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Ask any operator for these three. Including me.
Their operator ID — The registration their aviation regulator issued. It is a number, and it takes ten seconds to hand over
Their certificate — Whatever qualification the flying you are asking for requires where you are. Ask which one, and what it permits
Their insurance — Public liability, with a certificate you can actually read. Venues and councils ask for this, and so should you
Their certificate — Whatever qualification the flying you are asking for requires where you are. Ask which one, and what it permits
Their insurance — Public liability, with a certificate you can actually read. Venues and councils ask for this, and so should you
Replace those three with your own real details before publishing. This page deliberately invents no authority, licence or number — they differ by country, and a made-up one is worse than none at all.
Aerial stills and video
Ask me for my paperwork before you ask me for a quote.
Most drone pages open with a showreel. This one opens with the three things worth demanding from anybody who flies for money, because an uninsured operator with no permission is a problem that becomes yours the moment something goes wrong on your site.
The reel is a tracked link to your own channel rather than an embedded player: an empty video block renders a broken grey panel, and the click is worth attributing anyway. Replace the URL when you set up.
Can you fly there?
Usually fine — Open countryside, your own land, or a site you control — well away from an airfield and from people who aren't involved
Needs permission first — Near an airport, over a road, near a crowd, or above a height limit. Permission is a process and it can take weeks
Usually a flat no — Directly over people who haven't consented, over some public buildings, and inside restricted airspace. No fee changes any of those
Private land — Being allowed to fly over somewhere is not the same as being allowed to take off from it. That is a separate conversation with a separate person
Ask before the date is fixed — The most useful line on this page. A location check is free and takes a day; finding out on the morning costs you the shoot
It differs by country — Substantially. Replace this whole section with the rules where you actually operate rather than trusting a general answer
Needs permission first — Near an airport, over a road, near a crowd, or above a height limit. Permission is a process and it can take weeks
Usually a flat no — Directly over people who haven't consented, over some public buildings, and inside restricted airspace. No fee changes any of those
Private land — Being allowed to fly over somewhere is not the same as being allowed to take off from it. That is a separate conversation with a separate person
Ask before the date is fixed — The most useful line on this page. A location check is free and takes a day; finding out on the morning costs you the shoot
It differs by country — Substantially. Replace this whole section with the rules where you actually operate rather than trusting a general answer
It's the wind, not the rain
Wind stops more shoots than rain — And it is invisible from the ground. A still morning at head height can be unflyable at sixty metres
Who decides — I do, on the day, and I will refuse a flight I don't like the look of. That decision isn't negotiable and you would not want it to be
What that costs you — Nothing. A weather cancellation is rescheduled free, including one called after arriving on site
How many attempts — Three inside the booking. Past that the location is genuinely difficult and we should talk about a different approach to it
Rain — Light drizzle is usually fine. Anything heavier stops it, because water on the lens ruins the footage long before it threatens the aircraft
Cold — Batteries lose about a third of their flight time in it. That doesn't stop a shoot — it means more of the day is spent on the ground
Who decides — I do, on the day, and I will refuse a flight I don't like the look of. That decision isn't negotiable and you would not want it to be
What that costs you — Nothing. A weather cancellation is rescheduled free, including one called after arriving on site
How many attempts — Three inside the booking. Past that the location is genuinely difficult and we should talk about a different approach to it
Rain — Light drizzle is usually fine. Anything heavier stops it, because water on the lens ruins the footage long before it threatens the aircraft
Cold — Batteries lose about a third of their flight time in it. That doesn't stop a shoot — it means more of the day is spent on the ground
What a drone can't do
It is not quiet — It is a lawnmower a hundred feet up. That matters at weddings, at funerals and near livestock, and people are always surprised by it
It can't hover forever — Twenty minutes per battery, less in cold or wind. The shot list has to fit the flying rather than the other way round
It can't fly in the dark — Not without specific permission, where that even exists. Golden hour is a hard constraint here rather than a stylistic preference
It can't get close to things — Not safely. The dramatic near-miss shots you have seen were flown by crews with permissions and a closed set
It can't fix a bad location — Height flatters some places and exposes others. If somewhere will look worse from above, you'll be told that before you book
It doesn't replace a ground camera — Aerials are establishing shots. A film made entirely of them is exhausting to watch, and every editor will tell you the same
It can't hover forever — Twenty minutes per battery, less in cold or wind. The shot list has to fit the flying rather than the other way round
It can't fly in the dark — Not without specific permission, where that even exists. Golden hour is a hard constraint here rather than a stylistic preference
It can't get close to things — Not safely. The dramatic near-miss shots you have seen were flown by crews with permissions and a closed set
It can't fix a bad location — Height flatters some places and exposes others. If somewhere will look worse from above, you'll be told that before you book
It doesn't replace a ground camera — Aerials are establishing shots. A film made entirely of them is exhausting to watch, and every editor will tell you the same
I may already have the shot
There is an existing library — Aerials of this area shot on previous jobs and licensed for reuse. Worth asking before commissioning a flight at all
It is much cheaper — A library licence is a fraction of a shoot day, and the files arrive the same afternoon rather than the same fortnight
When it's the right answer — If eighty per cent of what you want already exists, that is usually the better buy for a website or a brochure
When it isn't — If your building is in it and the building has changed, or you need a particular season, time of day or event. You'll be told which of the two you're in
What you get — The same licence terms and the same files as a commissioned shoot. None of it is a lesser product
What's in it — Ask with a location and a rough angle. It is far quicker to check than it is to describe
It is much cheaper — A library licence is a fraction of a shoot day, and the files arrive the same afternoon rather than the same fortnight
When it's the right answer — If eighty per cent of what you want already exists, that is usually the better buy for a website or a brochure
When it isn't — If your building is in it and the building has changed, or you need a particular season, time of day or event. You'll be told which of the two you're in
What you get — The same licence terms and the same files as a commissioned shoot. None of it is a lesser product
What's in it — Ask with a location and a rough angle. It is far quicker to check than it is to describe
What it costs
Half day
$400 · one location
- Up to 4 hours on site
- Stills and video from the same flights
- Standard licence included
- Files within 3 days
Full day
$700 · up to 3 locations
- Golden hour at both ends of the day
- Stills and video
- Standard licence included
- Files within 5 days
From the library
$90 · per image or clip
- Same licence, same files
- Delivered the same day
- No weather risk at all
- Ask before commissioning a flight
Permission applications — $120 where a location needs one. That is the paperwork rather than the flying, and it is refunded if permission is refused
Travel — Free within 40 miles, then at cost. Said in the quote rather than added to the invoice
Extra edit rounds — One is included. After that $60 a round, and it is nearly always avoided by a proper brief
A second operator — $180 a day, and required for some permissions. If yours needs one you hear it at quoting, not on the invoice
Travel — Free within 40 miles, then at cost. Said in the quote rather than added to the invoice
Extra edit rounds — One is included. After that $60 a round, and it is nearly always avoided by a proper brief
A second operator — $180 a day, and required for some permissions. If yours needs one you hear it at quoting, not on the invoice
Send a brief
The location check is the useful part and it is free. Send a place and a rough date, and you'll get a straight answer about whether it can be flown at all before anybody talks about money.
Send a brief
"One specific day only" is a fine answer and it simply changes the plan — a fixed date means a backup gets agreed at booking rather than negotiated in the rain on the morning.
Live preview — every color, word and block is editable after you pick it.