If you market or manage commercial property (office, industrial, retail, mixed-use, multifamily), professional visuals aren’t a nice-to-have; they’re the engine that powers leasing velocity, investor confidence, and brand perception.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about commercial real estate photography and how to plan a smooth, effective shoot across aerial, drone, and ground production. We’ll cover shot lists, scheduling, safety/permissions, deliverables, commercial real estate photography pricing, and the strategic decisions that help you produce images and videos that actually move deals forward.
We’ve specialized in commercial real estate aerial photography for decades across the Southeast, combining manned-aircraft aerials, drone operations, and ground photo and video under one roof, so you can brief once and get everything you need.
Who This Commercial Real Estate Photography Guide Is For:
- Commercial brokers and leasing teams
- Owners/asset managers and REIT marketing teams
- Developers and GC/CMs (pre-lease, construction progress)
- Property management teams (amenities, updates, annual marketing refreshes)
- Owners/managers of large apartment communities, condo associations, and mixed-use developments
Aerial vs. Drone vs. Ground: What Belongs in Your CRE Package?
A robust commercial shoot blends perspectives to tell one consistent story.
Aerial photography (manned aircraft)
When scale and context matter, true aerials from aircraft deliver unmatched vantage and coverage. They’re ideal for:
- Large campuses, logistics/industrial parks, and mixed-use districts
- Area/amenity context (interstates, corridors, skyline proximity)
- 45° obliques that clearly show ingress/egress, parking, and adjacencies
- High-elevation stitched mosaics for marketing and investor decks
Explore our Aerial Photography Services →
Commercial Real Estate Drone Photography
Drones shine for low-to-mid altitude, highly controlled compositions:
- Facades, entrances, signage, and placemaking elements
- Amenity decks, pools, courtyards, rooftop systems (when applicable)
- Dynamic passes for short clips and social cutdowns
- Tight timing or limited airspace windows on active sites
See our Drone Photography Services →
Ground Photography & Video
Ground work grounds the narrative—literally:
- Leasing-ready hero exteriors and interiors
- Lobby, corridors, floor plates, shell space, tenant improvements
- Night exteriors (“hero dusk”) and lifestyle amenity captures
- Short video walkthroughs, leasing reels, and team interviews
We handle this in-house, too: Ground Photo & Video →
Building a CRE Shot List That Sells (and Leases)
Every property is unique, but great commercial sets typically include:
Context & approach
- Area context obliques (N/E/S/W) at multiple elevations
- Access routes, signalized corners, transit/rail proximity
- Parking counts/coverage, loading docks, truck court clearances
Property & site
- Primary exterior elevations (day and dusk)
- Monument and building signage (day and illuminated)
- Roof (mechanicals), balconies/terraces, amenity decks and pools
- Courtyards, landscaping, public realm, streetscapes
Interiors (as applicable)
- Lobby and concierge elements
- Model/common areas (fitness, lounges, coworking, event spaces)
- Typical core restrooms and corridors for spec suites
- Shell space and test-fit-friendly angles for leasing teams
For multifamily
- Clubhouse, mail/package rooms, pet amenities, pool/cabanas, outdoor grills
- Unit kitchens/baths, typical living area, balconies, closets
For industrial
- Clear heights, column spacing context, ESFR sprinklers, dock doors, trailer parking
- Office build-out, break rooms, conference rooms
Commercial Real Estate Drone Photography Services
When you need angles a helicopter can’t capture and details ground gear can’t see, commercial real estate drone photography fills the gap. We coordinate FAA compliance, permissions, and timing so you get the shots you need with minimal disruption. Typical deliverables include:
- 10–30+ edited stills from varied altitudes
- 15–60 second drone video highlights for social/leasing
- Optional 4K master clips for your editors
- Roof and facade detail stills (for O&M needs)
Pair drone work with manned-aircraft aerials when you need both neighborhood context and tight, cinematic details.
Scheduling & Logistics: How We Keep It Smooth
Before a single shutter clicks, success is won in the planning. Here’s how we align goals, timing, and permissions so your shoot runs like clockwork, and your team isn’t stuck herding vendors.
1. Pre-production & briefing
We’ll align on goals (lease-up, disposition, annual marketing refresh, progress), locations, and must-have angles. If you’re multi-market, we’ll coordinate regional teams and pilots so the whole portfolio stays on brand and on schedule.
2. Timing & conditions
We watch sun angles and weather windows to plan day/dusk sequences. For multifamily and mixed-use, leaf-on/leaf-off seasonality and pool-season timing impact results.
3. Permissions, safety, and compliance
Leave the FAA airspace pre-checks, waivers, NOTAMs, and site permissions to us. Our pilots are certified and insured. Our crew operates with safety briefings and site-specific risk assessments every time.
4. Day-of operations
We move quickly and professionally, coordinating with management teams and security. For occupied properties, we stage shots to avoid tenant disruption and ensure privacy compliance.
5. Post-production & delivery
Expect consistent color, verticals, and file naming conventions your teams can use without guesswork. We’ll deliver web-optimized and high-res versions, along with licensing that matches your use cases (web, print, OOH, investor decks, broker portals).
Commercial Real Estate Photography Pricing
Scope and deliverables determine price more than anything else. A campus-scale aerial, drone, and ground package with day and dusk coverage will price differently than a quick refresh of facades and signage. Common variables:
- Number of locations and markets involved
- Mix of services (manned aerials, drones, ground, video)
- Day/dusk scheduling and weather holds
- Airspace complexity and permitting/waivers
- Rush timelines and special editing requests (graphics, labels, animations)
For a deeper dive, see our article on how much drone photography costs; it explains the factors we consider and why custom quotes protect your budget and your outcomes.
Pro tip: Bundle multi-property or portfolio shoots. We can often optimize flights and crews to create real savings while maintaining consistent visual standards.
When Aerials Beat Ground (and Vice Versa)
- Choose aerials when you need to prove location quality, transit access, skyline adjacency, and overall site organization. Aerial obliques are also unbeatable for investor and planning decks.
- Choose ground when the story is about finishes, signage, lobby experience, leasing path, and lifestyle amenities.
- Choose drones when you want cinematic movement, tight rooftop/amenity perspectives, or controlled mid-altitude angles.
Most commercial photographer assignments benefit from all three, sequenced intelligently. That’s why we offer integrated aerial, drone, and ground photo/video. It’s one brief, one team, complete coverage.
Smart Add-ons That Lift Results
Once the essentials are covered, a few strategic enhancements can multiply the impact of your visuals. Consider these high-leverage add-ons to elevate campaigns without inflating complexity.
- Labeled overview aerials (roads, tenants, points of interest) for pitchbooks and OM PDFs
- Leasing-reel edits (15–45 seconds) for social and listing portals
- Progress packages (monthly/quarterly) for development and construction stakeholders
- Day and dusk pairs for hero placements and signage illumination
- Vertical video cuts formatted for Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn
Commercial Real Estate Photography Tips (Field-tested)
We’ve learned a lot from thousands of assignments across asset types. Use these practical, field-tested tips to get cleaner images, faster turnarounds, and marketing assets that actually convert.
- Lead with outcomes, not angles. Tell us what you want your audience to think or do, like schedule a tour, sign a LOI, green-light capital. Then craft the shot list around that.
- Prioritize must-haves. We’ll build a “can’t-miss” list (e.g., monument signage, hero dusk, two context obliques) to protect the essentials if clouds or site constraints hit.
- Prep the property. Confirm landscape touch-ups, power-wash major approaches, book a lobby tidy, and check that signage is illuminated and functioning.
- Mind the sun. If your hero elevation faces west, we’ll plan a late-day or dusk capture to reduce harsh shadows.
- Stage interiors. Clear signage clutter, straighten chairs, remove trash liners, and add subtle decor where allowed. For multifamily, open blinds consistently and turn on all practical lights.
- Think multi-channel. Ask for both wide hero frames and tight crops so creative can serve web banners, portals, print flyers, and OOH without reshoots.
- Keep a running asset list. As leasing phases shift, we’ll help you maintain a living library, so refreshes require fewer shoot days.
- Plan for renewal. Book an annual visual refresh to keep listings competitive and search-friendly.
- Bundle portfolios. If you operate in both Nashville and Atlanta, we can schedule back-to-back coverage with the same standards and look across markets:
Real Estate Photography Services: What to Expect from Us
Great outcomes come from a clear process and the right team. Here’s what you can expect when we handle your production: end-to-end coverage, tight compliance, and consistent, on-brand deliverables.
- Creative direction & pre-pro: We translate marketing goals into shot plans that fit budget and timeline.
- All-in-one production: From manned-aircraft aerials and drones to ground photo/video, we coordinate it all.
- FAA-certified pilots & insured operations: Safety and compliance are table stakes. We make it turnkey.
- Consistent post: Color, contrast, sky replacement when approved, subtle perspective corrections, and clean file delivery.
- Rights that match your use: We’ll clarify licensing early so there are no surprises for your web team, PR, or brokers.
Ready to plan your next shoot?
Whether you need a single property hero update or a portfolio refresh across Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and beyond, we’ll help you build the right mix of aerial, drone, and ground assets to hit your goals on time and on budget.
Have pricing questions? Request a custom quote from our Nashville or Atlanta office.
If you share your property addresses, target audiences, and timeline, we’ll build a tailored shot plan (with day/dusk sequencing) and a clear, no-surprises estimate. Let’s get your assets working as hard as your team.