Drone photography questions

Pricing and turnaround

How much does drone photography cost for a real estate listing in Billings?

A standard listing is $95. That is one hour on site, up to 15 edited, color-corrected photos sized for MLS, websites and social, and the raw video from the shoot, with flight planning and any FAA authorization the location needs included. If you want a finished, edited listing video, editing is $45 an hour, and with one hour of editing the job comes to $140. Larger properties take more time on site at $95 an hour. Before anything is booked, you get one price for the job in writing. Send the address, what you need and your date through the quote form or to [email protected].

How much does a drone roof inspection cost?

A drone roof inspection is billed at our standard rate, $95 for an hour on site with a one-hour minimum. Roofers, adjusters and property managers who have several roofs to check can group them into one trip, which brings the cost per roof down. You get one price for the job in writing before anything is booked, and it includes the flight, edited high-resolution photos of the roof, gutters, flashing and siding, and delivery by download link.

How long does a drone shoot take, and when do I get the files?

A standard listing fits inside the one-hour minimum. Large job sites and ranch and land shoots take longer because there is more ground to cover, and your written quote shows the time before you book. Your edited photos and the raw video are delivered by download link within 24 hours of the flight. If you asked for a finished, edited video, such as a listing video or an FPV flythrough, it is delivered within 2 business days of the flight.

Airspace, rules and weather

Can you fly a drone in Billings? Isn't most of the city near the airport?

Yes. Much of Billings sits inside the Class C airspace around Billings Logan International Airport, which means a drone flight there needs FAA authorization first. We check the airspace for every address before we quote and request whatever the location needs before the shoot. Some approvals come back quickly and some take a few days, so the earlier you send the address, the easier it is to hit your date. Much of Yellowstone County outside the city is outside that airspace and needs no authorization.

How high can a drone fly for photos and video?

FAA rules cap drone flights at 400 feet above the ground, and the pilot has to keep the aircraft in sight the whole time. In practice most of our work is flown far lower. Listing aerials are shot between 40 and 200 feet, low enough to read the house and high enough to show the lot. Roof and property inspections are flown at 20 to 60 feet. Construction overviews run 100 to 300 feet, and ranch and land shots go up to the 400 foot limit to fit as much of the property in frame as possible. On big parcels we move with the drone so it stays in view.

Can you fly a drone over private property or a neighbor's house?

The FAA regulates the airspace, and privacy and property laws still apply to what a drone does over someone's land. Our approach is simple: we plan each flight to stay over the property we were hired to shoot and the public street, we don't hover over neighbors, and the camera stays pointed at the subject. For listings, we ask the agent to let the sellers know a drone will be overhead, and we're happy to talk to a neighbor who asks what we're doing.

Can you fly a drone at night or at twilight?

Yes. FAA rules allow commercial drone flights at night with anti-collision lights on the aircraft. For listings, the useful window is usually twilight: the short stretch after sunset when the sky still has color and the house lights are on. Twilight aerials are available on request. For most other work, early morning and late afternoon give the best light, and roof inspections are often easiest in flat midday light with fewer shadows.

Can drones fly in wind, rain, cold or snow? Do you shoot in winter?

We don't fly in rain or snow. Camera drones aren't waterproof, and wet lenses ruin the shot anyway. Wind is the usual reason a Billings shoot moves: strong, gusty wind makes the footage shaky and the flight unsafe, so we watch the forecast and reschedule when it won't cooperate. Cold on its own is fine. Batteries are kept warm until takeoff and flights are kept shorter, and winter is a good season for land and construction work because the low sun shows texture and the leaves are off the trees.

Real estate, roofs and construction

Does drone photography help sell houses?

It helps most when the thing that sells the property can't be seen from the ground. Ground photos show rooms. Aerials answer the questions buyers ask next: how big the lot is, what's behind the fence, how close the neighbors are, and what the view toward the Rims or the Beartooths looks like. For acreage, commercial lots, new construction and anything with a view, the aerials are often the most useful photos in the listing. For a small city lot with no view, a couple of aerials still show the setting, but they're a smaller part of the package, and we'll tell you that when you ask for a quote.

Can a drone inspect my roof? How does a drone roof inspection work?

Yes. The drone flies 20 to 60 feet above the roof and takes close, high-resolution photos of the shingles, ridges, valleys, flashing, chimneys, gutters and siding. Hail damage, lifted or missing shingles, cracked boots and clogged gutters can all be photographed up close, and you get a complete record of the roof without anyone climbing a ladder or walking a steep pitch. The photos document the condition of the roof. They are not an engineering report or an insurance assessment, so a roofer or adjuster still makes the call on what the pictures show.

Can you fly a drone over a construction site? How are drones used in construction?

Yes, with coordination. On active sites we check in with the superintendent, stay clear of cranes, crews and equipment, and fly from the edges of the site where we can. The main use is progress documentation: we fly the site from the same points, heights and headings on every visit, so this month's photos line up with last month's and owners, lenders and anyone who can't be on site can see what changed. Contractors also use the photos for marketing finished work, for documenting conditions before and after a phase, and for a short overview video to send to a client.

FPV and the basics

What is an FPV drone, and what is a drone flythrough?

FPV stands for first-person view. An FPV drone is small and fast, and the pilot flies it through goggles that show the drone's own camera view. That lets it go where a standard camera drone can't: through a front door, down a hallway, around a kitchen island and out over the back deck in one continuous shot. That shot is a flythrough. We use it for listings that need to stand out, for restaurants, breweries, gyms and venues, and for events. Indoor flights are planned on a walkthrough first, flown low and slow around anything fragile, and the route is cleared of people and pets before we fly. Flythroughs are on our standard pricing, and a finished, edited flythrough is $140 for most properties.

What is the difference between aerial photography and drone photography?

Aerial photography is any photo taken from above the ground, whether from a plane, a helicopter, a satellite or a drone. Drone photography is aerial photography done with a small unmanned aircraft flown below 400 feet. The difference for a client is practical: a drone gets closer to the subject, costs far less than a chartered flight, and can be scheduled for a single listing or job site on a few days' notice. Drone videography is the same thing with video, usually delivered as a short edited cut.