Weddings are memorable. And that is why one of the essential requirements for a wedding ceremony is to hire a professional wedding photographer.

But as times are changing, you can also consider using the latest technology and capturing your celebration through the lens of a high-quality camera drone.

The scenic aerial shots that can be taken by an in-flight drone are something you just can’t achieve with a person holding a camera.

So if the thought of having a fancy flying object record your wedding celebration sounds exciting to you, then we’re here to tell you all about the best camera drones for wedding photography and different features you should consider when buying or renting the drone.

Benefits Of Using A Camera Drone Over A Wedding Photographer

If you love drones just as much as we do, you may not need much convincing. But those of you who are not used to drones or have never even flown one before may feel a bit skeptical about choosing a drone over a wedding photographer.

And your doubts are justified, as we know that wedding photographers are professionals who have spent years perfecting their art of photography. They can really work their magic with a camera and bring out stunning pictures of the entire event. So you may wonder why a camera drone should be considered over a wedding photographer.

Well, to clear that doubt, here are some major benefits of using a drone for wedding photography:

1. Aerial Shots: Humans obviously can’t fly into the air and take aerial shots as a drone can.
2. Wider view, better angle: Since the drone is recording from a high altitude, it can cover a wider view of the surroundings and capture amazing pictures from various angles.
3. More creativity: Using a drone makes room for more creativity. Since drones can fly smoothly in any direction, you can explore different kinds of shots and get some truly unique and one-of-a-kind pictures.
4. Capture the details: As drones can move smoothly in all directions, they can even focus on the details of your wedding – the decorations, arrangement, and overall setting of the venue.
5. Less interference: As the drone operates at an altitude, it will not interfere with your wedding. While you and your guests indulge in celebrations and merrymaking, the drone captures everything from a distance without disrupting your fun.
6. Awe your guests: Having a fancy drone buzzing through the wedding venue might even get the attention of your guests. Sure, drones are popular these days, but having one flying around on your wedding day will definitely impress some of your guests and even make for an interesting topic of conversation.

Having said that, there are some drawbacks to using a drone for wedding photography.

• You can’t take close-up shots as it’ll be risky to bring the drone to low altitude and fly it close to people.
• You can’t record indoor events, as here too, it will be risky to fly the drone inside. There are indoor drones too, but most of the high-quality camera drones are bigger and designed for outdoor use.
• You can record audio with drones, as the drone needs to be close enough to capture audio clearly, and even then, the noise of propellers will cause some disturbance.

If your wedding ceremony is organized to be held outdoors for most of the part, including the exchange of rings and vows, then it’s best to use a camera drone for the event. Or, you can also get the best of both worlds – get a drone as well as a professional wedding photographer so that you can get breathtaking scenic shots with the drone while the photographer takes care of close-up shots and indoor events.

Things to Consider When Buying or Renting Drones for Wedding Photography

An important decision to make is whether you want to buy or rent the drone, as your approach will be different in each case.

When you’re buying a drone, you need to look into features and specifications. The drone needs to have all essential features for wedding photography and also be worth the money. If you’re renting a drone, you’ll also need to hire an experienced pilot that can operate it and has the necessary skills to take proper pictures and video while flying it. So let’s go through some factors that you must consider beforehand when you are renting or buying a drone for your wedding.

Buying A Drone

Here are the most important specs to look for when buying a drone:

• Camera

It goes without saying that the first thing you must check is the camera quality of the drone. Weddings are truly special occasions, so you should go for the best picture quality to capture the event. Drones equipped with a 4K resolution camera and long-range zoom functions are the best choice. Also, check the gimbal system so that the camera can move in all directions and cover different angles and shots.

• Stability

The stability of the drone will also affect the picture quality and clarity. Better stability means that you’ll get clear pictures even when the drone is recording when in flight. An advanced drone with a precise stabilizing mechanism is a must-have for wedding photography.

• Flight time and battery life

If you have to charge the drone battery time and again during the wedding event, then it’s going to be quite a hassle. Always look for a drone that has a longer flight time and battery life so that it can stay in the air longer. It’s also good to have extra batteries so that you can just replace them when the drone runs out of power.

• Noise level

You don’t want a loud and noisy drone to cause disturbance to your beautiful event. Luckily, many excellent drones in the market are designed to operate quietly. For your wedding day, it’s best to go for a drone that makes little or negligible noise when in flight.

• Storage capacity

Photos may not take a lot of storage space, but high-resolution video files can get pretty big in size. If you’re shooting multiple videos through the event, then storage capacity is something to look into. It’s recommended to have a drone that supports a MicroSD card so that you can store lots of large images and video files without worrying about running out of storage space.

When Renting a Drone

If you’re renting a drone, you still need to consider the features that we mentioned above. But along with that, you also need to think about hiring a professional drone pilot. You’ll need an expert operator who’s experienced in handling all kinds of drones and can perform complex maneuvers to capture dynamic shots of the wedding.

Handling drone flight efficiently is an impressive skill in itself and definitely not an easy task. So when you’re hiring a drone pilot, check their credentials and how good they are with the drone before finalizing things.

Best Camera Drones for Wedding Photography

Now let’s check out some of the top camera drones that are just perfect for wedding photography. After considering many different models, here’s our recommendation for the best wedding drones that include the essential features which we talked about earlier.

DJI Mavic 2 Pro

The Mavic 2 Pro is an excellent camera drone from DJI that features a high resolution 4K camera with a 1 inch CMOS sensor and an adjustable aperture to capture crisp and clear pictures easily. It also supports 10-bit color profiles, which adds so much detail and realism to the images.

It’s a small and compact drone that can also be folded, so you can tuck it in and carry it along anywhere. The flight controls are also intuitive, so it’s easy and fun to fly, and its multi-directional obstacle sensors also play an important role in flying the drone safely and avoiding unintended collisions. Battery life is impressive, too, with a maximum flight time of 31 minutes, and an extra battery will come in handy, so you can keep the drone in the air for a longer time.

Things get better with two amazing picture modes: Quickshots for taking a series of quick pictures, as the name suggests, and the Panorama mode, which can cover a larger stretch of area in a single frame. You can use these modes to add more creativity to the pictures and take unique photos of the event.

With all these advanced features packed inside a stylish and portable body, the DJI Mavic 2 Pro is priced at $1,599, and you can order it from Amazon or the official DJI store.

DJI Mavic Air 2

DJI Mavic Air 2 comes with a beast of a camera, capable of recording 4k videos at 60 fps and featuring a 48-megapixel ½ inch sensor. Like other models from the Mavic series, this one is also quite compact and foldable, which makes it so convenient to move around. Mavic Air 2 is an upgrade over its predecessor Mavic Air, and it wonderfully combines powerful flight performance with high-quality picture and video recording.

QuickShots and Panorama mode are also there in this drone, just like Mavic 2 Pro. You can enjoy up to 34 minutes of maximum flight time which is so much better than many high-end drones, so it’s certainly got a powerful battery. The HDR photos and videos recorded with Mavic Air 2 camera are beautifully detailed and rich in color and texture, so you can expect a whole lot of mesmerizing pictures on your wedding day.

One of the neat features of this drone is the ActiveTrack technology which lets the drone keep its focus on a particular target, be it a person or an object. This is useful in weddings because you can keep the focus of the drone camera fixed on the bride and groom during important events in the wedding. Mavic Air 2 also features the SmartPhoto technology, which automatically detects lighting conditions and adjusts the image quality. Whether it’s a bright sunny day or a hazy evening, your pictures are always going to come out great, thanks to SmartPhoto.

You can buy the DJI Mavic Air 2 from the official DJI store for $799 or get it with the Fly More Combo on Amazon for $988.

Autel Robotics Evo II

Autel Robotics Evo II is also a compact foldable drone that offers high-end specs which you won’t find in many other drones in a similar range. If 4K isn’t good enough for you, then Evo II comes with a high-quality 8K camera that can record 8K videos at 25fps and 4K resolution at 60fps. With 48 megapixel sensor for taking ultra-clear photos and 8x digital zoom to cover distant areas, it’s a perfect drone for wedding photography.

Its flight and gimbal motion are designed to offer maximum stability while different autonomous flight modes can take pictures and videos from unique positions. The battery life of Evo II is the best among the drones we have reviewed so far, with a maximum flight time of 40 minutes. 12 omnidirectional sensors are equipped to the drone so it can efficiently dodge and avoid obstacles. And last but not least, its sleek and futuristic design makes it visually appealing too. The biggest highlight of Evo II is the 8K camera that it packs, which is why it’s great for wedding photography.

You can buy Autel Robotics Evo II drone from Amazon for $1,495.

Conclusion

Drones have become massively popular, especially for photography and videography. So it makes sense to consider using a high-quality camera drone for your wedding ceremony photography. As we mentioned, a drone has many benefits since it can take breath-taking aerial shots, fly freely and cover all areas properly, and it creates room for so much creativity.

Whether you decide to buy a drone or rent one just for your wedding, make sure to put some thought into all the features and specifications that we discussed. And if you’re eager to buy one right away, you can go for one of the three best camera drones that we reviewed, which are all very impressive, particularly when it comes to camera quality. Whichever you choose to buy, you can rest assured that the high-definition pictures and videos of your wedding day will surely put you in awe and admiration.