Drone Assisted guide
Drone photography or videography: which should you book?
By Kevin Steel · Head of Drone Operations
Published
Choose drone photographs when you need individual images for property listings, brochures, presentations or a website. Choose video when movement through the location helps explain the setting or tell the story. Book both when the campaign needs still images and moving footage, and specify whether the video should be delivered as captured clips or a finished edit.
Compare the four output choices
| Requirement | Useful starting choice | What to settle before booking |
|---|---|---|
| Property listing or printed brochure | Dedicated aerial photographs | Essential views, final image selection, dimensions and permitted use |
| Website or campaign with a finished moving sequence | Edited aerial video | Purpose, length, versions, branding and review stages |
| An agency already has an editor | Captured footage | Recording requirements, clip handover and editing responsibility |
| One campaign needs print, web and video | Photographs plus footage or an edit | Separate stills and video requirements within the same brief |
This table is a way to define the requirement. The scope, availability and price are confirmed through the Drone Assisted platform for the actual assignment.
Are photographs extracted from video the same as dedicated stills?
No. A frame exported from a video is one moment from a moving sequence; a dedicated still is captured as a photograph. Video frames can be exported as image files, but the ability to export a frame does not establish that it is suitable for your intended use. Adobe documents this frame export workflow in Premiere.
If the photographs will lead a property listing or appear in print, specify dedicated stills when that is what you require. Otherwise a description such as “video with photos” can leave the supplier and buyer imagining different deliverables. Ask your designer or editor for the required dimensions and check a sample against the actual output needs.
Sources: Adobe Premiere frame export
What is the difference between captured footage and an edited video?
Captured footage is material for an editor to work with. A finished edit selects and arranges the material into the agreed sequence and may include other agreed elements, such as titles, music or graphics. The quotation should identify who is doing that work and what finished versions are included.
“Raw footage” commonly means footage supplied before the final edit; it does not, by itself, promise a particular RAW video recording format. If your editor needs a specific camera format, colour workflow or recording setting, put that requirement into the brief before the pilot and equipment are matched.
Ask whether the handover includes selected usable clips, the complete capture, project files or only final exports. These are different requests. Do not assume all of them are included in a single editing charge.
For a moving route through a location, see our FPV drone fly through guide.
Should you request JPEG or RAW photographs?
JPEG is a widely supported compressed image format suitable for straightforward viewing and sharing. RAW camera files are intended for further processing and can provide more editing flexibility, but need a compatible workflow. The right handover depends on whether you want ready to use files or material for your own editor. Adobe’s format comparison explains these differences.
Ask for the files your team actually needs. If you want edited images for immediate publication and original camera files for later work, specify both and confirm whether that combination is available and included. The format alone does not determine ownership or permission to reuse the work; those come from the assignment agreement.
Sources: Adobe JPEG and RAW comparison
Can one shoot provide both website and social content?
It can be planned that way, subject to the agreed scope and available capability. Explain the intended layouts before capture: a wide website banner, a portrait social post and a landscape film need different framing decisions. A single composition may not retain the important subject when cropped into every shape.
For a commercial property, list which image must show the whole site and which should concentrate on the entrance or yard. For a venue, distinguish the wide setting view from closer views of facilities. This turns “content for all channels” into a brief that can be scoped and checked.
When should ground level photography be included?
Use aerial views to explain scale, external layout and surroundings. Consider ground level imagery when the message depends on interiors, close details, people or the arrival experience at eye level. Aerial and ground work can complement each other; confirm any ground capture separately rather than assuming it comes with a drone booking.
Check the handover against the brief
Use the agreed specification to check:
- Whether the essential viewpoints are represented.
- Whether supplied images and clips match the agreed types and formats.
- Whether important subjects remain visible in the required crops.
- Whether titles, branding and versions match the approved editing scope.
- Whether file names make each site and view easy to identify.
- Whether delivery, usage and any review stage match the agreement.
These are practical buyer checks, not a claim that every booking includes an identical review package. Raise any uncertainty before confirming the assignment.
Choose the output in the platform
Select photographs, footage, an edited video or a combination. Enter the location, intended uses and essential requirements. Review your quote and book online through your account, subject to approval and the applicable payment terms. Complex requirements are assessed individually before your quote is confirmed.