Aerial photography and drone footage have exploded over the last few years with its uses spanning from wedding videos, search and rescue to aerial still imagery. Recently, one of our education clients, Hamilton School District, requested drone images of their final project, which included multiple locations, for use in communications to their staff, parents, students and community. This got us thinking “How many more clients could benefit from drone footage?” Here are five uses for aerial photography that would enhance communication for any organization:
Tools for Private and Public Meetings
Large scale aerial images can be utilized as a tool to foster collaboration and planning in both public open forum and private board room meetings. Concerns from the community and board members can be talked through and addressed easily.
Communicate Traffic Flow Changes
When a project makes changes to a roadway or creates new entrances/exits to a business, organizations need to communicate these changes to their staff and customers. Aerial drone images are a great tool to use to communicate these changes. For example: our K-12 education client used the drone images to effectively show parents and staff the changed bus routes and pick up/drop off areas.
Website and Social Media
Posting drone images on your organization’s website and social media channels helps to even further communicate to employees, clients and the public any changes that may affect how they access parking or entering the building. Mid-construction images tell the story of how the project is progressing and provide updates. Social media posts can also be a great way to celebrate the completion of a project, drum up excitement and show off the finished project.
Ensures Accuracy with Clear/Readable Images
While you could use Google Earth for aerial imagery, the project may have made changes to roadways or the floorplan of the building. Having drone images taken after project completion ensures the images are accurate and as clear as possible.
“Our project consisted of a new intermediate school and an addition to an existing school so we could not rely on Google Earth to provide accurate pictures. JP Cullen’s drone service provided us with clear, up to date images the school district will be able to use in communication to our staff, students and community.” Paul Mielke, Superintendent Hamilton School District.
Layout Planning
Pre- and mid-construction, superimposing a drawing over a drone image of the actual site can help to easily visualize where the various features of a project will be located such as buildings, parking lots and landscaping. This gives an understanding of the site plan so changes can be made to accommodate geographic features or other variables. Post-construction, drone images can be used as a handy tool to aid in layout planning such as sporting events or how a band would organize practice.
The use of drones encompasses more than just taking cool photos and the images they capture are extremely useful to help communicate change and tell the project story. To discuss how JP Cullen’s drone services would benefit your organization and to get a quote, send me an email Cameron.Weinbrenner@jpcullen.com or give me a call at 608.341.6445.
