Commercial Drone Photography by Michael Reiland

A workshop review by Shelly England

It was a great rainy Saturday to spend the day learning about drone photography and operating a drone with Michael Reiland.  Most students in the class were there out of curiosity and one was an experienced drone operator.  

Eager to learn, we went over the regulations of flying a drone and the importance of obtaining a license if you are going to do paid or commercial work.  We learned about airspace ratings and flight height restrictions.  We also learned what not to do - taking unnecessary risks.

We had intended to fly the drone after lunch, but the weather did not cooperate.  So, we went back to the classroom and Michael launched his drone off the meeting table to show us how it works.  The weather finally did clear up for a bit and we were able to fly the drone outside the studio which is located in a really cool place for flying along the 249 freeway interchanges.  Several were able to fly or land the drone if they chose to do so.   When it started raining again, we went back inside and reviewed the footage we had shot outside and Michael showed us how he stitches the frames together and edits the footage.

If you are curious about drone photography at all, I highly recommend this class to learn all about it and the correct ways to go about getting a license.