider for Your Project

Selecting a drone photography service provider with the right qualifications and experience is crucial for successful construction site monitoring. Look for providers who specialize in construction site photography and possess a strong portfolio of completed projects. Their familiarity with construction workflows and potential site challenges ensures they can capture relevant data.

Experienced providers understand the importance of precise imagery and can navigate complex site conditions. Certifications, such as those from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial drone operations, indicate a commitment to safety and regulatory compliance.

The equipment and technology utilized by a drone photography service provider significantly impact the quality of their work. Choose providers that use advanced drones equipped with high-resolution cameras, LiDAR sensors, and thermal imaging capabilities.

These technologies allow for detailed and accurate data capture, which is essential for comprehensive site analysis. Providers investing in the latest data processing and 3D modeling software can deliver high-quality outputs that enhance project planning and management. 

Check that the provider uses a drone with robust flight stability and RTK (real-time kinematic) positioning for centimeter-level accuracy. These features are crucial for consistent and precise imaging. 

Prioritizing providers with cutting-edge technology ensures you receive top-tier services that meet your construction monitoring needs.

Leveraging Drones and Aerial Photography Services

Drone construction site photography is an innovative method of construction site monitoring that offers numerous benefits. It enhances project management and decision-making while improving marketing and increasing client engagement.

Construction businesses of all sizes can benefit from exploring aerial monitoring services with ProAerial Media LLC, a qualified and experienced drone service provider specializing in aerial photography for BIM.

ProAerial Media provides aerial photography and video for both residential and commercial real estate, commercial and industrial real estate, as well as other custom solutions like site surveying and inspections, or special events. If you’re ready to fly, you can always book a flight from the ProAerial Media Website.

Thanks for reading. Take Flight. Take Pics. Get Clicks.

Real Estate Aerial Photography Tips for Realtors

Photos are perhaps the most powerful tool in your arsenal for closing real estate deals. Photos reach out and grab the attention of the viewer in a way that words can't. 

In fact, a home whose listing includes several high-quality photographs will sell about 32% faster. 

But with most real estate agents offering professional photography as part of their package, how can you start standing out? You take it one step further and start offering real estate aerial photography with a drone. 

Let's explore the benefits of aerial photography for real estate here.

Showcase Large Properties

While virtually any home can benefit from aerial real estate photography, the technique is particularly great for large properties. The drone can slowly pan around the home and yard to create a video that gives the viewer a more intimate idea of what it feels like to be there. 

For large properties, it can be difficult to get the whole building in one conventional photo. A wide-angle lens helps, of course, but sometimes the photographer needs to back up so much that details around the house are lost. A drone video can give more a wide-angle view and then zoom in on building to fluidly highlight certain aspects.

Showcase Undeveloped Land

Aerial photography and video can also showcase the vastness of a plot of rural land. Photographs on the ground may feel lackluster when you're trying to photograph a large piece of land. The right light and a few elements for an impactful composition help, but don't always paint the most complete picture. 

However, footage from the drone as it speeds over the landscape gives the viewer a more complete understanding of the property and where everything is. Plus, it's easy to highlight particular features such as a stream, farmland that is ready for planting, a well, etc. If there is a home on the property, the drone video is a great way to show it off as well as the positioning of any outbuildings in relation to the main house. Learn more about marketing undeveloped land in our blog article “How To Sell Rural Vacant Land with Aerial Photos & Video”.

The Right Perspective

A real estate photographer standing on the ground will never be able to get a perfectly straight image of any house that is two stories or higher. Even putting their camera on a tripod and holding it above their head won't be quite right. Not to mention the difficulty of leveling the camera for the shot. 

A drone, however, can easily hover at just the right altitude as the pilot makes slight adjustments to take the photograph from the perfect angle.

Real Estate Aerial Photography Can Elevate Your Listings...Literally

Intrigued by the benefits of this new type of photography and videography? Be sure to check out the real estate aerial photography rates in your area. Particularly if you're selling higher-end homes or large properties, aerial photography is well worth the investment and is becoming more and more expected of property listings.

ProAerial Media provides aerial drone services for real estate professionals across the southwest United States. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see our video work, and our Instagram feed to view our photography (@proaerialmedia). If you’re ready to fly, you can always book a flight from the ProAerial Media Website.

Thanks for reading. Take Flight. Take Pics. Get Clicks.

How To Sell Rural Vacant Land with Aerial Photos & Video

Residential and commercial Realtors, real estate companies, and property management businesses, all leverage aerial photography and video in their real estate listings. But what about using aerial photos and video for rural vacant land sales?

In this article, we’ll be showing some of the services a commercial UAV pilot or aerial photographer can provide to realtors and those selling undeveloped land.

This writer assumes that we agree on a few basics before we begin. They are; first, an aerial view is further reaching than one from land. Second, aerial images are simply cooler or more compelling to look at. And third, real estate and property listings with aerial photographs get more clicks and views than listings without.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the types of aerial images and media that can be produced specifically for marketing and selling rural vacant land.

Standard Aerial Photography for Rural Land Marketing

From a usage standpoint, simply adding aerial photography of your rural property will help it stand out amongst the many options a potential buyer will be bombarded with. 

Aside from photographs of the property itself, consider showcasing views from the property that can provide a frame of reference to the viewer. These images can be edited during post-processing to highlight distant points of interest, road and waterways, and property boundaries. You could even use drone photography to compare data from historic aerials found in public records.

View our Rural Land Real Estate Image Gallery

Aerial Panoramic Images for Rural Land Marketing

Probably one of the greatest features of most drones is their ability to capture panoramic images from perspectives that would be otherwise impossible.

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180-degree Panorama (Click to enlarge)

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360-degree Panorama (Click to enlarge)

Most panoramic images afford the viewer a 180-degree view of the subject, though certain models like the Parrot Anafi are capable of capturing a full 360-degree image. You should be able to immediately see the difference between the two types in the below examples, as certain elements near the bottom of the 360-degree image become distorted.

View our Panoramic Image Gallery

Aerial Videography for Rural Land Marketing

It goes without saying that video can be more impactful than still images, and as such aerial video is even more so. Many of the same shooting techniques used to market and sell developed real estate can be used to market and sell undeveloped and rural land as well.

Here’s a list of some of the classic aerial video shots needed for almost any property:

1. The Orbit - This is typically flown autonomously and is the epitome of aerial video, creating a continuous loop around the property with a fixed horizon.

2. The Rise and Reverse Away - Start with a closeup of the area of interest, then slowly reverse away and increase altitude.

3. The Cable Slide Pan - A difficult shot to pull off, but worth it. Flying the UAV along a straight line parallel to the area of interest, pan the camera keeping it fixed on a specific point as you do so.

4. The Upward Reveal - Start the shot low with a focus on the property, slowly begin to increase altitude while gently panning down.

5. The Descent - This is basically the opposite of the Reverse & Fly Away

6. The Overhead - The simplest to pull off, and usually the most impressive. Point the camera straight down, and begin to increase altitude. For an even more impressive shot, slowly rotate the drone (yaw) as you gain altitude.

For properties located ‘off the beaten path’, we recommend producing what we call a “Drive Video”. These videos are produced using an array of equipment including drones, terrestrial cameras, GoPros, and even iPhone footage. Compiled together into a storyline that takes the potential buyer along on the trip to the property, highlighting key features and facts along the way.

Client: Mike’s Lands LLC

Project: 100-acre parcel in Iron County UT

Drone Mapping & Surveying

For parcels where future development and landscaping are considerations, consider a drone mapping mission. Here, the technical details of the terrain like elevation changes and grade can be obtained using drone mapping or aerial photogrammetry.

DSM (Digital Surface Model)

Photogrammetry, simply put, is the science of making measurements from images. This process involves computer software and produces what is called a “Point Cloud” and 3D Model of an area. We can then export other various image files like Orthomosaic Maps, Digital Surface Models or DSMs, Digital Terrain Models or DTMs, Topographic Maps, and even AutoCAD ready files.

3D-Model

This process involves flying the drone along a predetermined route at a fixed altitude while capturing dozens if not hundreds of images of a piece of land or area of interest. Once complete, images are processed in specialized photogrammetry software (we prefer Pix4D) allowing for some very sophisticated outputs. Imagine a single map layer image of a 100-acre parcel of land that was accurate to within a few centimeters. These ‘ortho-maps’ have no distortion near the edges and enable you to make highly accurate distance and volumetric measurements. 

Get A FREE Mapping Quote

If you’d like to learn more about our mapping services, check out these our articles “What Is Photogrammetry? Answered in Under 100 Words” and “What Is Drone Mapping Used For? Overview + Use-Cases”.

The long and short of it is this; if you’re not utilizing aerial photography to sell your rural vacant land, you’re going to get left behind. We recommend seeking out and partnering with a local Part 107 Commercial UAV Pilot in your area. Sites like Droners.io can help you find licensed pilots across the United States, read reviews, and view their work. If you want the land your selling to be seen, be sure to include aerial photos and video with the listing’s digital imagery. The better you understand what you’re buying, the better you’ll be able to communicate what you want to your pilot/photographer, yielding better results.

ProAerial Media provides all of the aerial drone services listed above as well as for special events like weddings. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see our video work, and our Instagram feed to view our photography (@proaerialmedia). If you’re ready to fly, you can always book a flight from the ProAerial Media Website.

Thanks for reading. Take Flight. Take Pics. Get Clicks.