Drone Wedding Photography
So, you are considering to lift your wedding photographs to a higher level? Amazing, let’s do it! But we will only be able to lift it to 400 feet – since it’s not allowed to fly drone any higher. Drone wedding photography is for sure a special way to enhance the beauty of a wedding ceremony. Let’s see what does it have to offer.
In today’s world of technology, we are enjoying a set of benefits within every aspect of our lives. To achieve a perfect aerial shot, only 10 or 20 years ago, you would need to have a helicopter that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even more.
Now, you can enjoy the same privileges for only a couple of thousands of dollars. Okay, maybe not the same privileges – you would find a hard time trying to lift yourself with a drone. But in terms of photography, we have nothing to complain about. Aerial photography got more affordable than ever, with its popularity proving exactly that.
Drone wedding photos for the unique point of view
There is a whole list of benefits of aerial photography, and we could talk about it for a day. Yet, here we’ll talk about some most relevant ones for the special day you’re planning.
- That amazing wedding venue
We’re sure you did your best to find an outstanding venue for your wedding day to take place on. Not only these places are good for a wedding, but they are also inspiring for photographers and artists, and this is why we love them.
From beautiful sandy beaches, through fields and gardens. From historical landmarks to old churches and ancient buildings. We all do enjoy when in a surrounding like that.
- The beauty of nature
This is without any doubt everybody’s favorite. Drone wedding photography is going on a whole different level when it’s shot in nature. From the air, nature is not only showing things from a different perspective, but it reveals some unseen and intact beauties.
Imagine the beauty of this shot – the wedding is taking place in a heavenly location, next to the seaside. In the background, you hear a mix of the music from a band and the subtle noise of the sea. The sun is setting and the view can’t get more romantic. Just the perfect scene to wrap up the day. And all these are captured from the air, getting as much from the drone wedding photography.
- Capturing the tradition
Oh, and the tradition and all the beautiful rituals. Only within the USA, there are thousands of different wedding rituals. Take for example an Indian traditional wedding. How amazing is that?
With the help of drone wedding photography, you will go one step further. There is something extraordinary in connecting the tradition with the modern world. Like the old wedding rituals, to a drone wedding photography.
- Get playful with the wedding guests
With this one you can get creative altogether. Call the guests to create some cool ideas to implement. Go beyond making a shape. Create a synchronized motion, dance, or something even cooler.
Another opportunity you have when in the air is to widen the story by starting to shoot even before the guests show up. Like that, on the footage you will have this awesome pulse of energy as the guests are starting to arrive. The drone will follow them to the joy and happiness of the forthcoming day.
Important notes about drone photography
Drone wedding photography is about fun and games. But, as everywhere else, there are certain limitations. Besides the obvious ones, like the weather conditions, there are more you should think about when planning your wedding shots.
- Rules of the sky
The first limitation is the set of rules when flying a drone. These are also known as the rules of the sky. While this mostly is a drone operators’ concern, still it is good for you to know.
Drones’ flight altitude should not exceed 400 feet. For drone wedding photography, this is not a problem at all – we are not aiming for the shots from the far air. From the experience of our drone photographers, most of the shots are taken from the height around 100 feet. Like this, it can capture as many details in the photo, while maintaining that bird’s eye view we’re looking for.
This you should have in mind, not only because it’s a rule, but because of the general safety. Drones are not allowed to fly directly over the people, especially groups of people. There’s no need to explain this one.
- Weather conditions on a wedding day
Precipitation is your biggest enemy here. Not only when we’re talking about drone wedding photography. Although we’re all hoping for the great weather, in some geographic locations it may be too optimistic to expect that.
The wind is for sure another enemy, maybe not for the whole wedding, but drone wedding photography. In most of the cases, pilots are not going to operate the drone if the wind is exceeding 15 mph AGL (above ground level). The tricky part here is that the wind increases with altitude. In other words, a harmless 5mph wind on the ground can be blowing at more than 20mph a few hundreds of feet into the air.
And the last threat is the extreme cold. While a nice, sunny winter day may seem perfect to shoot some aerial footage, batteries are not thinking the same. Lithium Polymer batteries – the ones used in drones will drain way faster, making it very risky to fly.
- Location of the venue
There are places where it’s not legal to fly a drone. According to the Federal Airspace Restrictions, it’s not allowed to fly a drone near to the airports, hospitals, police stations and similar institutions. Also, the pilot should have in mind if there are any local jurisdiction restrictions.
- Experience of drone pilots
They might be (relatively) small and handy. Still, drones are small helicopters that require certain experience and extra cautiousness. That means, when you are hiring a drone operator, he is more of a pilot than a photographer. Certainly, all drone pilots at Eivan’s are serious professionals with relevant experience and a proper license.
- The noise of the drone
Yes, there is a noise you hear when the drone is around, and it can get annoying. The good thing is that we prefer not to do close up shots, not only because of the noise but because of general safety.
- Drone wedding photography cost
While drone footage may add extra cost to the bill, a value of the final product you’ll get will make it worth it. It will cost you between $500-$800, depending on your wedding day timeline and availability. Since it’s already formed, our team is working synchronized during the whole process, reflecting positively on the outcome.
