Five HDR aerial photos
Professional drone photos from high and low passes over the property, blended from five exposures, ready to upload to the MLS, StreetEasy or Zillow.
Drone and aerial · New York
Real estate drone photography in New York.
Real estate drone photography in New York is five HDR aerial photos and two ready video clips of your property, flown by Colin and added to the listing shoot from $250.
Five boroughs · Long Island · Westchester · Back in 24 to 48 hours
Section 01What you get
What does real estate drone photography in New York include?
Five aerial photos.
Two ready clips.
Two ready clips.
Every aerial pass we sell includes the same two things: five HDR aerial photos and two ready video clips of the property from the air. Booked with the listing shoot, it happens on the same visit, and the drone footage lands on the same delivery link as the interiors.
The five aerial photos go through the same five-exposure HDR blend as everything else we shoot, which matters more up there than you'd think. A bright sky and a shaded side yard sit in one frame from the air, and one exposure loses one of them. The two clips are cut and finished, so an agent can post one the afternoon it arrives or drop it at the end of a walkthrough video.
What the aerial photos are for is context. From the ground, potential buyers see a front door. From a hundred feet up they see the lot lines, how far the house sits off the road, the yard behind it, the pool, the neighbors and the trees. Those are things a listing description can only claim, and an aerial frame shows them.
Two ready video clips
Finished aerial footage, ready to post on its own or to open and close a walkthrough video of the house.
Back in 24 to 48 hours
The aerial set lands on the same delivery link as the interiors, and most deliveries arrive the next day.
Section 02When it pays
Which New York listings is a drone worth it for?
The land is part of the sale.
That's the test.
That's the test.
A drone is worth it for a New York listing when the land, the water or the block around the house is part of what the buyer is paying for. It does less for a unit on the ninth floor, where the buyer is paying for the rooms and the view out the window.
Staten Island lots
Detached houses on real lots in Todt Hill, Tottenville and Great Kills, where the yard and the driveway are a big part of what a buyer is paying for. Our Staten Island real estate photography page covers the ground shoot.
Long Island and Westchester
Half-acre lots, pools, long driveways and waterfront in Nassau and Suffolk, and the bigger lots covered on our Westchester real estate photography page. The Long Island real estate photography page has the full Long Island rate sheet.
Commercial properties
Warehouses, self storage, retail pads and development sites, where a tenant wants the footprint, the parking and the road access in one frame.
New construction
Subdivisions and new builds, where the photo that sells is the street, the lot sizes and the open space next to the house.
The limit runs the other way. A Brooklyn brownstone with a neighbor on each side has no lot to show from above, and an aerial frame of a Manhattan co-op is a picture of the roof. For those, the money is better spent on HDR interiors, a 360 tour or virtual twilight, five HDR exteriors edited to dusk for $200 flat. Our post on twilight real estate photography covers which houses that suits.
If the yard, the lot or the water is in the price, put it in a photo.
Section 03Rates
How much does real estate drone photography cost?
New York rate.
Quote within two business hours.
Quote within two business hours.
Real estate drone photography in New York costs $250 for a property up to 2,500 interior square feet, $350 up to 3,500, $450 up to 4,500 and $550 up to 5,500. Past that, it's a custom quote.
The tier follows the interior square footage, the same number every other line on our sheet uses, so you can price the whole shoot from one figure. A 2,000 square foot house in Great Kills with HDR photos and an aerial pass is $275 plus $250, which is $525. Bundles cut the cost of the interior side: HDR photos with a walkthrough video start at $300, and adding 360 virtual tours to that starts at $575. The full sheet, every add-on included, is on real estate photography pricing.
0 - 2,500 sq ft $250per session
2,500 - 3,500 sq ft $350per session
3,500 - 4,500 sq ft $450per session
4,500 - 5,500 sq ft $550per session
5,500+ sq ft Custom Quote
| Square FootageSq ft | HDR PhotographyHDR | Drone / AerialDrone NY rate | 360 Virtual Tour360 tour | Video WalkthroughVideo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 1,500 sq ft0-1,500 | $200 | $250 | $300 | $150 |
| 1,500 - 2,500 sq ft1,500-2,500 | $275 | $250 | $400 | $200 |
| 2,500 - 3,500 sq ft2,500-3,500 | $375 | $350 | $500 | $250 |
| 3,500 - 4,500 sq ft3,500-4,500 | $475 | $450 | $600 | $300 |
| 4,500 - 5,500 sq ft4,500-5,500 | $575 | $550 | $700 | $350 |
| 5,500+ sq ft5,500+ | Custom Quote. Call or text (701) 566-9171 | |||
| Add-ons · pair with any package, any size | ||||
| Twilight | $200 5 images, flat | |||
| 2D Floor Plan | $125 per plan | |||
| Virtual Staging | $50 per image | |||
Bundled pricing
Book together and save.
| Square FootageSq ft | HDR + Video | HDR + Video + 360 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 1,500 sq ft0-1,500 | $300 | $575 |
| 1,500 - 2,500 sq ft1,500-2,500 | $400 | $775 |
| 2,500 - 3,500 sq ft2,500-3,500 | $525 | $975 |
| 3,500 - 4,500 sq ft3,500-4,500 | $675 | $1,200 |
| 4,500 - 5,500 sq ft4,500-5,500 | $775 | $1,400 |
| 5,500+ sq ft5,500+ | Custom Quote. Call or text (701) 566-9171 | |
Want the number for your property before you write to us? Answer a few questions and the estimator reads the rates for you.
Section 04Request a quote
Send the address and the square footage.
Written quote
within two business hours.
within two business hours.
Put the address, the interior square footage and the day the listing goes live in the form. Colin handles the airspace check and the permitting for that address, and the quote that comes back prices the whole shoot, interiors and aerial, from that one square footage figure.
- Five HDR aerial photos and two ready video clips per session
- The same visit as your HDR interiors, 360 tour or floor plan
- Back in 24 to 48 hours, most deliveries the next day
- Five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester
Google Trusted Photographer · 1,000,000+ views on Google Maps · 250+ properties since 2020
Drone photography inquiry
Section 05Airspace
Can every New York address be flown?
Restricted airspace
stays off limits.
stays off limits.
Not every New York address can be flown. Restricted airspace is off limits, and a lot of New York City sits close to its airports, so whether a drone can go up over a property gets checked before every flight.
Colin handles the airspace check and the permitting. If regulations keep the drone down at an address, the aerial portion is rescheduled or taken off the scope, and the exterior gets shot from the ground, with the street, the facade and the yard held in HDR.
Booking the drone services with the interiors is the easiest way to run it. Colin shoots the rooms and flies the drone himself, so one visit and one link cover both, and there's no second set of drone operators to fit around a house the seller is trying to keep tidy.
Section 06Commercial and new builds
Aerial for commercial real estate and new development.
Footprint, parking, access.
Quoted with the scope.
Quoted with the scope.
Commercial real estate is where aerial photography does the most work. A tenant looking at a warehouse or a self storage facility wants to see the footprint, the parking, the loading access and the roads around the building before a site visit, and one frame from the air answers all of it.
We've shot commercial properties across New York, Life Storage facilities in Glen Head, Bushwick and Staten Island among them, and on a commercial job the aerial pass is quoted with the rest of the scope. The commercial real estate photography page covers how those shoots are priced. Development sites and new construction work the same way: the street, the lot sizes and the open space around the buildings are what a buyer or an investor is trying to picture. Real estate professionals marketing a new building can pair the aerial set with a 360 virtual tour of a finished unit or a floor plan, and the 360 virtual tours page covers that line.
Section 07Common questions
Drone photography questions, answered.
Something else?
Text (701) 566-9171.
Text (701) 566-9171.
Drone photography in NYC comes down to two things to settle before a flight goes on a booking: the price, and whether a drone can go up over the address. For everything else we shoot in the city, the New York real estate photography page has the neighborhoods and the full set of photography services.
How much does real estate drone photography cost in New York?
Real estate drone photography in New York costs $250 at OpenDoors360 for a property up to 2,500 interior square feet, $350 up to 3,500, $450 up to 4,500 and $550 up to 5,500, with a custom quote above that. Every tier includes five HDR aerial photos and two ready video clips, and the flight can go on the same visit as the interior shoot.
What comes with a drone shoot?
A drone shoot from OpenDoors360 comes with five HDR aerial photos and two ready video clips of the property from the air. The clips are finished and ready to post, so they go straight onto the listing, a social post or the end of a walkthrough video without another edit.
Can drones be used to photograph a house for real estate?
Drones can be used to photograph a house for real estate wherever the airspace allows a flight, and in New York that varies by address. Colin checks the airspace and handles the permitting before the drone goes up, and an address in restricted airspace is off limits. If regulations keep the drone down, the aerial part of the shoot is rescheduled or taken off the scope.
How much do realtors pay for drone photography?
Realtors booking drone photography with OpenDoors360 in New York pay $250 to $550, set by the interior square footage of the property, plus whatever the interior photos cost on the same sheet. HDR interiors for a 2,000 square foot house are $275, so that house with photos and an aerial pass comes to $525.
Can you fly a drone at any address in New York City?
A drone can't be flown at every address in New York City. Restricted airspace is off limits, and a lot of the city sits close to its airports, so whether a property can be flown is checked before every flight. Colin handles the airspace check and the permitting, and where an address can't be flown, the exterior is shot from the ground in HDR.
Can I add drone photos to an interior shoot?
Drone photos can be added to an interior shoot in New York, on the same visit, with Colin shooting both. One visit covers the rooms and the air, and the aerial set arrives on the same delivery link as the HDR interiors.
Is drone photography worth it for an apartment or a condo?
Drone photography is rarely worth it for an apartment or a condo, because the buyer is paying for the unit and the view from its windows, and an HDR photo through the glass already shows that view. Aerial earns its fee when the land, the lot lines, the water or the street around the property is part of what's being sold.
Do you shoot commercial properties from the air?
Commercial properties are one of the better uses for a drone, because a buyer or tenant wants the footprint, the parking, the loading access and the roads around the building in one frame. Aerial on a commercial job is quoted with the rest of the scope, and our commercial real estate photography page covers how that work is priced.
How long does it take to get drone photos back?
Drone photos from OpenDoors360 come back in 24 to 48 hours, and most deliveries land the next day. The five aerial photos and the two clips arrive on the same delivery link as the rest of the shoot.
Do you do drone photography in Maryland?
Drone photography in Maryland is quoted on request, so ask us when you book. The published drone rate on this page is the New York rate, where Colin shoots across the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester.
Book the aerial pass
Five aerial photos, two clips,
and the airspace checked first.
Call or text the address, or send it through the form, and a written quote comes back within two business hours. In a competitive market, give potential buyers the lot, the yard and the street before they ever ask for a showing.