Many of our aerial photographers are available to hire for commissions across Cornwall and the South West, for photography and video projects, and for both commercial and private projects.

Aerial photographs of your home, or as a family portrait, can make for stunning and unique gifts that will last a lifetime.

If you’ve never hired an aerial photographer before then there are lots of things to consider: such as experience, style, qualifications, insurance, and price. Below we outline some of the most important things that you might want to think about before hiring a drone pilot, as well as introduce you to some of our photographers so that you can get to know more about them.

Dawn Ride by Jamie Turnbull

Overview

Perhaps the most important thing when working with any photographer is getting the pictures that you want, and the way to do this is through communication and understanding. It is important that you can say exactly what you want to try and achieve, and that the photographer work with you towards those goals.

To help this process, we would recommend coming up with a shot list. This is either a list of photographs or video shots that you’d like to get. A shot list sets expectations and gives everybody something to work towards.

 

Style

Having said this it’s also important to recognise that photographers are professionals with their own experience, and their own styles. The end results will never match the way in which you are imagining them exactly (but they may get close, or even exceed your expectations).

For this reason it is very important to look at the portfolio of a photographer and see if they style matches your project before deciding to work with them. It is important to find out about a photographer, their work, and the projects that they’ve been involved in.

To help let’s find out more about some of our photographers, before returning to some other considerations that you should make before hiring a drone photographer.

Carl Brightman

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

For 5 years

What inspires you to take pictures?

Nature and the landscape

What photography and videography services do you offer?

I offer both photography, and video projects.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

It was for Merrel EU .

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

It’s of a Paddle Boarder at Sennen Cove.

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

The Cornish Coast – North or South!

Where can people find out more about you?

On my website: carlbrightman.co.uk

Sennen Cove Paddler by Carl Brightman

Duncan Scobie

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

6 years

What inspires you to take pictures?

The freedom to try and create something different and spectacular.

What photography and videography services do you offer?

I can produce photographic still or create videos and have a lot of experience of editing both.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

Flying in Truro Cathedral for a song for G7.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

It has to be my shot of a humpback whale I spotted off Land’s End

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

Anywhere coastal. I've spent my life on, in, or under the sea - which I believe helps me reads its nuances. Hopefully!

Where can people find out more about you?

Youtube is a great place to start. My channel name is Duncan Scobie, but you can find out more about my photographs on Facebook .

Whale by Duncan Scobie

Gareth Tibbs

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

8 Years

What inspires you to take pictures?

The constantly changing environment.

What photography and videography services do you offer?

I offer surveys, promo videos, and photography, including photos and video for modelling and weddings.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

The television programme ‘City life to Country Life’ for Channel 5.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

A shot of the Bishop Rock Lighthouse off the Isles of Scilly.

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

The Isles of Scilly

Where can people find out more about you?

My website: aboveandbelowimagery.co.uk

Bishop Rock Lighthouse by Gareth Tibbs

Brendan Fitzgerald

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

4 years

What inspires you to take pictures?

I was initially inspired by my love of underwater photography but this has since moved into other genres, such as aerial photography and videography.

What photography and videography services do you offer?

Marine and property photography and videography

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

The Indian Ocean rowing race.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

It’s one of a Reef Shark in Fiji.

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

Godrevy

Where can people find out more about you?

From my website: fitzphotography.co.uk

Port Navas by Brendan Fitzgerald

Edward Jose

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

4 to 5 years.

What inspires you to take pictures?

The natural environment and the ever-changing weather here in Cornwall.

What photography and videography services do you offer?

Predominantly photography, with a focus on travel and commercial work.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

Shooting lifestyle and interior images for the private island of Mustique in the Caribbean.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

My favourite would have to be one of my aerial shots overlooking the river Fal looking out to sea.

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

Anywhere along the North Coast. Every time I visit it's so different.

Where can people find out more about you?
On my website edward-jose.com or on Instagram.com: edward.josee

Trelissick by Edward Jose

Charlie Newlands

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

Since 2017, so 5 years.

What inspires you to take pictures?

The beautiful landscape of Cornwall and the UK. Also, capturing the moment!

What photography and videography services do you offer?

Web content, aerial work of all kinds, landscape photography, art, product, anddocumentary work.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

Working for Time Team archaeology for both TV and their YouTube Channel.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

Ah… Too many to choose from!

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

Kynance Cove, Lands end, west Cornwall, the Helford river… the list is endless!

Where can people find out more about you?

On my website: newlandsaerialphotography.com

Durgan by Charlie Newlands

Jamie Turnbull

How long have you been taking aerial photographs?

For 5 years

What inspires you to take pictures?

Discovering parts of the coast that I haven’t seen before. Trying to make other people look at things in new ways (to make the familiar unfamiliar, or remarkable). To enable people to come to a new appreciation of how things fit together.

What photography and videography services do you offer?

Photographs for print and web or social media use, and short video clips for social media use.

What's your favourite project that you've worked on?

A promotional video for At Home Estate Agents.

What's the best photograph that you've taken?

A panorama of the Island of St. Agnes, on the Isles of Scilly, at dawn.

Where's your favourite place in Cornwall to take pictures?

Hanover Cove

Where can people find out more about you?

From my profile page on the Perrans Above Gallery

St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly, by Jamie Turnbull

Expectations

Above we recommended using a shot list to manage a project and making sure that your expectations are met. A shot list can be as brief or as detailed as the project demands and will be very different depending upon whether this is a family photo shoot or a commercial marketing shoot.

A shot list can include information on: whether you are being supplied raw pictures and video clips or edited versions. If edited versions whether these are pictures social media or print. If video, then whether these shots need to be of a quality that can be used for social media or television. For video it is also a good idea to specify the length of the video, and any messages that it needs to convey.

To cover expectations it is also a good idea to agree how long it will take a project to be done: both how long will it take to shoot and produce the end results.

Copyright

It is also worthwhile considering whether you want to own the copyright of the images taken. You might buy the pictures with a permission to use them without having exclusive use of them. If you want exclusive use over them (which means that the photographer cannot use or sell them for any other purposes) then it is likely to prove more expensive.

Permissions

While, in theory, anyone can buy a drone and use it for commercial purposes for peace of mind it is important to know that your photographer is operating legally and has the required permissions to fly. Commercial drone pilots will typically have a permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). There are several different permissions that a pilot might have, such as: PfCO, GVC, or A2CoC.

Insurance

It is important that your drone pilot possess the required insurance cover for your project. While drones are incredibly safe, accidents can rarely happen. Drone pilots should be covered by drone specific, third party liability, and professional indemnity insurance.

How Will Pictures Be Delivered?

One thing to be clear about is exactly how your pictures or video will be delivered. Pictures and videos are typically too big to be attached to emails, and so photographers commonly use cloud based picture sharing services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, or WeTransfer. Find out from your photographer exactly how your pictures and video will be delivered to you. If you require your pictures printed, then they can be added as a custom order to the Perrans Above Gallery for printing as photographs, canvases, or mounted in the sizes and frames that you require, and delivered directly to your door.

How To Commission An Aerial Photographer

First step is to contact us, or contact the photographer that you’d like to work with directly, and get a quotation for the work that you’d like undertaken.

If you'd like to book an aerial photographer for a commission the please get in touch with us at hello@perransabove.co.uk

You can find our more about our aerial photography services on our services page.