In the prologue, Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline starts with one of the most potent sentences that Conroy ever wrote, “I wear the ring.” Four short words: Once you finish the story, understand why wearing a ring from a military school is such a big deal.

Ordering and Receiving a Class Ring {For The Citadel ~ from their website}

• While any rising senior cadet may in the spring of the junior year be measured for and order a class ring, to be eligible to receive a class ring, a cadet must meet these two conditions:
  • Have an academic classification of 1A.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.000.
• To participate in the Ring Ceremony, the cadet must:
  • I have passed the Corps Physical Fitness Test outlined in Chapter 5 of the White Book.
• Cadets who have met academic requirements to receive the ring but have not met the Commandant’s Physical Effectiveness Requirements to participate in the Ring Presentation may pick up their rings on the Monday following Parents’ Weekend at the Holliday Alumni Center.
• If a cadet fails to meet the requirements to receive the ring with their class, the Alumni Association will typically hold it until the end of the following spring semester.
• If the cadet has not met the requirements to receive the ring by that time, it will be returned to the manufacturer.
• The cadet may not order the ring again until all requirements to receive the ring have been met.
• The eligibility of cadets who failed to meet ring eligibility in October of their senior year will be rechecked in January.
• The rings of cadets who have not yet received their rings but will receive their diplomas in May or will be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony will be cleared to receive their rings before commencement.
• No other cadets will be cleared to receive their rings until after commencement.

These are minimum requirements and will not be waived. Students should see the Registrar confirm eligibility.

This is the largest group I have seen with the ring. It means a lot to the family when a cadet not only wears the ring but has the logo facing them while she is still attending school, and at graduation, the entire class turns their rings to face out. They are now graduates of The Citadel.

Usually every October the senior class gets their rings and has a big blowout ceremony.

Traditionally, after a few other celebrations that evening, they get to walk through a large ring with their date; often, the tradition is their mother.

After the ring, they walk through the Sword Arch.

Then COVID-19

The Citadel Class of 2021 missed this tradition as well as many others. This year Taylor Skardon went out of his way to try and make up for what was out of The Citadel’s control by having the ring set up in the Alumni Center for any graduating seniors on their graduation day.

Taylor Skardon served in the Navy for 30 years. The 1982 Citadel graduate is currently an adjunct professor and head of The Citadel Parents’ Program.

All the students at The Citadel during COVID-19 have missed out on traditions, that is why most of them chose to go to The Citadel. Many have read Pat Conroy’s The Lord’s of Discipline and decided to have a similar experience for their college years.

While there are many traditions that incoming classes had no idea would be happening to them, so too have these students who have endured more than a “Hell Week!” For them, COVID-19 has redefined what it means to be part of The Lord’s of Discipline. No one truly admires those college years as much as with hindsight. This class has a unique 2020 hindsight.

Today’s Real Estate market is geared toward people browsing photos and videos of properties as the first step toward finding a home.

Many people will not even contact a realtor until they have searched to get a feel for the homes on the market. One of the places that many go to is Zillow.com.

The good news for most selling is that the market is so hot that most properties in my North Metro Atlanta, Georgia market are in need for a short time. Some houses have multiple offers within minutes of going on the market.

You would think with this hot market; photos are not needed. However, if you have photos, people will possibly bid on your house just from seeing the images. They cannot risk losing a place waiting to schedule an appointment.

I like taking all the essential photos of all the rooms, but I also believe most homes would benefit from a couple of drone shots.

Taking photos from the ground doesn’t always show off your property in the best way.

It would help if you still had all the shots of the home.

I like to shoot many of the rooms from opposite corners so that you can get a feel for the space.

Besides those inside shots, I try and get the outside views that people are looking to see.

Bottom–up thinking is said to take place through taking in details and building up from there. The fragmented bits and pieces are structured and categorized, and then induction is made—a process that brings rise to something.

Top–down processing, on the other hand, refers to the perception driven by cognition.

In the best of situations, those asking for estimates are often in management, and the key to the project’s success is when they realize calculations require conversation.

This past week I have worked on four very intense and convoluted projects. The client is coming to me with a project they often try to complete. Most of the time, the management has already set a budget. When this is the case, we spend time going back and forth to see what we can do within their budget.

I have one client that came to me looking for the Bottom-Up approach. They are in the budgeting phase for a significant project. I helped them with a similar project in another part of the country. They are asking me to duplicate that in a new location.

The problem is that the person asking for the Estimate was not involved in all the parts of the last project. I have to educate them on the details of the estimate that are much more involved than what they think was involved.

When most people see a video of an interview that is under a minute, they think that is all it took to get that interview. This is one of the parts of the estimate I had to explain to the client.

Here is the gist of my education on the topic of a video interview.

While you may see a 30 to 90-second interview, almost all the ones you noticed that we produced took about 3 to 4 hours to shoot. That includes the time to set up the cameras, lights, and microphone and take it down. The actual time we interviewed was about 30 minutes.

I then take those interviews for a first rough cut. I take out all the questions and significant pauses and create a video that is often first reviewed by another team member. That person is often the writer/editor. Then they send back time codes, and we put together the first actual edit. This includes the lower third graphics. Then this is shown to another person up the chain before we offer it to the main client.

The video has usually gone through about 4 to 5 revisions when the client sees it and makes their changes. This is usually about 8 to 10 hours of editing and reposting this online for the team to review.

The purpose of all this is to help explain why what they think is just a few minutes will be a couple of days of work, and that is why the estimate must reflect the behind the scene position they often do not see.

This is Bottom-Up thinking.

The problem with those who do not understand the importance of the Bottom-Up thinkers working with Top-Down thinkers is that the American Automobile declined from the 1960s till almost the 1980s. Meanwhile, Japan overtook the market around 1970 with the help of Dr. William Edward Deming.

William Edwards Deming (1900-1993) is widely acknowledged as the leading management thinker in the quality field. He was a statistician and business consultant whose methods helped hasten Japan’s recovery after the Second World War and beyond. He taught that by adopting appropriate management principles, organizations could simultaneously increase quality and costs (by reducing waste, rework, staff attrition, and litigation while increasing customer loyalty).

Today most people know his work at Total Quality Management and link this to Toyota rather than Deming, who created it. He broke it down into a cycle.

The Deming Cycle, or PDCA Cycle (also known as PDSA Cycle), is a continuous quality improvement model consisting of a logical sequence of four repetitive steps for continuous improvement and learning: Plan, Do Check (Study), and Act.

Estimates are only as good as the information given to the person creating the forecast. Deming understood that as you work on something like a car, it is often the front-line worker who will first see a problem. They need the power to stop the assembly line to be sure the customer gets the best product.

Estimates are needed for Ex Nihilo [out of nothing] work. This is where something is required to be created versus buying something already in existence.

Bottom Line Take Away

Working on estimates can be pretty frustrating to everyone. They are so disappointing because the customer is asking for the estimate. They cannot go forward with the project if they don’t know what they are getting and the cost of it. For the one writing the estimate, they need all the information to create it, but most of the time, the customer doesn’t know all they need to know–this, they are asking for an estimate.

Customers need to be realistic about the process of creating an estimate. They should never think they can continue asking for revisions without compensating for this work.

The one doing the estimating is doing some of the work you need to be done to go to your bosses to give them the feedback they need for budgeting and making decisions.

If you are the one creating estimates, I believe there comes the point in the process of revisions that you are perfectly entitled to compensation. You are doing all the heavy lifting, and the client can take all your work and shop for someone to implement your estimate for a lower rate.

Most of the time, the one doing the estimating is doing the most creative work for a project. They need to be compensated. Also, don’t forget that people will not pay for your first estimate. There will be some give and take, but at some point, the client needs to compensate for all those revisions if they want more clarity in the estimate.

At the beginning of civil twilight, just after Sunset, the colors of the sky change most rapidly. Clouds in the west are illuminated by orange-red sunlight, while the ones in the east remain blue and indigo. Generally speaking, civil twilight lasts for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the season and latitude.

While Civil Twilight is technically 20 to 30 minutes, the best possible moment to get that perfect balance of the city lights with the night sky is more of a “Twinkling of the Eye.”

⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:52

As you can see, back in biblical times, people understood that some of those things we see are like a shooting star and happen so briefly that if you are not paying attention, they will disappear.

I believe that the Civil Twilight is the best time to photograph architecture. The second best time is “Civil Dawn,” which happens at Sunrise.

What you quickly realize is that during these few minutes of Civil Twilight, artificial light values come into the same exposure range as the sky. Anything that doesn’t have a light will slowly go to a silhouette.

To get the best photos of Civil Twilight requires a tripod. The best photos are generally taken with the lowest ISO. This makes your exposure time for the shutter speed take seconds, not a few seconds, as you can during daylight.

When you use these longer exposure times of 30 seconds, as I did photograph the Pier at Ocean Isle Beach, the water turns into foam.

What happens as the light from the sky becomes darker? The light fixtures are no longer distinguishable; you see the light emitting from the institution.

The other popular thing to photograph is the fireworks after Civil Twilight. They want the fireworks to stand out in the night sky.

Most everything becomes, at best, a silhouette, and challenging to make out what is on the ground.

I worked on this photo in Lightroom to open up the shadows to reveal some of the nighttime skies, but it also introduces a lot of noise.

Tips for Twilight Photography

Sunrise or Sunset ~ Before considering going, determine if this is better as a photo. Do I want the sun shining on the front or back as it sets? In some locations, the sun will be to the side, not in front or back.

Pack Tripod & Bug Spray ~ My friend Morris Abernathy and I went one evening to capture the Fort Worth Skyline; the best location was where mosquitos ate us up. It would help to have a sturdy tripod for the camera and lens you plan to use.

Arrive Early ~ Civil dawn is when the sun’s geometric center is 6 degrees below the horizon in the morning, and Civil dusk is the moment when the geometrical center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the evening. That is 20 minutes after Sunset and 20 minutes before Sunset. So, whatever the time is for Sunrise or Sunset, you must be in place with your tripod and camera setup at least 15 to 30 minutes prior.

Stay Late ~ I recommend planning for 45 minutes before Sunrise or Sunset.

Take lots of photos ~ don’t just shoot those few minutes of the best light. Shoot some with the sun still up and when it is pitch black sky. Sometimes, these are also great photos.

Second or Third Camera ~ Some locations you may want to compose differently. Rather than miss a great shot, if you have extra cameras, tripods, and lenses, make use of them.

Cable Release or Radio Transmitter ~ Use a cable release to get the sharpest photos. If you shoot on a DSLR, locking up the mirror will help with sharpness. Using a radio transmitter can help you trigger numerous cameras simultaneously if you are using multiple cameras.

There are many times that daylight will reveal things like mountains in the distance that dusk or dawn can hide.

James Dockery taught Adobe Premiere Pro during the Storytellers Abroad Workshop in Lima, Peru. [X-E3, XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.5, 1/100, Focal Length = 29]

I am just wired to learn more and more. Once I find a subject, I go down that rabbit hole. I want to know more and more.

Here are some significant changes in my career that required me to learn more or earn less.

• Learning to shoot Transparency film like Kodachrome
• Learning how to use hotshoe flash
• Learning how to use studio strobes
• Learning how to create audio/transparency slide show
• Learning how to control my strobes by understanding all the light modifiers
• Switching from Film to Digital
• Learning PhotoShop
• Learning about Metadata
• Learning how to create Database
• Learning how to create Website
• Learning how to create a blog
• Learning how to create digital audio slide shows
• Learning how to shoot video with my DSLR
• Learning about mirrorless cameras
• Learning how to use Sliders & Gimbals
• Learning how to fly drone and become a FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot

Only 15% of hiring managers say most job seekers have the skills their company is looking for.^* If you want to increase your chances of getting a good job, you want to be in that 15%. This means you want to take the time to acquire the skills employers are looking for. 

This is also true for those doing Gig Work. [The term “gig” is jargon for “temporary job.” You’ve likely heard it used conversationally, especially when freelancers say, “I’ve booked a gig.” Additionally, you’ve probably heard of a “gig economy,” which means a free market system in which businesses use independent contractors—for short periods—to handle.]

There are two ways to decide what you need to tackle next. You can be on the Bleeding Edge, which is a little riskier. If you pick the exemplary “New Trend,” you could quickly get a lot of work. However, when you try to guess, the next big thing is, being too early.

When I switched to digital from film, I did it when it was a little more economical, and the technology had come closer to giving me a similar quality to my film. That was the year 2002. I paid $1,999. A similar Kodak back for the Nikon F5 year-earlier went for $16,000. The year before that, it was $25,000. I was not making enough money in those years to recover the cameras’ cost.

In 2013 DJI introduced their first Phantom Drone. This drone began the modern camera-equipped drone craze. Within a few years, DJI would hold a commanding position in the consumer drone market, with almost 80% of consumer drones manufactured by DJI or one of their subsidiaries.

I had bought a couple of toy drones and could barely fly them without crashing. So, I was waiting until the technology was solid enough that I stepped into the drone world this February when I studied for and passed my FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot test. I bought my first drone just a few days before I took my test.

While we all know about the “Learning Curve” and think it will be like this one above, it is more like it.

William S. Burroughs is credited with saying, “When you stop growing, you start dying.” This is the best way to think of the alternative to becoming a Lifelong Learner.

Here is one more way to understand why you want to also “Learn More, To Earn More.” The odds of increasing your income from one year to the next are directly related to what new things you have added to your skill base. Now I am not saying you should be chasing money, but the cost of living will increase just to stay at a similar income. The only way to keep up with this is to produce more content or better content that is worth more.

This photo above was taken by Dorie Griggs, my wife, last year during my time interviewing Dr. Charlie Weiss.

This past week my daughter said her friend liked that I was direct with conversation. They used the gaming term “Speedrun.”

So with some research, I found this about Speedruns.

Speedruns are artistry. Not only do they demonstrate complete mastery over a game, but they also poke away at the edges of what a game intends you to do. Watching a perfect speedrun is similar, I imagine, to watching good gymnastics, but they’re more than just skill-based. They’re borne of curiosity about the edges of games: the things we’re not meant to see and the things we aren’t supposed to do.

There’s a whole science behind speed runs. Players spend weeks and sometimes years chiseling a perfect path through a game. They exploit minor traversal bugs to gain speed, they tap away at the outer limits of a game world in search of hidden routes, and then they move to execute all these tricks in one graceful swoop. There’s a strong collaborative spirit among speedrun communities because, in the end, it’s all about what’s possible, not who wins.

These are some of the strengths I have as one with Asperger’s. For each of these, there is an equally opposite trait. You will find many with Asperger’s are direct.

Before sitting down to interview someone on camera, I have done lots of research and preparation for the path I need to take to get what I have as content needs to tell the story. I have done many informal interviews before I sit down.

I become focused just like a kid on an Easter Egg hunt. I know what I am looking for, and I go for it.

It is essential at times for you to have this kind of focus like the “Speedrunner.” However, there are times you need to slow down.

One of the times I slowed down was my first time in Burkina Faso, West Africa, with a writer.  African time is the perceived cultural tendency in parts of Africa and the Caribbean toward a more relaxed attitude to time.

I knew what we needed, but I realized quickly that over three weeks, we had the time to get our content and even more. So, I learned to look around while the writer was interviewing and just observed.

The one thing that helped me to observe even more had children. I would take my camera and enjoy seeing them take in the world and grow up in front of my eyes.

Speedrun vs Taking in the Roses

My mentor and friend Don Rutledge took me on many assignments that he self-assigned himself. I did this with Don for many, many years. We traveled around the country doing some of these stories.

When I asked Don why he did so many of these smaller self-assigned stories, he said he liked it when he could take his time. Sometimes he would go back over a few days to work getting everything he could think of to make a solid visual story and the written story he would also craft.

He said these stories let him master his craft at a slower speed so that he, like the “Speedrunner, ” could make the most of his time when he was working on reports where the time was limited.

Most professional musicians like Pam Goldsmith, who sits the first chair in many movies you see in Hollywood, must practice for hours each day. Most professional musicians practice 6 to 8 hours daily, 6 out of 7 days a week.

When Pam goes in to play on the latest movie, she and all the other studio musicians have never seen the music before. An orchestra has never played it. They take a moment to look it over. They may make a note or two, like bowing motions, and then play it. By the way, they recorded it that first time as well. Then they are done. Seldom do they go back and redo something.

When they go back, the composer may see they made a mistake and need to change something.

Asperger’s also processes a lot before they are “Speedrunning.”

This may sound contradictory, but it is what I do. Time is such a precious commodity in life. It is the most important thing you can give to anyone. So to make the most of my time with people, I must know when to ”Speedrun” and when to just “Chill.”

The best tip I have for getting your headshot is to take some advice from singers.

• Yawn-sigh Technique. For this quick vocal exercise, yawn (take in air) with your mouth closed. 
• Humming warm–upS. 
• Vocal Straw Exercise. 
• Lip buzz Vocal warm–up. 
• Tongue trill exercise. 
• Jaw Loosening ExerciseS. 
• Two-octave pitch glide Warm–Up. 
• Vocal Sirens Exercise.
• Vocal Slides Technique

You see singers stretching their vocal cords. In a way, they are calibrating their voices.

While photographing some actors a few years ago, I thought they wouldn’t love to perform. That was when I was trying to get them to enjoy themselves. I accidentally discovered that after they have been going through different types of characters, the expressions that follow are more relaxed and engaging.

Have fun in your headshot session. Keep the lighting simple and spend all the time getting a variety of expressions.

When an actor comes to me for their headshot, they are a little reluctant at first.

This past Saturday, I set up a studio in the lobby at Riverside Theatre Complex – Columbus State University.

My daughter, Chelle Leary, is a student in the Theatre program at Columbus State University and was helping me. She would help coach some actors by asking them to imitate professors and students in the program. Ronald Walker was getting into the roles once he had some ideas to play with.

After playing with some characters, I would get a few natural moments and then move on to another character. I continued to shoot these so they could later use them for fun with Social Media.

I think the actors love seeing the results of the different characters they created.

I like to think of taking this variety of expressions to calibrate the face. You need to push or stretch beyond the best expression for any mood you are trying to achieve to make the one that is dialed back just a little look natural.

Here are some more tips for you in a downloadable PDF

Now fully vaccinated, I am ready to take on clients once again. Call me, and let’s set up a portrait session for you.

The photo at the top is the same as you see here moving. You need special software installed on your website to make them come alive.

Put your mouse on the photo and pull it up and down. Go side to side to see how you can control the experience. Pinch the screen and spread your two fingers on the screen to zoom in and out.

Shot with Drone – Chatham’s Greenway Neighborhood @ Bent Grass Drive & Putting Green Intersection

I have been shooting 360º panoramics for many years but from the ground. I was excited to see I could do this with my drone.

You can see more examples of my Panoramic 360 on my main website. Go Here To See Them

I love being able to put the audience into the scene.

Photo by Gibbs Frazeur

During the pandemic, I have taken on learning about flying a drone and just this past week jumped into using a gimbal with a camera to create a video.

I wanted a much smoother video than I was getting without a gimbal. Now with my Nikon Z6, which has image stabilization paired with my DJI Ronin SC, I will end up with much more usable video.

Most of us are familiar with the learning curve. As we know, it isn’t a straight path to continued success.

The cool thing these days is anything you are interested in learning about; there is most likely someone who has created a YouTube for you to understand how as well. As I was learning how to fly my drone and use the Gimbal, everyone kept saying for a more “Cinematic Look.”

Frankly, it was being tossed around so much in all the videos that I realized many people were adding their interpretation of this.

For years, the classic 4:3 (or 1.33/1.37) aspect ratio was the standard TV format of the older tube-based TVs. The more comprehensive formats (1.85 and 2.35) were seen as “movie formats,” and 4:3 was seen as a “TV format.” In the early 2000s, 16:9 (1.78) televisions hit the market masses and changed the aspect ratio game forever. No longer was widescreen a format only for film, but now it was a television format too.

Most would say that the broader format of 16:9 is a cinematic format. However, the 2:35 is the gold standard of the cinema. You may notice that many movies were shot on a Panavision camera. Most production houses rent them because they are so expensive. They created anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s.

I was found in many of my YouTube tutorials putting an Anamorphic lens on your drone camera and then using software to stretch out the photo. All who are talking about this lens emphasized that it makes your video more “Cinematic.”

Before digital, all the movies were shot on film, and the cameras shot this at 24 frames per second or 24 fps. Since we had become accustomed to seeing this in the movies, people associated the feel of 24 fps with cinema. While now we can shoot up to 240 fps with some camera gear, it has a different look than the 24 fps.

All this is to say there are some technical things you can do to make your end product look more cinematic. A wide screen and 24 fps are the “old school” way of seeing things.

The other way “Cinematic” is used is much more subjective. Most were using this to make your work look professional and sound. Here are some tips.

Here are common things they say make your footage look amateurish:

• Jerky motion
• Crooked horizons
• Exposure
• Color Temperature
• Too long of clips
• Not enough variety of clips
• No Storyline

One key I can say will determine your success in shooting cinematically is your depth of knowledge of movies through the years. I found one thing throughout my journey in life up to now. Most all the great visual storytellers are students of the trade.

One great movie to give you a taste of what it takes to make movies and their history is the documentary “Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story.”

The best part of the movie to me was Harold was the guy creating the cinematic moments in movie history by pre-visualizing them by drawing storyboards that people like Alfred Hitchcock would use.

So when you hear people talking about something being Cinematic, they could be referring to the technical, or they could be talking about the aesthetic. I can tell you if your look at their work and it is outstanding, then you know they do know what it means to shoot cinematically. If you look at their work and it isn’t captivating, they don’t know cinema like they say they do.

If you want to be a true cinematographer, the key is to become a student of all the master cinematographers in the industry.

Just learning the terms in the industry will expose you to a palette of storytelling techniques.

Here are just some terms alone one would benefit from knowing what they mean.

That quote is from James Allen, a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement. His best-known work, ‘As a Man Thinketh,’ has been mass-produced since its publication in 1903.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is something none of us had a way of preventing over a year ago. It happened so fast, and many would die.

My response was to help out restaurants and businesses where I live in Roswell, Georgia. One year ago today, I made this video to help Bob White and his family, who own Slope’s BBQ, communicate how they were responding to the pandemic and stay open, but for takeout only.

Over those first few months, I showed what I could do to help businesses. If I did a few of these, I thought someone would finally ask me to do one for their business.

I even returned to those restaurants to get testimonials on how those videos helped their businesses.

Nothing was working to get work.

“A man has to learn that he cannot command things, but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of others, but that he can mold and master his own will: and things serve him who serves Truth; people seek guidance of him who is master of himself.”

~ James Allen

This year has taken its toll on so many of my friends.

“I lost my studio. My savings are gone. I’ve filled in the gaps by selling gear. People I love have succumbed to this virus.”

~ Anonymous

This has been a tough time when some of the suffering has been not by a virus but by people killing others.

The Colorado attack on Monday, March 22, is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US.

“Our life is what our thoughts make it. A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.”

~ James Allen

I continue to find solace in the Serenity Prayer through the years when circumstances beyond my control wreak havoc in my life. Reinhold Niebuhr’s prayer originally asked for courage first, specifically for changing things that must be changed, not something that simply can be changed.

“Father, give us the courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the insight to know the one from the other.”

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Don’t be Depressed or Anxious

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

~ Lao Tzu

My friend Judy Bowen is a missionary in Togo, West Africa. She draws a lot of her strength from seeing God work through nature.

What I have to offer today is this Bible Verse:

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? ²⁷ Who among you by taking thought can add a cubit^[a] to his stature?
²⁸ “Why take thought about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: They neither work, nor do they spin. ²⁹ Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. ³⁰ Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is here and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore, take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² (For the Gentiles seek after all these things.) For your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you. ³⁴ Therefore, take no thought about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the trouble thereof.”

Matthew 6:26-34

Most clients want to see some of your work before hiring you to shoot something.

They are looking for work similar to what they are hiring you to shoot for them.

I am starting from scratch by offering Aerial Photography using my Drone.

I have been doing aerial photography my entire career. I would hire a helicopter and remove the doors on the side I was shooting from. Here I am doing that on a photo shoot for a school.

Now shooting from a Helicopter, you must be +500 feet above the ground. With a Drone, you are -400 feet above the ground.

So there are still times you may need a helicopter.

I can put a few helicopter shots on the website and explain that if we need to go higher than FAA rules for a drone, I can also offer that service.

What to include in your portfolio?

It would be best if you targeted a niche. I am going to try and pursue the commercial work and also have a few residential images on the website as well.

The commercial should pay a little better than the residential.

Now a couple of tips I have been picking up from other drone operators through their posts on the topic has been that what sells isn’t always what you see a lot on drone pilots’ pages.

One guy realized over time that businesses often would buy stock drone footage of things around their business. For example, the Chamber of Commerce is more interested in shots that show off their town and not just pretty pictures of trees from the top.

From my research, I am working on a few things to shoot to build the website.

• Skyline of city
• Attractions
• Series of video clips that tell a short story of a place
  • Short video to show a small town highlights on why to live there
  • Short video to show a commercial property

Not So Easy

Flying a drone is making a photo shoot more complex than anything else I have done.

While this video looks OK, earlier that day, I shot another Hyperlapse. Watch what happens with the building.

So the learning curve on knowing what to do with the technology and the limits takes time to learn.

You must abide by two legal rules when flying a drone. You cannot pass over moving vehicles and people. There are exceptions, but for the most part, this impacts where you can fly.

So for this shot of the Chick-fil-A, I am over a parking lot with no moving vehicles. No vehicles.

You can see the parking lot on the left of the frame where I flew to get photo 2 above. I am flying over another parking lot to get this photo.

Weather

Each one of these variables in the App UAV Forecast can ground you. While you will see many flies regardless of the guidelines to be safe and not risk your or your client’s reputation, you want to play by the rules.

• 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, you cannot fly at night without a waiver. This rule is changing, but flying at night requires more knowledge of airspace at night. That training is not yet available but will be this month.

• My drone, the DJI Mavic Air 2, is not recommended to work below 32º Fahrenheit. The cold temperature can make the battery fail, crashing your drone when it stops flying.

• When I was in Civil Air Patrol, I learned that we couldn’t fly above 20-mile-per-hour winds with the planes we were using. My drone is recommended not to fly above 20 mph winds. So if the app shows even gusts above 20 mph, it will recommend not flying.

• Drones are not designed to fly in rain, snow, or sleet. The reason is the water can get into the motors or battery and cause a short. Again this will cause you to crash.

• Cloud cover needs to be a minimum of 500 feet above you to fly. If the cloud cover is 600 feet, you can only fly up to 100 feet. You also have to be 2000 feet away from clouds horizontally around you.

• You cannot fly a drone unless you have 3 miles of visibility.

• many things impact the satellites that your drone can see. While you can fly with no satellites, the ability of the drone to hover by itself and to get home require good satellite coverage. The recommendation of 10 or more satellites seems to give you the best flying condition.

• The Kp index measures geomagnetic disruption caused by solar activity on a scale from 0 (calm) to 9 (major storm). The higher the Kp index, the more likely you will have problems. Kp’s of 1-4 are entirely safe. Losing a satellite can mean a fly-away drone.

AirMap

Another App worthy of mentioning is AirMap. It has many more things it can do for you. Including

• Request digital authorization for commercial operations in LAANC-enabled U.S. controlled airspaces
• Can I fly here? Get real-time feedback on airspace rules and conditions regarding your flight specifications, with national rulesets for 20 countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Connect to any supported DJI drone to fly and toggle camera settings directly from the AirMap app
• Plan a flight path to a specific duration, altitude, and airspace requirements

When you plan your flight with the app, you can connect to DroneInsurance.com to buy insurance. When starting, Instant aviation liability coverage is more affordable than an annual policy. You can also increase your liability from 1 million, 2 million, 5 million, or higher.

Since drones crash, when the electronics fail to have your drone crash and do property damage isn’t what your clients want. Most will require you to show liability insurance to operate on their property.

There are many apps out there, and B4UFLY has a lot of positive reviews and has been updated recently.

As you can see, the time of day you make your drone shot dramatically affects the outcome. While some dawn and dusk shots are dramatic, many times, the daytime shot is more appropriate for a business that wants their customers to recognize their property during their business hours.

As you can see, a learning curve is affected by so many variables.

I hope that each day I can fly for the next month, I come away with one portfolio piece. To have enough variety is going to take some time.

One thing I didn’t even mention is the time of year. While you can fly throughout the year, the vegetation looks different each season. Not many people are excited to get drone photos during the winter, except for those winter vacation spots.

If you know of great locations near me in Georgia to explore, let me know.

Today I got my Airman Certificate for the FAA Part 107 Certified Drone Pilot. I am now able to charge for my services. I cannot wait till springtime.

“Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.”

~ Lewis Grizzard

Why is this important for my clients?

“If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur!”

Realtors are told, “The pilot would face a fine of $1,100 per violation…while the person [The Realtor] who causes the operation could be liable for a fine of $11,000….”

A $182,000 fine was issued to a drone pilot in Philadelphia in December 2020.

Here are some guidelines for drones

• Request digital authorization for commercial operations in LAANC-enabled U.S. controlled airspaces
• Can I fly here? Get real-time feedback on airspace rules and conditions regarding your flight specifications with national rulesets. To charge for drone aerial photographs, you MUST be an FAA Part 107 Certified Drone Pilot
• Non-Certified Drone Pilots can and will be fined – $1,414 per violation
• Do not fly higher than 400 feet
• Try not to fly over any moving vehicles or people when possible
• Keep your drone within eyesight at all times
• Remain a safe distance away from others’ property and unprotected people
• Notify any airports ahead of time if flying within 5 miles of an airport
• Do not fly in adverse weather conditions or under the influence of substances
• Don’t fly near sensitive areas (power plants, water treatment plants, prisons, major highways, etc.)
• Don’t invade others’ privacy with photos or videos for 20 countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Connect to any supported DJI drone to fly and toggle camera settings directly from the AirMap app
• Plan a flight path to a specific duration, altitude, and airspace requirements

The reason you hire a licensed drone pilot is as much to do with flying by the Federal Aviation Administration rules as just how good their photos and videos are for you.

Give me a call, and let’s plan to make the most of this coming springtime.