Since August 29, 2016, it has been legal to conduct drone photography for commercial purposes in the United States airspace system under FAA Part 107. How has this changed the industry, you may ask? Well, it has had a dramatic impact on both the construction and aerial photography industries. For general contractors and developers who maintain staff who possess FAA Part 107 licenses, gone are the days of being forced to pay airplane or helicopter-based aerial photographers for monthly construction progress photos. Now, with some late night studying, successfully passing the FAA’s Part 107 certification exam, and investing just a few thousand dollars for a reasonable quality drone, project stakeholders can get project updates via drone photography on a weekly or even daily basis. It is critically important, however, that construction professionals who plan to perform their own drone photography obtain the necessary education and certifications from the FAA for any drone photography done for commercial purposes such as documenting construction progress. There are many online courses available which will get you up to speed in only 15 hours of coursework, but the FAA recommends at least 20 hours of study before taking the exam. Once you’ve prepared, you can go to any of the FAA authorized testing centers and take the exam. If you pass, you’ll receive your certificate from the FAA usually within four to six weeks. If your company has several dozen sites underway in a given market area, it may make sense to have one or two individuals who are responsible for getting licensed and traveling to each job site to perform periodic updates for owners via drone photography, rather than requiring each and every project manager or site superintendent to obtain their FAA Part 107 certification.
Why does the FAA require that drone operators become certified for commercial drone photography? Far be it from me to understand the mind of a bureaucrat or a legislator, but the answer most likely has to do with the safety aspect. There are a number of laws in place that when understood and followed by drone operators, keep people on the ground and in the air safe. Some of the most important rules are those which keep drones separated from manned aircraft by imposing altitude restrictions on drone operations by way of a geographic grid system, referred to as Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, or “LAANC”. Within large and small towns alike, many locations are either off limits to drones entirely, or in restricted altitude zones. By requiring Part 107 certification, the FAA can ensure that all operations in the national airspace system are in compliance with the rules designed to keep the airspace (and surface area below) safe for all. Since drone photography for commercial purposes became legal, the FAA has enforced its regulations by issuing millions of dollars in fines, indictments, and even jail time for offenders, so make sure that your team is legal before taking your drone photography “in-house”.
Another option for construction progress documentation would be to hire a third party who specializes in commercial drone photography to visit your project site(s) on a periodic basis. Most often, construction progress photography is performed by licensed and insured professionals who do nothing but perform drone photography and videography. These specialists drive from site to site, and efficiently perform drone photography, do the photo editing, and send the finished photos via email to the internal distribution list that you provide.
In addition to drone photography, drone-based videography provides a dynamic and exciting medium for showing off your project’s construction progress. Many of our clients employ us to capture both drone photography and videography with a finished high resolution professionally-edited video complete with background music and graphics, which they use on their social media.
A third option is to go with what is often the most cost-effective choice of hiring a traditional aerial photographer to provide once or twice monthly construction progress photography. Traditional aerial photography is sometimes not as dynamic as drone photography, but is often the most cost-effective due to the time savings involved. While it typically costs about twice as much to fly a small airplane per mile than to operate an automobile, a good airplane-based crew can capture four to eight views or your property in about 2-3 minutes and move on to their next location, photographing some 40 sites in any given day. In drone photography, the photographer must drive to your location, obtain the necessary FAA permissions if necessary, notify nearby airports and helipads, set up the drone, then conduct the drone flight. Next, the photographer packs-up and moves on to the next site. On a good day, with light traffic and not too much distance to cover, a photographer may work-in five to seven jobsites. So, because it is more efficient and cost effective, airplane aerial construction progress photography is often the least costly approach to documenting periodic construction progress. However, drone photography offers an opportunity for more detailed imagery in addition to capturing stunning high resolution video productions for use by contractors and developers on social media. Call us today at 877-324-2533 for help with your aerial drone videography project.