Urban
The area in which drones have undoubtedly shined greatest is photography. Since these unmanned vehicles can quickly and easily travel where humans cannot – and since the majority of them come equipped with gear that allows them to carry a camera – they’re capable of taking some downright breathtaking photographs. These pictures are more than just hobby pieces, too; businesses involved in Toronto’s thriving high rise market can use them both as reference photos during the design phase and promotional materials in their marketing.
Drone used for aerial photography, image courtesy of The Sky Guys
Let’s back up a bit. See, traditionally, high-rise development has always been sort of a pain, especially in the early stages. Before the advent of civilian UAVs, firms typically had to rely on helicopters to take their snapshots. This approach carries with it a number of severe drawbacks – not the least of which is cost.
In order to set up an aerial photography session in a chopper, a high rise developer first needs to track down a company that’s willing to take them into the air – and sit through all the requisite regulations. Assuming aerial photography isn’t their area of expertise, the firm must also track down a professional photographer to take the pictures for them. A costly venture, no?
The price tag isn’t the only challenge, either. Whether deserved or no, professional photographers generally tend to have a fairly volatile reputation amongst the people they work with; they can sort of be prima donnas. It’s sort of understandable, when you think about it – they worked hard to get where they are, after all; they know the difference between a good photo and a bad one.
That doesn’t make an arrogant photographer any easier to work with, though.
Finally, there’s the fact that – particularly amongst Toronto’s dense high-rises – helicopters have an incredibly limited field of motion. Consequently, this means that the visual range of any photographs taken from them is relatively small. Often, one might have to make do with a less than perfect shot simply because it was impossible to acquire anything better.
Aerial view of the Toronto skyline, image courtesy of The Sky Guys
Drones suffer from none of the above limitations. Not only do civilian drones cost an arm and a leg less than helicopters, their small size allows them to take shots from angles that would be downright impossible from a larger aircraft. Using a drone, one can get a more complete picture of a construction site – and a more complete set of promotional photos – than ever before.
Of course, there’s still a certain level of expertise necessary for the photography process where drones are involved. It isn’t a matter of hopping off to purchase your own machine and snapping a few – you need to submit to a fairly painstaking review process. The machines one would be using for a task like photographing high rises aren’t really meant for beginners, after all.
With that in mind, it’s not terribly surprising that we’ve seen a bustling aerial photography market pop up in Toronto – considered by many to be North America’s “high rise boomtown.”
The market for drones is booming, as well. Although current sales figures can be a little difficult to make sense of, the story they tell together is nevertheless incredibly clear. The market for these machines is white hot, and getting hotter by the day.The FAA estimates that domestic drone sales will top $90 million within the next decade, and people around the world are starting to use them for tasks ranging from delivery to practical jokes.
Unfortunately, these two factors together mean that within the field of aerial photography; there are a number of less-than-reputable individuals and groups. For every professional operator and accountable business there are scores more uncertified hobbyists operating out of their apartment or garage; people with little knowledge and only a dim concept of the necessary skills. The market is so saturated with the latter that it can be difficult – if not nearly impossible –or developers and design groups to find someone reputable.
That’s where businesses like The Sky Guys come in. In order to ensure the highest quality possible, they’ve teamed some of the best UAV pilots in the country with professional photographers and video production experts and equipped them all with market-leading equipment.
Aerial view of Alterra's Post House Condos, image courtesy of The Sky Guys
“Our aim is to create a professional business that offers the best aerial photography service in Toronto,” Founder and CEO Adam Sax explained. “We make a point of working closely with design teams so we can understand and capture exactly the sort of shots they’re looking for. We also set incredibly high standards for ourselves – we guarantee a short turnaround time, and if a set of photos doesn’t meet a client’s expectations, we’ll keep taking to the air until we get one that does.”
“We’re primarily focused on high-rise condominiums,” he continued. “We’ve a fairly wide range of expertise there – we can render construction sites, capture live video for commercials, take pictures for architectural purposes, or create a set of photographs for marketing. Our drones are all equipped with gimbles and stabilizers to help them get the most accurate shots possible.”
It wasn’t so long ago that UAVs were strictly military vehicles – and look at them now.
Drones are becoming more ubiquitous with each passing day, and changing a host of industries in ways we never could have expected. In the future, there’s a good chance drones will have an even greater role in building development. For the time being, though, they’re all about photography.
And even taking that into account, they stand to completely change the market – if they haven’t done so already.
To learn more about The Sky Guys or to request a quote, visit http://www.theskyguys.ca