Construction Drone Photography Tips and Tricks
Construction site aerial photography
This is one of my more newer additions to my business; construction drone photography is one of my favorites to capture! I have only done a couple of jobs for construction companies, but it is nice to know that my work is able to be shown off so effectively. I worked with a company called Constructors INC. They have been around since 1908 and are one of the most trusted asphalt layers in Nebraska. With that being said; that is why they were chosen by UNL to shoot the new UNL Devany Track!
Things I learned during the shoot:
Always have a backup SD card with you. When it comes to aerial videography for construction in Lincoln, you need to make sure you have your equipment with you at the shoot. I happened to forget mine at home (was back when I first started so I put way less of an emphasis of making sure I had everything before I left the house for the shoot). Luckily I had a spare that allowed me to capture everything I needed to. However, if I didn’t have this I wouldn’t have been able to capture it and would have lost the clients trust. Moral of the story; have a backup for everything. If that isn’t possible make sure you have a checklist of items before you leave the house.
USE ND FILTERS. I have said this before in one of my past blog posts but it is super helpful in getting high quality shots that are needed. I wanted to get a hyper lapse for Constructors but I hadn’t really practiced with this mode before. I ended up with an ok product; but if I used an ND filter I would have been able to lower my shutter speed and ended up with a smoother hyper lapse. Instead it turned out fine but not amazing. There was no motion blur, just kind of objects moving around
The final thing that I learned is to make sure to get shots that capture the project the best. Construction videography in Lincoln is important to make sure you capture correctly the first time because there is no second chances. Linked below is the final video that I turned into them as the final product. Overall, I think it turned out pretty good! I would change the hyper lapse, the color grading to make it slightly less green, and finally focusing more on the actual laying of the asphalt.
Here is the Final Devany Track video I was able to capture for Constructors INC. One of the first projects I did for my business and overall I would call it a success! Check out my youtube channel for more drone videos in the future!
Final thoughts to keep in mind when shooting construction photography.
Slow down. You only get one shot to get the footage you need. Don’t rush the drone footage because when you get home to edit it; it might be unusable. Check out my google page for more construction drone photography tips! Here is a blog post talking about construction drone photography
