FAA Part 107 Licensed • Fully Insured
Drone Aerial Photography
High-resolution drone photography of your property, project, or business, captured by FAA-certified Wisconsin pilots and delivered ready for print, web, and marketing.
Green Bay • Appleton • Fox Valley • All of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Drone Photography That Sells the Big Picture
Fox Valley Web Design operates Above Wisconsin, our drone division flown by FAA Part 107 Remote Pilots in Command and AOPA members. From a single real estate listing to a season-long construction time series, we plan every flight, secure the airspace authorization, and deliver crisp, color-graded aerial photos your competitors simply don’t have.
Real Estate Aerials
Listing photos that show the whole property: lot lines, acreage, waterfront, and neighborhood context that ground-level photos can’t capture. Realtor-recommended across Northeast Wisconsin.
Construction Progress
Scheduled flyovers that document sitework, framing, and completion, perfect for draw requests, investor updates, and marketing your finished build.
Commercial & Industrial
Facility photos for websites, brochures, and recruiting. Show off your campus, fleet, and footprint from the angle that makes it impressive.
Roof & Asset Inspections
Detailed overhead imagery of roofs, towers, and hard-to-reach assets, safer and faster than a lift, with photos you keep on file.
Land & Hunting Property
Acreage, food plots, trail systems, and water features photographed for land listings, property management, and hunting property sales.
Events & Tourism
Festivals, campuses, marinas, and county fairs from above: the photos communities share and remember.
ABOVE WISCONSIN
Drone photo and video built for commercial real estate and public-sector work: factories, construction progress, industrial sites, large developments, municipalities, and government agencies, plus full video production with ground cameras, 360° virtual tours, and cinematic editing. Every flight is flown by FAA Part 107 licensed drone pilots. When your project needs eyes in the sky (or on the ground), Above Wisconsin has the lens for it.
One Crew, Every Angle
What We Shoot From Above
Licensed, insured aerial photography for the industries that keep Wisconsin working. Click an industry to jump to the details below.
Industry not listed? If it can be seen from the sky, we can photograph it. Ask about your project and we will tell you plainly what an aerial can do for it.
Professional Gear We Fly & Shoot
Five Brands, One Standard
Every Fox Valley Web Design and Above Wisconsin shoot runs on the same five names: DJI in the air, Hasselblad for 100-megapixel medium format on the ground and on the drone, Canon and Sony for photo, video and live events, and GoPro everywhere in between. Here is who they are, how they got here and exactly what we fly and shoot.
The Aircraft
In Our Fleet
- 2x DJI Mavic 4 Pro, 100MP Hasselblad, 6K/60 HDR
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro
- DJI Mavic 2 Pro
- DJI Mini 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro
- DJI Neo
- DJI Matrice 400 RTK with Zenmuse payloads
- DJI Mavic Pro (retired, 2016)
- 3DR Solo (2015) with GoPro gimbal
- NDAA-compliant American-made aircraft available
- FAA registered, Remote ID compliant, insured
DJI: The Most Reliable Camera Drones Ever Built
Every aerial photo on this page was captured with a DJI aircraft. Founded in Shenzhen in 2006, DJI turned drones from a hobbyist science project into the most capable flying cameras ever built, and it makes the aircraft that FAA Part 107 pilots worldwide reach for first. We have flown DJI for more than a decade, from the original Mavic Pro to a nine-aircraft fleet led by two Hasselblad-equipped Mavic 4 Pros and an enterprise Matrice 400 RTK, flown by a father and two sons: two certified Pilots in Command and a third pilot in training.
DJI (Da-Jiang Innovations) was founded in 2006 by Frank Wang, who built his first flight controllers in a dorm room at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and moved the company to Shenzhen the same year. Early products were flight-control systems for hobbyist helicopters and multirotors.
The 2013 Phantom changed everything: a ready-to-fly camera drone anyone could buy and fly out of the box. The Inspire 1 followed in 2014 with an integrated 4K camera and retracting arms, the Phantom 4 added obstacle sensing in 2016, and the Mavic Pro folded a serious camera drone into something that fit in a jacket pocket. The Mini series (2019) came in under 250 grams, the Mavic 3 (2021) put a Hasselblad camera on a prosumer aircraft, the Mavic 4 Pro (May 2025) added a 100MP main camera and a gimbal that rotates a full 360 degrees, and the Matrice 400 (June 2025) set a new bar for enterprise aircraft with 59-minute endurance and a 6 kg payload capacity.
Today DJI is a privately held company headquartered at DJI Sky City in Shenzhen, with offices across the United States, Europe and Asia, and it holds the large majority of the world's consumer and prosumer drone market.
We fly the right aircraft for the job, not the only aircraft we own. The current Above Wisconsin and Fox Valley Web Design fleet:
- Two DJI Mavic 4 Pro: our primary photo and video aircraft. 100MP Hasselblad main camera on a Four Thirds sensor, triple-camera system with 70mm and 168mm telephoto, 6K/60 HDR video, 360-degree Infinity Gimbal for true vertical shots, omnidirectional obstacle sensing and about 51 minutes per battery. Two identical aircraft means a backup on every job and two locations in one day.
- DJI Mavic 3 Pro: Hasselblad 4/3 main camera with 70mm and 166mm telephotos, our second-line workhorse for photo, video and progress sets.
- DJI Mavic 2 Pro: the Hasselblad one-inch aircraft that carried our business for years and still flies clean backup and training missions.
- DJI Mavic Pro (retired): our first Mavic, now honorably retired to the shelf, the aircraft that folded a real camera drone into a jacket pocket in 2016.
- DJI Mini 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro: sub-250-gram aircraft with full obstacle sensing and 4K HDR video. Light, quiet and perfect for tight sites, interiors and locations where a smaller footprint is the considerate choice.
- DJI Neo: a palm-sized 135-gram aircraft for point-of-view, follow and behind-the-scenes shots where nothing else fits.
- DJI Matrice 400 RTK: our enterprise platform for mapping, LiDAR, thermal, inspection and public-safety work, with swappable Zenmuse payloads and interchangeable lenses. See the next two panels for what it opens up.
- 3DR Solo (2015): the American-made quadcopter from 3D Robotics that flew a GoPro HERO on a 3-axis gimbal, running open-source Pixhawk flight control. It still works, it still flies our GoPro, and it reminds us how far the industry has come in ten years.
Every aircraft is registered with the FAA, Remote ID compliant, and flown under liability insurance by an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot in Command. ND filter sets, spare batteries and spare props ride along on every job.
The DJI Matrice 400, released June 10, 2025, is a different class of aircraft from a camera drone: up to 59 minutes of flight time, a 6 kg payload capacity, IP55 weather sealing rated from minus 20 to 50 degrees Celsius, built-in RTK positioning for centimeter-level accuracy, rotating LiDAR and millimeter-wave radar that can sense a power line at night, and O4 Enterprise transmission out to 40 km. Four E-Port V2 connectors let it carry up to seven payloads at once. Here is what we offer with it:
- Construction mapping: RTK-accurate orthomosaic site maps, weekly or monthly, with cut-and-fill volumes, stockpile quantities, earthwork progress and as-built comparison against the plan. Delivered in formats that drop into CAD, GIS and Procore-style workflows.
- 3D modeling and digital twins: photogrammetry with the Zenmuse P1 (smart oblique capture) processed in DJI Terra into textured 3D models, point clouds and elevation models of buildings, campuses, quarries and whole sites. Measure, plan and present in a browser.
- Thermal for construction: building envelope and insulation checks, flat-roof moisture surveys, HVAC and mechanical inspection, concrete pour and curing monitoring, radiant floor verification and solar array commissioning with the Zenmuse H30T radiometric thermal camera.
- Thermal inspection and public safety: substations, transmission lines, solar farms, industrial equipment and tank farms; search and rescue support, fire scene overwatch and hazard assessment with thermal, 34x optical zoom, laser rangefinder, spotlight and loudspeaker payloads.
- LiDAR survey: the Zenmuse L2 maps terrain under tree canopy, corridors, shorelines and forests at 4 to 5 cm accuracy, up to 2.5 square kilometers in a single flight, for topographic survey, drainage design and forestry.
- High-end movie making and broadcast: long-endurance, rock-steady aerials for film, documentary and live-event coverage, including low-light and night scenes with the H30's night mode and laser-assisted focus, and airborne relay for live feeds from places a ground crew cannot reach.
- Agriculture, forestry and environmental: crop and forest health imaging, drainage and erosion mapping, and wetland and shoreline monitoring, with multispectral and gas-detection payloads available through the E-Port ecosystem.
Mapping and thermal deliverables are produced by our pilots and delivered with clear notes on accuracy and method. For stamped survey products or engineering opinions we work alongside your licensed surveyor or engineer.
The Matrice 400 does not have one camera; it has whatever the job needs. The payloads we fly or can bring in, and who they serve:
- Zenmuse P1 photogrammetry camera with interchangeable DL lenses: a 45MP full-frame sensor with a global mechanical shutter and three swappable prime lenses. The 24mm covers the most ground per flight for large-area mapping, farms and subdivisions; the 35mm is the surveying standard, balancing coverage and detail for construction sites, corridors and cadastral work; the 50mm delivers the finest detail for facade modeling, bridges, towers, heritage documentation and high-accuracy stockpile volumes. Accuracy of about 3 cm horizontal and 5 cm vertical without ground control points, and up to 3 square kilometers per flight. Industries: surveying, civil engineering, construction, mining and aggregates, land development, real estate, architecture, cultural preservation.
- Zenmuse H30T: five sensors in one payload: 48MP wide camera, 40MP zoom with 34x optical and 400x digital zoom, 1280 by 1024 radiometric thermal camera reading minus 20 to 1600 degrees Celsius, laser rangefinder to 3,000 meters and a near-infrared light for night work. Industries: fire and police, search and rescue, utilities and energy, insurance, roofing and building envelope, solar operators, industrial plants, wildlife and conservation.
- Zenmuse L2 LiDAR: frame LiDAR with five returns per pulse, 250 to 450 meter detection range and a 4/3 RGB mapping camera, with live point cloud preview in the air. Industries: land survey, forestry, powerline and pipeline corridors, transportation and road design, floodplain and watershed studies, mining.
- Zenmuse S1 spotlight and V1 loudspeaker: an aircraft-mounted searchlight and a broadcast speaker for public safety, event management, emergency management and large-site security.
- Third-party payloads via E-Port V2: multispectral crop cameras, methane and gas detectors, drop and delivery mechanisms and specialty sensors from DJI's partner ecosystem, so agriculture, environmental compliance, oil and gas and research clients get the sensor their problem calls for.
Tell us what you need to see, measure or find and we will match the payload, the lens and the flight plan to it.
Some municipal, state, federal and federally funded projects require aircraft that comply with the National Defense Authorization Act and rule out Chinese-made drones. We have NDAA-compliant, American-made aircraft available for exactly those projects, so a city, county, tribal government, utility or public-safety agency can hire us with confidence that the aircraft on the job meets the procurement rules. Tell us the requirement in the contract language and we will match it.
On the DJI side: on December 22, 2025 the FCC added foreign-made drones and critical components, including DJI, to its Covered List, which stops new models from receiving FCC equipment authorization. Aircraft already authorized, like every DJI model in our fleet, remain legal to own, sell and fly under FAA Part 107, and nothing about a standard commercial aerial shoot changes. When a project needs American-made, we bring American-made.
The main camera on the Mavic 4 Pro is not a DJI camera with a Hasselblad sticker. It is the Hasselblad L3D-100C, a camera custom-built for this aircraft by the Swedish medium-format company DJI has owned since 2017, and it is the single biggest reason we fly two of them.
- 100-megapixel 4/3 CMOS sensor: four times the pixels of the previous flagship, so a single aerial can be printed at trade-show size, cropped into three different website banners, or handed to a surveyor as a detail reference.
- Variable aperture f/2.0 to f/11: a real iris, not a fixed lens. We open up for golden hour and interiors, stop down for midday sun and long exposures, and control motion blur without stacking filters.
- 15.5 stops of dynamic range: bright sky and shaded storefront in the same frame, both exposed correctly, with the highlight and shadow detail a colorist needs.
- 6K/60fps HDR video with 10-bit D-Log, D-Log M and HLG, so drone footage grades alongside our Canon, Sony, Hasselblad and GoPro cameras in one timeline.
- Dual Native ISO Fusion: clean low-light and dusk footage where earlier drones fell apart.
- 28mm equivalent lens with a 10-point starburst: city lights, marina lights and holiday displays render with the same starburst a cinema lens would give.
- Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution (HNCS): the same color science Hasselblad ships in its 100MP studio cameras, tuned so skin, water, brick and foliage look the way your eye saw them, straight out of the camera.
The Mavic 4 Pro adds a 70mm medium telephoto and a 168mm telephoto on the same 360-degree Infinity Gimbal, so one flight delivers the wide establishing shot, the compressed hero shot and the tight detail without moving the aircraft over anything it should not be over. Watch the videos in the Hasselblad panel above to see the camera in action.
Above Wisconsin LLC is a one-of-a-kind drone company: a father and his two sons. Gary has been an FAA-licensed commercial drone pilot for 11 years and flies as Pilot in Command on most jobs. Nick earned his FAA Part 107 certificate in 2026 and flies as our second Pilot in Command. Brennen is our third pilot, currently in training for his own Part 107 certificate. Two certified Remote Pilots in Command means a backup pilot, a visual observer on complex sites, and the ability to run two shoots in one day.
We are also full-time professionals on the ground: drone pilots, photographers, videographers, website developers, video editors and photo editors, working in Adobe Creative Cloud and Final Cut Pro on Apple computers. The people who fly your aerials are the same people who edit them and build the website they land on.
xDJIWhy We Fly Two Mavic 4 Pros
A 100MP Hasselblad Camera, 400 Feet Up, On Every Job
Official DJI launch film for the Mavic 4 Pro and its Hasselblad L3D-100C camera
Hasselblad has built the cameras that photographed the Moon, and since 2017 it has been part of DJI. The L3D-100C is the result: a Hasselblad camera engineered specifically for the Mavic 4 Pro, with a 100-megapixel Four Thirds sensor, a true variable aperture and the Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution that makes water, sky, brick and skin tones look right without heavy grading. We fly two of them full time, so every Above Wisconsin and Fox Valley Web Design aerial shoot delivers medium-format-class color and resolution, with a backup aircraft on site.
- 100MP stills that print at trade-show size or crop into a dozen web and social assets
- f/2.0 to f/11 variable aperture for real exposure control from golden hour to high noon
- 15.5 stops of dynamic range: bright sky and shaded storefront in one frame
- 6K/60 HDR video in 10-bit D-Log M and HLG that grades with our ground cameras
- Dual Native ISO Fusion for clean dusk, dawn and city-light footage
- Triple camera: 28mm Hasselblad main, 70mm and 168mm telephotos on a 360-degree gimbal
DJI: hands-on with the Mavic 4 Pro triple-camera system in Iceland
Hasselblad: the same color science, in the 100MP X2D II 100C we shoot on the ground
What it means for your project: the aerial photo of your resort, subdivision, plant or storefront is captured by a Hasselblad, delivered at 100 megapixels, and color-matched to the Hasselblad, Canon and Sony cameras we shoot on the ground the same day. One look, every angle. Ask for a quote and we will show you samples from your industry.
The Medium Format Cameras
Hasselblad: The Camera That Went To The Moon Is In Our Bag
Built in Gothenburg, Sweden since 1941, Hasselblad cameras photographed the first Moon landing and have defined medium-format photography ever since. We shoot two of its 100-megapixel cameras, the X2D II 100C and the modular 907X and CFV 100C, and the very same Hasselblad color science flies on our two DJI Mavic 4 Pros. Air and ground, one look.
X2D II 100C
100 megapixels, 16-bit color, 15.3 stops of dynamic range and true end-to-end HDR, with LiDAR-assisted autofocus, 10-stop in-body stabilization and a 1TB internal SSD. Precision-focused, in every sense.
907X and CFV 100C
A 100MP digital back and a 620-gram modular body that mounts XCD lenses today and virtually every Hasselblad V System camera and lens made since 1957. Tilt screen, 1TB SSD, 15 stops of dynamic range.
Hasselblad traces its roots to 1841, when F. W. Hasselblad and Co. opened as a trading company in Gothenburg, Sweden, and by 1888 it was the Swedish distributor for Eastman Kodak. Victor Hasselblad, the founder's great-grandson, was a passionate bird photographer who apprenticed at Kodak and studied cameras across Europe. In 1941 the Swedish government asked him to build an aerial reconnaissance camera to match one recovered from a downed German aircraft; he answered with the HK7, then the SKa4, and Victor Hasselblad AB was born. His first civilian camera, the 1600F of 1948, established the modular medium-format system that defined the brand: interchangeable lenses, film backs and viewfinders around a compact 6x6 body.
The 500C of 1957 became the most famous professional camera of the film era, and in 1962 astronaut Walter Schirra carried a Hasselblad 500C on Mercury 8. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts photographed the first Moon landing with a Hasselblad 500EL Data Camera; the film magazines came home and the camera bodies were left on the lunar surface to save weight. Hasselblad went digital with the H System in 2002, launched the X1D in 2016 as the world's first medium-format mirrorless camera, and in 2017 DJI became its majority owner, which is how Hasselblad color science ended up on our drones. The company is still headquartered in Gothenburg, where every X2D and 907X camera is assembled.
Announced in August 2025, the X2D II 100C is Hasselblad's flagship: a 100-megapixel back-illuminated medium-format CMOS sensor (43.8 x 32.9 mm, about 1.7 times the area of full frame) with 16-bit color, roughly 281 trillion colors, native ISO 50 and 15.3 stops of dynamic range. It is the first 100MP medium-format camera with true end-to-end HDR, pairing the Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution with high dynamic range capture and a 1,400-nit OLED touchscreen that shows the HDR image the way it will be delivered.
- Autofocus: continuous AF-C with deep-learning subject detection, 425 phase-detect zones and LiDAR-assisted focusing for low light. On the first X2D you waited for focus; on the II you do not.
- Stabilization: five-axis, 10-stop in-body stabilization, up to eight times steadier than the previous model, for handheld exposures that used to need a tripod.
- Storage: 1TB internal SSD plus a CFexpress Type B slot, so a full day of 100MP files fits in the camera.
- Build: graphite grey magnesium body, 7.5 percent lighter than its predecessor, with a redesigned grip and leaf-shutter XCD lenses that flash sync at any speed up to 1/4000 second.
Portraits of a company's leadership team, architecture, interiors, product and fine-art landscape prints are where this camera earns its place in the bag.
The 907X and CFV 100C is Hasselblad's modular camera, and it is the second Hasselblad we shoot. The CFV 100C is a 100-megapixel digital back with the same 43.8 x 32.9 mm BSI sensor, 16-bit color, 15 stops of dynamic range, a 1TB internal SSD and CFexpress Type B; the 907X is the slim body that turns it into a mirrorless camera for XCD lenses. Together they weigh only 620 grams. A tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen with 40 and 90 degree stops means we shoot it at eye level or waist level, the way a classic Hasselblad was always meant to be held.
What makes it special is compatibility: the CFV 100C mounts on virtually every Hasselblad V System camera and lens made since 1957, and on technical and view cameras for architecture, so film-era Hasselblad glass shoots 100MP digital files today. Phase-detection autofocus, face detection and the full Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution are built in. It is the camera we bring for slow, deliberate work: architectural exteriors and interiors, fine-art landscape, product on a set, and any assignment where the client wants prints that stop people in a lobby.
HNCS is Hasselblad's color science, developed for professional studio and commercial work where a product, a paint sample or a client's skin tone must reproduce accurately without a colorist. Rather than a single generic profile, it models how the sensor and lens render color across the whole spectrum and maps it to natural, true-to-life results straight out of the camera, with the file headroom to push further in post.
The same solution runs in the L3D-100C camera on our two DJI Mavic 4 Pros. That is the practical reason we invested in Hasselblad on the ground: an aerial of a resort and a 100MP photo of its lobby, shot the same day, share a look before we even open the editing software. Fewer hours in color correction, a gallery that feels like one photographer made it, and prints, banners and websites that match.
- Prints and signage: 100MP files (11,656 x 8,742 pixels) print wall-size and trade-show-size without upscaling.
- Architecture and interiors: 16-bit files hold detail in both a bright window and a dark corner; the 907X pairs with tilt-shift and technical cameras for straight verticals.
- Executive portraits and team photos: leaf-shutter lenses sync flash at any speed, so we can shoot outdoors at wide apertures in full sun.
- Product, food and craftsmanship: texture, color and fine detail that a phone or a crop-sensor camera smears away.
- Fine-art landscape and tourism: the dynamic range and color to make Door County, the Northwoods and the Fox Cities look the way visitors remember them.
- Web and social: one master frame yields the hero banner, the square thumbnail, the vertical story and the print ad, all sharp.
- Roots in 1841 as F. W. Hasselblad and Co.; Victor Hasselblad AB founded 1941 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the company is still headquartered
- First camera: the HK7 aerial camera for the Swedish Air Force (1941); first civilian camera: the 1600F (1948)
- First camera in space: a 500C carried by Walter Schirra on Mercury 8, 1962; first camera on the Moon: the 500EL Data Camera on Apollo 11, 1969, with a dozen camera bodies still on the lunar surface
- World's first medium-format mirrorless camera: the X1D-50c, 2016
- Majority owned by DJI since 2017; Hasselblad cameras fly on the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Mavic 3 series and Mavic 4 Pro
- Current 100MP lineup: X2D II 100C, X2D 100C and 907X and CFV 100C, all with 1TB internal storage and 16-bit color
The Ground Cameras
Canon: Ninety Years Of Glass, Now In Our Hands
When the drone lands, the Canon comes out. Founded in Tokyo in 1933 to build a Japanese camera that could stand beside Leica, Canon went on to invent the modern autofocus SLR, put HD video into a stills camera and lead the world in interchangeable-lens cameras for more than twenty years running. Our EOS R6 Mark II with the RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM shoots the ground side of nearly every aerial project, and the XA75 professional camcorder covers events, interviews and live streams.
EOS R6 Mark II + RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM
Canon's full-frame all-rounder on its professional L-series standard zoom. 24.2MP stills at up to 40 fps with whole-frame subject tracking, and uncropped 4K/60 oversampled from 6K for interviews, brand films and b-roll that grades with our drone footage.
XA75 Professional 4K Camcorder
A 1.0-inch sensor camcorder built for long days: 15x optical zoom, Dual Pixel autofocus, five-axis stabilization, two XLR inputs, 3G-SDI and USB-C streaming. Our go-to for events, speakers, plant tours, training video and live streams.
Canon began in Tokyo in 1933 as the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, founded by Goro Yoshida, his brother-in-law Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda, with early backing from Takeshi Mitarai, who later ran the company for decades. Their goal was a Japanese 35mm rangefinder to rival Leica. The 1934 prototype was named Kwanon after the Buddhist goddess of mercy; the production Hansa Canon shipped in 1935 and the company took the Canon name for good in 1947.
The 1976 AE-1 was the first camera with a built-in microprocessor and sold in the millions. In 1987 Canon launched the EOS system and the all-electronic EF lens mount, the foundation of its professional business for the next three decades. The EOS 5D (2005) made full-frame digital affordable, the 5D Mark II (2008) put HD video in a still camera and rewrote how independent film and wedding video were shot, and Cinema EOS (2011) carried Canon into Hollywood. The mirrorless EOS R and RF mount arrived in 2018, followed by the R5 and R6 (2020), the R6 Mark II (2022) and the flagship R1 and R5 Mark II (2024).
Our full-frame ground camera is the Canon EOS R6 Mark II: a 24.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, DIGIC X processor, ISO 100 to 102,400, up to 12 frames per second with the mechanical shutter and 40 frames per second with the electronic shutter, plus a RAW burst mode at 30 fps that starts recording half a second before you fully press the shutter. Dual Pixel CMOS AF II covers the entire frame with 1,053 automatically selected zones and deep-learning subject detection for people, animals (dogs, cats, birds and horses) and vehicles, which matters when the subject is a moving truck fleet or a bald eagle over the Fox River.
On the video side it records 4K at up to 60 frames per second oversampled from 6K with no crop, Full HD at up to 180 fps for slow motion, Canon Log 3 and HDR PQ, 6K RAW out to an external recorder and up to six hours of continuous Full HD, so it doubles as our interview and event camera. Coordinated in-body and lens stabilization is rated to eight stops, and the 3.0-inch vari-angle touchscreen and 3.69-million-dot OLED viewfinder make it easy to work low, high or handheld.
It lives on the RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM, Canon's professional L-series standard zoom: a weather-sealed, constant f/4 lens with Nano USM autofocus and up to five stops of optical stabilization on its own, covering wide interiors and architecture at 24mm through portrait and detail work at 105mm without a lens change. We add RF wide-angle and telephoto glass when a job calls for it, so the ground side of a shoot matches the aerial side in color, sharpness and finish.
For events, interviews, training videos, live streams and long-form corporate work we shoot the Canon XA75, a compact professional camcorder built around a 1.0-inch CMOS sensor (8.29 megapixels) and Canon's DIGIC DV 6 processor. It records UHD 4K at 29.97 and 23.98 fps and Full HD at 59.94 fps in the broadcast-friendly XF-AVC codec at up to 160 Mbps, or in MP4 for fast delivery, with Dual Pixel CMOS AF for smooth, reliable focus on faces.
- 15x optical zoom (25.5 to 382.5mm equivalent) at f/2.8 to f/4.5 with Canon's five-axis image stabilization, so a handheld shot from the back of a banquet hall still looks locked down.
- Professional connections: 3G-SDI and HDMI outputs, two XLR audio inputs with phantom power on the detachable handle, and USB-C UVC output for clean live streaming straight into a computer.
- Built-in three-step ND filter, dual SD card slots for simultaneous or relay recording, a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, an OLED viewfinder and an infrared mode for low-light and night work.
The XA75 is the camera we reach for when the job is a full day of speakers, a plant tour with a client narrating, or a stream that has to be rock solid for three hours straight. It cuts cleanly with our EOS R6 Mark II, Sony PXW-Z200 and drone footage in the edit.
Most clients need both perspectives. The drone shows the whole property; the ground camera shows the entrance, the lobby, the crew, the product and the faces. Shooting both with matched color science, then finishing them together, is what makes a website, brochure or listing gallery feel like one photographer made it. That is the package we deliver, and the reason a Canon body rides along on almost every aerial job.
Canon has been the world's top seller of interchangeable-lens cameras for more than two decades, so service, lenses, batteries and accessories are never more than a day away.
The EOS 5D Mark II accidentally launched a revolution in 2008 when filmmakers realized a stills camera could shoot cinematic HD video with real lenses. Canon answered with Cinema EOS in 2011, starting with the C300 and growing into the C70, C300 Mark III and C500 Mark II used on documentaries, commercials and network television. The same color science runs through the R-series bodies we use for video production, so ground footage cuts cleanly with our drone video.
- Founded 1933 in Tokyo; incorporated 1937; renamed Canon Camera Co. in 1947 and Canon Inc. in 1969
- Headquarters in Ota, Tokyo; Canon U.S.A. headquartered in Melville, New York
- Roughly 170,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue above 4 trillion yen (about 30 billion U.S. dollars)
- Businesses span cameras and lenses, cinema, broadcast, printing and office equipment, medical imaging and industrial equipment
- The name comes from Kwanon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, and the first lenses were named Serenar
Sony: The PXW-Z200, A 4K XDCAM Camcorder With AI Autofocus
Sony invented the modern television camcorder with Betacam in 1982 and has led broadcast and cinema imaging ever since. The PXW-Z200 is its flagship handheld: a 1.0-type stacked sensor, a 20x G lens, 4K up to 120 fps, four channels of XLR audio, 12G-SDI, built-in streaming and the first AI autofocus in an XDCAM camcorder. It is the camera on our shoulder for conferences, ceremonies, training video and live streams, and it cuts seamlessly with our Canon, Hasselblad and DJI footage.
Sony Camera Channel: introducing the PXW-Z200 and HXR-NX800
Sony began in May 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering), founded by engineer Masaru Ibuka and physicist Akio Morita in a bomb-damaged department store in Nihonbashi with about 20 employees and the equivalent of a few hundred dollars. Its first hit was Japan's first tape recorder in 1950, followed by the transistor radio in 1955 and the Sony name, chosen from the Latin sonus and the American slang sonny, in 1958. The Trinitron color television (1968), the Walkman (1979), the compact disc with Philips (1982) and the PlayStation (1994) followed.
In professional video Sony changed the industry over and over: the U-matic cassette in 1971, Betacam in 1982, which put the recorder and camera in one shoulder unit and became the standard of television news, Digital Betacam in 1993, HDCAM in 1997 and the tapeless XDCAM optical-disc system in 2003. The CineAlta line brought Sony to Hollywood, the VENICE cinema camera to major features, and the Alpha mirrorless system (2010) made Sony the leader in full-frame mirrorless cameras. Today Sony Group is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, with Sony Electronics based in San Diego, California, and its image sensor division supplies a large share of the sensors inside the world's cameras and smartphones.
The Sony PXW-Z200, announced in August 2024 and named Best of Show at the 2025 NAB Show, is Sony's flagship handheld XDCAM camcorder and the first with AI-based autofocus. Inside is a 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor (about 14 megapixels effective) paired with a BIONZ XR processor and a dedicated AI Processing Unit.
- Video: 4K up to 120 fps (with a crop) and Full HD up to 240 fps for slow motion, with 4K/60 oversampled from 5K for extra detail. Records XAVC S-I intra-frame at 10-bit 4:2:2, plus XAVC S, XAVC HS and proxy files.
- Lens: a built-in 20x Sony G lens, 24 to 480mm equivalent, f/2.8 to f/4.5, extended to 30x and 60x with Clear Image Zoom, so a speaker across a convention hall and a wide shot of the room come from one camera.
- Color: S-Cinetone straight out of the camera for a filmic look, S-Log3 and HLG for grading, and an electronic variable ND filter from 1/4 to 1/128 that adjusts in fine steps as light changes.
- Audio: four channels with two XLR inputs and phantom power, plus compatibility with Sony's digital audio shoe for wireless microphones.
- Connections and media: 12G-SDI, HDMI, USB-C, Wi-Fi with Creators' Cloud support, and dual slots that take CFexpress Type A or SD cards.
It weighs about 1.96 kg with the lens built in, runs on Sony BP-U batteries, and lives on our shoulder or a tripod for the long jobs.
The Z200's AI Processing Unit recognizes human subjects by their skeleton, eyes, head and posture, not just by face, so it holds focus on a presenter who turns away from the camera, walks behind a podium or moves through a crowd. Fast Hybrid AF covers about 81 percent of the frame with phase detection, and real-time tracking follows the chosen subject until we tell it to stop.
Auto Framing goes a step further: the camera crops and follows a subject within its 4K frame automatically, delivering a smooth, tight second angle while the operator keeps the wide shot. For a keynote, a panel, a training session or a plant tour, that means two usable angles from one operator and one camera, and cleaner footage on days when a second crew member is not in the budget.
The Z200 streams directly from the camera over Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet using RTMP and SRT, and outputs a clean 4K signal over 12G-SDI or HDMI to a switcher, so it fits a one-camera live stream or a multi-camera production without extra converters. Combined with the 20x lens, four-channel XLR audio, the electronic variable ND and hours of runtime on BP-U batteries, it is the camera we bring to:
- Conferences, keynotes, award nights and panel discussions
- Board meetings, town halls, tribal council sessions and public hearings
- Training, safety and onboarding video for manufacturers and healthcare
- Church services, concerts, graduations and community events
- Sports, fundraisers and outdoor events where the light changes hour to hour
Footage lands in the same Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro timelines as our Canon, Hasselblad, GoPro and DJI material. See our video production page for how a full event shoot comes together.
Mirrorless cameras are wonderful for brand films and b-roll, and we own them. But for a nine-hour conference or a three-hour live stream, a purpose-built camcorder wins: unlimited record time without overheating, a servo zoom on a rocker switch, a built-in variable ND that never has to be screwed on, professional XLR audio without an adapter, SDI output that locks to a broadcast switcher, and hot-swappable batteries that run for hours. The Z200 adds AI autofocus and 4K/120 to that list, which is why it took the place of our older camcorders and works alongside the Canon XA75 on multi-camera days.
- Founded May 7, 1946 in Tokyo by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo; renamed Sony in 1958
- Headquarters: Minato, Tokyo; Sony Electronics Inc. based in San Diego, California; roughly 113,000 employees worldwide
- Professional video milestones: U-matic (1971), Betacam (1982), Digital Betacam (1993), HDCAM (1997), XDCAM (2003), CineAlta and VENICE cinema cameras
- Sony Semiconductor is the world's largest maker of camera image sensors, supplying many rival camera and phone brands
- The PXW-Z200 and its sibling HXR-NX800 launched August 2024; the Z200 was named a 2025 NAB Show Best of Show winner
- Businesses span electronics, imaging, gaming (PlayStation), music, pictures and financial services
GoPro: The Camera That Goes Where The Drone Can't
Drones own the sky and Canon owns the tripod, but the shot from the truck mirror, the boat rail, the crane or under the water belongs to GoPro. Founded in 2002 by a surfer who wanted to film his friends, GoPro built the action-camera category and still defines it. We carry two of its best: the HERO13 Black Creator Edition with interchangeable HB-Series lenses, and the MAX2 true 8K 360 camera. Both are waterproof out of the box, both shoot 10-bit GP-Log that grades alongside our Canon and DJI footage, and both ride along on nearly every shoot as the point-of-view angle, the time-lapse workhorse and the on-the-water camera.
GoPro started in 2002 when Nick Woodman, fresh off a failed dot-com and a surf trip through Australia and Indonesia, wanted a way to film himself and his friends surfing without a photographer on the beach. He founded Woodman Labs in California, sold bead belts out of his van to fund it, and shipped the first HERO in 2004: a 35mm film camera in a waterproof housing strapped to the wrist.
The Digital HERO followed in 2006, the HD HERO in 2009 and 2010 put high-definition video in a matchbox, and the HERO3 (2012) and HERO4 (2014) turned GoPro into a household name. The company went public on the NASDAQ in June 2014. HyperSmooth stabilization arrived with the HERO7 in 2018, the MAX 360 camera in 2019, and the line has advanced every year since: HERO9 (2020), HERO11 (2022), HERO12 (2023), HERO13 Black and the tiny HERO in 2024, and the 8K MAX2 360 camera in 2025. GoPro is headquartered in San Mateo, California.
The Creator Edition is GoPro's flagship HERO13 Black packaged as a complete production rig, and it is the one we carry. In the case:
- HERO13 Black: 5.3K video at 60 frames per second, 4K at 120, 2.7K at 240 and 1080p at 240 for slow motion, plus Burst Slo-Mo at 400 frames per second. 27MP photos, 24.7MP frame grabs from video, HLG HDR, 10-bit color and GP-Log with LUTs for professional color grading. Waterproof to 33 feet without a housing.
- Powered Grip (Volta): a battery grip with built-in tripod legs and one-handed camera controls, good for more than 5 hours of total runtime with the Enduro battery, and detachable for use as a wireless remote.
- Media Mod: a directional shotgun microphone with wind reduction, a 3.5mm mic input, micro HDMI out and two cold-shoe mounts for lights and wireless receivers.
- Light Mod: a detachable LED with diffuser for fill light in dim interiors, boats at dusk and crawl spaces.
- HyperSmooth 6.0 stabilization, 360 Horizon Lock, GPS telemetry overlays, timecode sync for multi-camera shoots, Bluetooth audio for wireless mics, Wi-Fi 6 transfers and a magnetic latch mount that moves between mounts in seconds.
Translation for your project: broadcast-grade slow motion, HDR color that matches our Canon and DJI footage in the edit, and audio that does not sound like a phone.
HERO13 Black auto-detects GoPro's HB-Series lens mods and adjusts its settings the moment one twists on. That gives us four different cameras in one waterproof body:
- Ultra Wide Lens Mod: a 177-degree field of view, 36 percent wider and 48 percent taller than standard, for tight interiors, vehicle cabs, boat cockpits and immersive point-of-view shots.
- Macro Lens Mod: focuses 4 times closer than the standard lens for product detail, machinery, craftsmanship and texture shots that make a brochure feel tactile.
- Anamorphic Lens Mod: a true 21:9 cinematic aspect ratio with the horizontal flares of a Hollywood lens, for brand films, resort promos and hero shots that belong on a big screen.
- Smart Motion Blur ND Filters: a four-pack of neutral density filters the camera recognizes automatically, so bright water, snow and midday sun still get natural motion blur instead of a choppy video-game look.
Swapping a lens takes seconds on site, which means one crew and one camera cover a whole shot list instead of hauling a bag of bodies.
Our second GoPro is the MAX2, GoPro's 2025 360-degree camera. It records true 8K spherical video at 30 frames per second, 5.6K at 60 and 4K at 100 for slow motion, in 10-bit color with GP-Log, and shoots 29-megapixel 360 photos. Twist-off replaceable glass lenses mean a scratched lens is a two-minute fix instead of a dead camera. It is waterproof to 16 feet, carries a six-microphone array with directional audio and wind reduction, and pairs with wireless mics over Bluetooth.
What 360 means for you: we capture everything in every direction, then choose the shots afterward. Reframe tools in GoPro's software let us pull a traditional 16:9 clip, a vertical social clip and a pan-around from the same recording, with object tracking that follows a truck, a boat or a person automatically. Max HyperSmooth and 360 Horizon Lock keep it level even on a wake or a gravel road, and single-lens mode turns it into a 180-degree 4K60 point-of-view camera. The same file also feeds our 360 virtual tours for resorts, real estate and marinas.
Both GoPros are waterproof out of the box, which is why they ride along on every waterfront, marina, resort and boat shoot: mounted on a bow rail for the approach, clamped to a dock piling at water level, or in the lake for an over-under shot of a swimming beach. On land they go where the drone and the Canon cannot: strapped to a truck mirror for a fleet drive-by, on a helmet for a behind-the-scenes crew story, on a crane or scaffold for construction time-lapse between drone visits, inside a cab, a kitchen or a machine shop.
- Real estate and resorts: waterfront approaches, dock and beach point-of-view, 360 walk-throughs
- Marinas and boat dealers: on-the-water footage of the boats you sell, slips and channel approaches
- Construction: interval time-lapse, walk-through documentation, crew and safety stories
- Manufacturing and trades: on-machine and in-process footage, macro detail of finished work
- Tourism and events: crowd-level energy, rides, trails, paddling and snowmobile routes
- Social media: vertical, stabilized clips cut straight from the 5.3K and 8K masters
Every clip is color-graded alongside the aerials and ground photography, so the finished website, video or social campaign looks like one production. See our video production and social media pages for how it all comes together.
- Founded 2002 by Nick Woodman as Woodman Labs; renamed GoPro
- First product: the 35mm film HERO, 2004
- Publicly traded on the NASDAQ (GPRO) since June 2014
- Headquarters: San Mateo, California
- Known for user-generated marketing: the GoPro Awards and Million Dollar Challenge pay customers for the best footage shot on its cameras
- Software acquisitions over the years include CineForm, Replay, Splice and ReelSteady, which power the Quik app and stabilization tools
- Current lineup: HERO13 Black and the Creator Edition, the pocket-size HERO, the MAX2 360 camera, and the Mission 1 Pro cinema line
HERO13 Black Creator Edition
GoPro's flagship packaged as a production rig: HERO13 Black, Powered Grip, Media Mod shotgun mic and Light Mod, plus the HB-Series lens mods that turn one camera into four. Waterproof to 33 feet without a housing.
MAX2 360 Camera
True 8K 360 video with replaceable glass lenses. We capture everything in every direction, then reframe the shots afterward: a 16:9 clip, a vertical social cut and a full 360 tour from one recording. Waterproof to 16 feet.
Shot by our pilots
Recent Aerial Photography
Licensed, Insured, Planned, Delivered
What Every Aerial Shoot Includes
Anyone can buy a drone. What you are hiring is the planning, the licensing, the cameras, the editing and the decade of Wisconsin flights behind every image. Here is what comes with every Fox Valley Web Design and Above Wisconsin aerial photography job.
Flight Planning & Airspace, Handled Before We Leave
Every shoot starts at the desk, not the driveway: we check the airspace around your address, file the LAANC or FAA authorization if you are near an airport, look up stadium and event restrictions, pull the DNR permit if a state park is involved, and pick the weather window and time of day that flatter your property. You get a confirmed date and an honest answer about what can and cannot be flown.
Two FAA Part 107 Pilots On Staff
Gary has been a licensed commercial drone pilot for 11 years and Nick earned his FAA certificate in 2026; both fly as Pilot in Command. Brennen, our third pilot, is in training. A father and two sons means backup on every job, a visual observer on busy sites, and the ability to run two locations in one day. Every aircraft is Remote ID compliant and flown under liability insurance, with certificates of insurance available for your GC or property manager.
A Shot List Built Around How You Will Use It
A listing needs different angles than a lender draw request, and a tourism campaign needs different light than a roof inspection. We plan the shot list around the end use: hero overview, straight-down, context, twilight, detail sets, and the extra angles you did not know you needed until you saw them.
Professional Cameras, Not a Toy From the Big Box
We fly professional DJI aircraft with stabilized high-resolution cameras that capture stills sized for billboards and 4K/6K video, backed by Canon ground cameras and GoPro action cameras where the job calls for them. The fleet is kept current so your photos look like this year, not 2015.
Hand Finishing On Every Image
Horizon leveling, exposure and color balance, lens correction, haze and sky work when the day needs it, all done by a human who knows what a Wisconsin lake looks like at 7 p.m. in August. Natural, not cartoonish, and consistent across the whole set.
Annotations, Overlays and Maps On Request
Property lines from county parcel data, lot numbers, phase boundaries, tenant labels, arrows and drive-time notes added to the aerials, delivered as finished images and as layered files your team can edit. Need a true orthomosaic map or a 3D model? Say so when you book and we fly the grid for it.
Delivery That Fits Your Deadline
Standard delivery in a few business days, rush and next-day when a listing or press release cannot wait, and construction progress sets on the exact cadence your draw schedule needs. Files arrive in a private online gallery in full resolution and web sizes, and we archive every shoot so a lost file is never lost.
Clear Usage Rights
You get a license to use the images for your business, marketing and records forever: website, social, print, listings, presentations, reports and press. Full copyright transfer is available when a project needs it. Everything is spelled out in the quote, in plain English.
Video, 360 Tours and Ground Photography In The Same Trip
The aircraft and the crew are already on site, so most clients add drone video, an aerial 360 panorama, ground photography or a full 360 virtual tour to the same visit. One trip, one quote, a complete marketing package for the website we probably built for you too.
Built For One Property Or One Hundred
One home, one storefront, one campground. A flat-rate shoot, a handful of finished aerials, delivered in days and sized for the listing, the website and the socials. This is most of what we do, and we treat a lake cabin listing with the same care as a corporate campus.
Construction programs, franchise portfolios, municipalities, tribal enterprises, healthcare systems and industrial groups with sites across the state or the country. We map the whole program, fly it on a schedule, bundle travel, and deliver consistent sets you can compare month over month. Purchase orders, NDAs and government pricing welcome.
Everything connects to the rest of what we build: aerials go straight into the websites we design and host, feed the social media we manage, strengthen your SEO and AEO with original location imagery, and pair with our drone video, video production and 360 virtual tours. One in-house family team in Green Bay, flying since the earliest days of commercial drones, building websites since 1997.
Industries We Serve
Drone Photography By Industry
Twenty-four industries, one set of standards: licensed pilots, insured flights, planned shot lists and finished files. Click an industry to see what we capture, how clients use it, and what to know before you book.
Aerial listing photos are the single most requested drone service we offer, and for good reason: listings with aerial imagery get more views, more showings and stronger offers. We photograph the home, the lot, the neighborhood and the reasons a buyer should fall in love before they ever pull into the driveway.
What We Capture
- Elevated front and rear elevations at 30 to 100 feet
- Straight-down lot views showing boundaries and setbacks
- Waterfront, dock and shoreline context
- Neighborhood, school and park proximity shots
- Twilight aerials with interior lights on
- Acreage and outbuildings on rural properties
- Pool, patio and landscaping overviews
- Approach shots along the driveway or private road
How It Gets Used
- MLS and Zillow listing galleries
- Just Listed and Just Sold social posts
- Printed listing brochures and postcards
- Agent and brokerage websites
- Luxury property video walkthrough intros
- Property boundary and lot-line overlays
Good To Know
Most single-home shoots take under an hour on site and are delivered within a few business days, sized for MLS and social media. Realtors across Northeast Wisconsin book us repeatedly because we show up on time and the photos sell.
Office parks, retail centers, industrial flex space and multifamily communities all read better from above, where a buyer or tenant can see access, parking, signage visibility and the surrounding trade area in one frame. We shoot for brokers, owners, REITs and property managers across Wisconsin.
What We Capture
- Full-site overviews with parking counts visible
- Highway and interchange visibility shots
- Loading docks, truck courts and yard space
- Signage lines of sight from major roads
- Anchor tenants and co-tenancy context
- Multifamily amenity decks, pools and green space
- Vacant land with utilities and frontage marked
- Traffic patterns at peak hours
How It Gets Used
- Offering memorandums and broker packages
- LoopNet, CoStar and Crexi listings
- Leasing brochures and site plans
- Investor and lender presentations
- Property management annual reports
- Tenant recruitment websites
Good To Know
We can annotate aerials with lot lines, square footage callouts, parcel numbers and drive-time rings, delivered as layered files your marketing team can update.
Scheduled flyovers turn a construction site into a visual record: the same angles, the same altitude, every two weeks or every month, from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting. General contractors, owners and lenders use our progress sets for draw requests, coordination, marketing and dispute protection.
What We Capture
- Repeatable GPS-locked overview angles
- Straight-down orthomosaic maps of the entire site
- Foundation, framing, envelope and roofing milestones
- Crane, laydown and staging areas
- Site logistics, access roads and stormwater controls
- Pre-construction existing-conditions documentation
- Substantial completion and final aerials
- Before-and-after comparison pairs
How It Gets Used
- Monthly draw requests and lender reporting
- Owner and investor progress updates
- Subcontractor coordination and site logistics
- Marketing time-lapse sequences
- Claims and dispute documentation
- Safety and quality reviews
Good To Know
Progress packages are quoted per site with a flat rate per visit. We keep the flight plan on file so every set matches the last one, and we deliver on the schedule your draw cycle needs.
Subdivisions, spec homes, model home parks and master-planned communities sell on location and vision. Aerials show lot inventory, phase boundaries, amenities and the surrounding countryside while the sod is still going down.
What We Capture
- Whole-development overviews by phase
- Available lot inventory with numbered overlays
- Model home rows and streetscapes
- Community amenities: parks, trails, ponds, clubhouses
- Proximity to schools, shopping and highways
- Elevated exterior portraits of finished homes
- Seasonal shots for year-round marketing
- Time-series documentation as phases build out
How It Gets Used
- Lot maps and availability boards
- Community websites and landing pages
- Sales center displays and brochures
- Social media launch campaigns
- Municipal approval and plat presentations
- Builder award submissions
Good To Know
We can return each season so your marketing always shows the community as it is today, not as it looked when the first model opened.
Architects, civil engineers and landscape architects use our aerials to document existing conditions, present concepts in context and photograph finished projects for portfolios and awards. We fly with the precision your drawings deserve.
What We Capture
- Existing-conditions surveys before design
- High-resolution orthomosaics for base mapping
- Finished project portraits from the intended vantage
- Roofline, massing and site-context studies
- Stormwater, grading and drainage documentation
- Bridge, road and infrastructure overviews
- Campus and master-plan overviews
- Twilight architectural photography with lighting design visible
How It Gets Used
- Design presentations and renderings overlay
- AIA and ASLA award submissions
- Firm websites and portfolios
- Client progress and closeout reports
- Public meeting and council presentations
- Marketing for design-build proposals
Good To Know
Need it georeferenced? We can deliver orthomosaics and elevation data that drop into CAD and GIS workflows, in addition to portfolio-grade photography.
Roofers, siding and window contractors and property managers hire us for two reasons: a high-resolution look at a roof without a ladder, and marketing photos of finished work that homeowners actually share. Both take minutes from the air.
What We Capture
- Full-roof overhead and oblique inspection images
- Close detail of flashing, valleys, vents and penetrations
- Hail, wind and storm damage documentation
- Gutter, soffit and fascia condition
- Commercial flat-roof membranes, drains and HVAC units
- Before-and-after replacement photos
- Solar-readiness and orientation views
- Multi-building portfolio inspections in one visit
How It Gets Used
- Insurance claim documentation
- Estimates and customer proposals
- Website and social media before-and-afters
- Property management condition reports
- Warranty and workmanship records
- Recruiting and company culture content
Good To Know
Drone inspection images are a visual record, not an engineering report. For structural findings we recommend pairing our imagery with your licensed inspector or engineer.
Wisconsin builds things, and a manufacturing campus looks its most impressive from 300 feet. We photograph plants, expansions, fleets and logistics yards for websites, recruiting, investor decks and the trade-show banners that make a mid-size company look like the industry leader it is.
What We Capture
- Whole-campus overviews showing scale
- Plant expansions and new construction
- Truck fleets, rail spurs and shipping yards
- Rooftop mechanical systems and solar arrays
- Employee parking and shift-change activity
- Twilight shots with the plant lit up
- Product staging and outdoor inventory
- Aerial context showing highway and rail access
How It Gets Used
- Company websites and About pages
- Recruiting and careers campaigns
- Trade-show displays and capability brochures
- Investor, lender and board presentations
- Economic development and site selection packages
- Anniversary and milestone celebrations
Good To Know
We follow your safety program on site, coordinate with plant security and can sign NDAs. Above Wisconsin, our drone division, has flown for factories and industrial sites across the state.
Farm aerials do double duty: marketing for the operation and a practical look at fields, drainage, crop health and facilities. We work with dairies, cash-crop farms, cranberry growers, orchards, ginseng operations and the ag businesses that serve them.
What We Capture
- Whole-farm overviews of barns, silos and parlors
- Field condition, tile drainage and standing-water patterns
- Cranberry marsh flooding and harvest
- Orchard bloom and harvest seasons
- Livestock facilities and manure management systems
- Grain storage, feed centers and equipment yards
- Center-pivot and irrigation coverage
- Multi-generation family farm portraits from above
How It Gets Used
- Farm websites and agritourism marketing
- Land sales and farm auction listings
- Lender, insurance and conservation program documentation
- Crop scouting and drainage planning
- Dairy and co-op brand storytelling
- County fair, breed association and industry awards
Good To Know
Harvest windows are short. Cranberry marshes, fall color over orchards and green-up in May all book early, so tell us the season you want and we will hold the dates.
Solar farms, wind turbines, substations and biogas digesters are large, remote and hard to photograph from the ground. From the air they become the marketing images developers, utilities and EPC contractors need to tell the story of a project.
What We Capture
- Full-array overviews of utility-scale and commercial solar
- Wind turbine portraits and blade-level detail
- Substations, switchyards and transmission corridors
- Construction progress on energy projects
- Panel-level inspection imagery for O&M teams
- Rooftop commercial solar on plants and warehouses
- Biodigesters and dairy energy systems
- Landowner and community relations imagery
How It Gets Used
- Developer and EPC websites
- Public hearing and permitting presentations
- Investor, lender and utility reporting
- Operations and maintenance records
- Annual sustainability reports
- Community newsletters and open houses
Good To Know
We plan energy shoots around glare and sun angle so panels read clearly, and we coordinate with site operators on safety zones around energized equipment.
Water towers, cell towers, treatment plants, pipelines and power corridors are a natural fit for drone photography: safer than a climb, faster than a lift and far more complete than a photo from the fence line.
What We Capture
- Tower, antenna and equipment mount overviews
- Water tower exteriors and logo placement
- Wastewater and water treatment plant campuses
- Right-of-way and corridor overviews
- Transmission structure condition imagery
- Facility perimeter and access documentation
- Construction and upgrade progress
- Public-facing plant portraits for annual reports
How It Gets Used
- Asset management records
- Annual reports and rate-case presentations
- Municipal and cooperative websites
- Contractor bid packages
- Public education and open-house materials
- Emergency planning documentation
Good To Know
We coordinate with your operations staff on timing and safety, and we can fly recurring documentation sets on a schedule that matches your inspection cycle.
The Port of Green Bay, intermodal yards, trucking terminals and distribution centers move Wisconsin's economy. We photograph the scale, the throughput and the location advantages that matter to shippers, tenants and investors.
What We Capture
- Terminal and yard overviews with equipment in motion
- Dock, berth and crane operations
- Warehouse and distribution center campuses
- Truck court and trailer yard capacity
- Rail spurs, sidings and intermodal ramps
- Highway interchange proximity shots
- Cold storage and food distribution facilities
- Fleet portraits with branded trucks lined up
How It Gets Used
- Port authority and economic development marketing
- Site selection and tenant recruitment
- Company websites and capability brochures
- Annual reports and board presentations
- Recruiting for drivers and warehouse staff
- Safety and operations planning
Good To Know
Ports and rail facilities have their own security and airspace considerations. We work through the proper channels ahead of time so the shoot day is smooth.
Quarries, sand and gravel pits, and frac-sand operations are huge, dynamic sites that ground photos cannot capture. Aerials document the pit, the stockpiles, the reclamation and the equipment fleet in a way that owners, regulators and neighbors all understand.
What We Capture
- Pit and bench overviews
- Stockpile and inventory documentation
- Processing plant, crushers and conveyors
- Haul roads and equipment fleets
- Reclamation and restored acreage
- Stormwater ponds and berms
- Property boundary and buffer documentation
- Blast-area and safety-zone context
How It Gets Used
- Reclamation and permitting reports
- Stockpile volume estimates (with photogrammetry)
- Company websites and community relations
- Equipment financing and insurance
- Safety training and planning
- Sale or acquisition due diligence
Good To Know
Add photogrammetry and we can produce stockpile volume estimates and 3D site models from the same flight, alongside the marketing photography.
Cities, villages, towns and counties across Wisconsin hire us for aerials of downtowns, parks, public works projects and the community as a whole. The photos end up on websites, in comprehensive plans, in grant applications and on the wall of the council chambers.
What We Capture
- Downtown and main street overviews
- Parks, trails, boat launches and public spaces
- Public works projects: roads, bridges, utilities
- Industrial parks and available development sites
- Municipal buildings, fire and police stations
- Seasonal community portraits, parades and festivals
- Flood, storm and emergency documentation
- Historic districts and landmarks
How It Gets Used
- Municipal websites and social media
- Comprehensive plans and capital improvement reports
- Economic development and site selection marketing
- Grant applications and annual reports
- Council, board and public meeting presentations
- Welcome guides and tourism materials
Good To Know
We build and host websites for many Wisconsin municipalities, so the aerials can go straight into the site we already manage for you. Government pricing and purchase orders are welcome.
We are proud to work with many of Wisconsin's and Upper Michigan's tribal nations, and we offer drone photography to every tribe, band and community in the country. Casinos and resorts, government campuses, health centers, housing developments, cultural sites and reservation lands all photograph with the respect and care they deserve.
What We Capture
- Casino, hotel and resort campus overviews
- Tribal government and community centers
- Health clinics, schools and elder housing
- Housing developments and infrastructure projects
- Reservation landscapes, waters and forests
- Powwow grounds and event coverage where permitted
- Fisheries, farms and natural resource projects
- Construction progress on tribal projects
How It Gets Used
- Tribal enterprise marketing and websites
- Government reports and grant applications
- Member newsletters and annual reports
- Cultural preservation and education projects
- Tourism and gaming promotion
- Economic development presentations
Good To Know
We follow each nation's guidance on what may and may not be photographed, coordinate with tribal officials before every flight, and never fly sacred or restricted sites. Sovereignty comes first.
Campus aerials sell a school the way a campus visit does: green space, athletic facilities, new buildings and the neighborhood around them, all in one look. We photograph K-12 districts, technical colleges and universities across Wisconsin.
What We Capture
- Full-campus overviews and building identification
- Athletic complexes, stadiums and fields
- New construction and referendum projects
- Student housing and campus life spaces
- Commencement, homecoming and event coverage where permitted
- Twilight campus portraits
- Agricultural, environmental and lab facilities
- Aerial campus maps for wayfinding
How It Gets Used
- Admissions and recruitment materials
- Referendum and capital campaign communications
- Website headers and virtual tour intros
- Alumni magazines and annual reports
- Facilities planning and master plans
- Athletics marketing and recruiting
Good To Know
We schedule around class time and coordinate with administration and campus security. Student privacy is respected: overview altitudes keep individuals unidentifiable unless releases are in place.
Hospitals, clinics, senior living communities and rehabilitation centers use aerials to show patients and families where to go, and to show recruits and donors the scale of what they have built. We fly with helipad and patient-privacy protocols in mind.
What We Capture
- Campus overviews with entrances and parking identified
- New towers, clinic expansions and construction progress
- Senior living campuses with grounds and amenities
- Healing gardens, walking paths and outdoor spaces
- Helipad-safe overviews coordinated with the facility
- Twilight portraits with the campus lit
- Wayfinding aerials for patient communications
- Community context showing access and proximity
How It Gets Used
- Patient wayfinding maps and websites
- Foundation and capital campaign materials
- Physician and nurse recruiting
- Annual and community benefit reports
- Board and system presentations
- Senior living marketing brochures
Good To Know
Helipads and emergency operations take priority. We coordinate flight windows with facility management and clear every shoot with security before we arrive.
Sanctuaries, campuses, camps and community centers are places people love, and an aerial portrait helps them share that love. We work with churches, dioceses, camps, food banks, shelters and the nonprofits that hold Wisconsin communities together, with pricing that respects a ministry budget.
What We Capture
- Church and campus overviews
- Steeples, bell towers and architectural detail
- Camps, retreat centers and outdoor chapels
- Community events, festivals and outdoor services
- Cemeteries and memorial gardens
- Construction and expansion projects
- Seasonal portraits for Christmas and Easter
- Neighborhood context for outreach programs
How It Gets Used
- Church websites and welcome pages
- Capital campaign and building fund materials
- Anniversary books and directories
- Camp registration and marketing
- Grant applications and donor reports
- Social media and livestream intros
Good To Know
We have photographed many Wisconsin churches over the years, including from the air, and we are always glad to talk about nonprofit pricing.
Land trusts, friends groups, park systems and conservation districts use aerials to document habitat, celebrate restored land and invite the public in. From wetland restorations to trail networks, we photograph the work that protects Wisconsin's outdoors.
What We Capture
- Preserve and property overviews by season
- Wetland, prairie and forest restoration progress
- Trail systems, boardwalks and bridges
- Shoreline, dune and erosion documentation
- Invasive species and habitat mapping imagery
- Public access points and parking
- Volunteer workdays and events
- Before-and-after restoration comparisons
How It Gets Used
- Land trust and friends group websites
- Grant reports to state and federal funders
- Donor campaigns and annual reports
- Management plans and monitoring records
- Interpretive signage and trail maps
- Public education and outreach
Good To Know
We follow wildlife-disturbance best practices, fly higher and quieter near nesting areas, and obtain DNR permits where state land is involved.
Nobody books a lake resort because of a photo of the lobby. They book because of the water, the grounds, the sunsets and the feeling of the place, and that is exactly what an aerial delivers. We shoot resorts, hotels, cabins, campgrounds and RV parks across Wisconsin and the U.P.
What We Capture
- Whole-property overviews with the lake or shoreline
- Pools, beaches, docks and marinas
- Cabins, campsites and RV pads by number
- Sunset and twilight resort portraits
- Seasonal sets: summer, fall color, snowmobile season
- Golf, trails and on-site activities
- Event lawns and wedding venues
- Arrival and driveway approach shots
How It Gets Used
- Booking websites and online travel listings
- Site maps for campgrounds and RV parks
- Wedding and event venue marketing
- Social media and email campaigns
- Brochures, rack cards and visitor guides
- Investor and sale listings
Good To Know
We can pair aerial stills with drone video and a 360 virtual tour in the same visit, so one trip covers your website, your socials and your booking engine.
Hole-by-hole aerials are the standard for golf marketing, and Wisconsin has some of the best courses in the country to photograph. We shoot signature holes, full-course flyover sets, clubhouses and the events that fill the tee sheet.
What We Capture
- Every hole from tee to green in a consistent style
- Signature hole hero shots at golden hour
- Full-course overview and routing map
- Clubhouse, pro shop and patio
- Practice facilities and ranges
- Course conditions and agronomy documentation
- Tournament and outing coverage
- Real estate lots along the fairways
How It Gets Used
- Course websites and hole-by-hole guides
- Yardage books and on-course signage
- Membership and outing sales
- Tournament programs and sponsorship decks
- Superintendent and agronomy records
- Real estate marketing for golf communities
Good To Know
We fly early morning or late evening for the shadows that make contours pop, and we coordinate with the pro shop so play is never interrupted.
Marinas, yacht clubs, boat dealers, waterfront restaurants and lakeside communities all live on the water, and from the air the water is the whole story. We photograph slips, launches, breakwaters and the boats themselves on Lake Michigan, Green Bay and inland lakes across the state.
What We Capture
- Marina overviews with slip layouts visible
- Breakwaters, harbors and channel approaches
- Boats under way and at anchor
- Waterfront restaurants, tiki bars and patios
- Boat launches, fuel docks and service yards
- Lakefront property and shoreline condition
- Sailing regattas and fishing tournaments
- Sunset harbor portraits
How It Gets Used
- Marina websites and slip rental marketing
- Boat dealer and brokerage listings
- Harbor commission and municipal reports
- Waterfront restaurant and event promotion
- Lake association communications
- Dredging, dock and breakwater project documentation
Good To Know
Water shoots depend on wind and light more than any other. We watch the forecast closely and reschedule when the lake is not cooperating, at no charge.
Convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce and destination marketing organizations need a library of images that make people want to come. We build that library from the air: downtowns, waterfronts, festivals, four seasons and the hidden gems that make each community different.
What We Capture
- Signature destination hero shots
- Downtown, waterfront and main street overviews
- Festivals, fairs and events from above
- Four-season image libraries
- Trails, beaches, parks and public lands
- Lighthouses, bridges and landmarks
- Agritourism, wineries, breweries and orchards
- Wayfinding and visitor map aerials
How It Gets Used
- Visitor guides and destination websites
- Tourism campaigns and digital ads
- Meeting and convention sales decks
- Social media content calendars
- Billboard and print campaigns
- Community pride and relocation marketing
Good To Know
We have photographed Door County, the Northwoods and the Fox Valley from the air for over a decade. Ask about seasonal image library packages that keep your marketing fresh all year.
County fairs, music festivals, parades, air shows, sporting events and grand openings are crowd magnets, and a crowd from above is the shot that gets shared. We coordinate with organizers and public safety so event aerials are legal, safe and spectacular.
What We Capture
- Full-grounds overviews with the crowd in place
- Main stage and headline moments where permitted
- Parade routes and floats
- Fireworks from a safe, authorized distance
- Midways, tents and vendor layouts
- Sponsor banners and branded activations
- Setup and teardown time-series
- Traffic and parking documentation for next year's plan
How It Gets Used
- Sponsor recaps and next-year sales decks
- Social media during and after the event
- Event websites and ticketing pages
- Grant and municipal reporting
- Safety and logistics planning
- Press and media releases
Good To Know
FAA rules restrict flight over open-air crowds, so we plan angles that keep people safe while still capturing the energy. Some large events also carry temporary flight restrictions; we check every one.
Hunting land, timber tracts, lake lots and recreational acreage sell on features a buyer cannot see from the road: food plots, water, trail systems, timber stands and how it all fits together. Land brokers, auctioneers and private sellers across the Northwoods rely on our aerials.
What We Capture
- Whole-parcel overviews with boundaries marked
- Food plots, clearings and stand locations
- Creeks, ponds, marshes and lake frontage
- Trail and road systems
- Timber stands and cutover areas
- Cabins, barns and outbuildings
- Neighboring public land context
- Fall color and winter sets for year-round listings
How It Gets Used
- Land listings and auction catalogs
- Broker websites and social media
- Buyer due diligence packages
- Property management and habitat planning
- Conservation easement documentation
- Family estate and succession records
Good To Know
Our boundary overlays are drawn from county parcel data for reference only; a licensed surveyor is the final word on property lines. We also shoot land for hunting property sales across northern Wisconsin every fall.
Green Bay Based, Everywhere Flown
Areas We Fly
Our pilots are based in Green Bay and cover all 72 Wisconsin counties, the Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, Illinois and, for commercial projects, anywhere in the United States. Click a region for the cities we serve, the landmarks we photograph from the air, and the airspace and permit notes that apply there.
Home base. Our pilots live and fly here, so a Green Bay aerial shoot is usually on the calendar within days. We photograph the bay, the Fox River corridor, Titletown and the Lambeau Field neighborhood, industrial parks along I-41 and the farmland and shoreline that surround the city.
Cities & Communities
Green Bay, De Pere, Ashwaubenon, Allouez, Bellevue, Howard, Suamico, Hobart, Ledgeview, Lawrence, Wrightstown, Pulaski, Denmark, Oneida, Seymour, Luxemburg, Kewaunee, Algoma, Casco, Greenleaf, New Franken.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Lambeau Field and the Titletown District
- The Fox River and downtown Green Bay bridges
- Bay Beach and the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
- The Green Bay shoreline from Suamico to Point au Sable
- Resch Center and the Resch Expo campus
- Broadway District and Rail Yard
- Oneida Nation lands and the Oneida Casino corridor
- Kewaunee Harbor and the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse
- Algoma Harbor and the red Algoma lighthouse
- Fonferek's Glen County Park
- National Railroad Museum
- The Port of Green Bay and the Fox River industrial waterfront
Airspace & Permits
Most of Green Bay sits inside the Class C airspace around Austin Straubel International Airport. We file LAANC authorizations for controlled airspace, which usually come back in minutes, and we plan around the stadium flight restriction that covers Lambeau Field on game days (3 nautical miles, one hour before kickoff to one hour after the final whistle).
Appleton, Neenah, Menasha and the 19 communities of the Fox Cities are a short drive from our Green Bay office. We shoot Fox River waterfronts, downtown Appleton rooftops, Lake Winnebago shoreline, paper-industry heritage sites and the fast-growing commercial corridors along I-41 and Highway 441.
Cities & Communities
Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Little Chute, Combined Locks, Fox Crossing, Grand Chute, Greenville, Harrison, Hortonville, Sherwood, Buchanan, Center, Clayton, Freedom, Town of Neenah, Vandenbroek.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- College Avenue and downtown Appleton
- The Fox River locks and the Fox Cities riverfront trail
- Neenah Harbor and Riverside Park on Lake Winnebago
- Menasha's Fritse Park and the Trestle Trail bridge
- Kaukauna's 1000 Islands Environmental Center
- Fox River Mall and the Grand Chute retail corridor
- Lawrence University campus
- Fox Cities Stadium (home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)
- High Cliff State Park bluffs on Lake Winnebago
- Little Chute's Dutch windmill
- Kimberly Point Park and the Neenah Lighthouse
- The Appleton Flag Day Parade and Octoberfest routes
Airspace & Permits
Appleton International Airport in Greenville puts the west side of the Fox Cities under Class D airspace; the rest is mostly uncontrolled. We obtain LAANC approvals where needed and coordinate with venue managers for stadium and campus shoots. High Cliff State Park requires a Wisconsin DNR permit to launch, which we arrange in advance.
From Superior to Kenosha, we travel the whole state for aerial photography. City skylines, riverfront redevelopments, college campuses, hospital systems, manufacturing plants and the downtown districts of every major Wisconsin city are in our regular rotation.
Cities & Communities
Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton, Waukesha, Oshkosh, Eau Claire, Janesville, West Allis, La Crosse, Sheboygan, Wauwatosa, Fond du Lac, New Berlin, Wausau, Brookfield, Beloit, Greenfield, Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Menomonee Falls, Franklin, Oak Creek, Superior, Stevens Point, Marshfield, Wisconsin Rapids, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Watertown, Beaver Dam, Whitewater, Platteville, Baraboo, Wisconsin Dells, Rice Lake, Marinette, Shawano, Sturgeon Bay.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- The Milwaukee skyline, Hoan Bridge and Lake Michigan lakefront
- Wisconsin State Capitol and the Madison isthmus
- Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport and the Lake Winnebago shore
- La Crosse and the Mississippi River bluffs at Grandad Bluff
- Eau Claire's Phoenix Park and the Chippewa River confluence
- Sheboygan's Harbor Centre and the Lake Michigan breakwater
- Kenosha's HarborPark and the Southport Light Station
- Wausau's downtown and the Wisconsin River
- Stevens Point and the Green Circle Trail
- Superior's harbor, ore docks and the Blatnik Bridge
- Racine's Wind Point Lighthouse and North Beach
- Janesville's Rock River and Rotary Botanical Gardens
Airspace & Permits
Every large Wisconsin city has controlled airspace: Class C around Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, Class D around most regional airports. Part 107 pilots can fly there legally with LAANC or FAA authorization, and we secure it before we leave the office. Oshkosh is a special case in late July, when EAA AirVenture shuts down drone flying around Wittman Regional; we schedule around it.
Wisconsin's largest metro has the state's most photogenic skyline and the most demanding airspace. We regularly fly commercial real estate, industrial campuses, waterfront developments and suburban business parks across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine and Kenosha counties.
Cities & Communities
Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, West Allis, Waukesha, Brookfield, New Berlin, Menomonee Falls, Franklin, Oak Creek, Greenfield, Glendale, Whitefish Bay, Shorewood, Brown Deer, South Milwaukee, Cudahy, St. Francis, Muskego, Sussex, Germantown, Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton, Port Washington, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, Hartland, Delafield, Elm Grove, Hales Corners, West Bend, Racine, Kenosha.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Downtown Milwaukee skyline and the Milwaukee River
- The Hoan Bridge, Lakeshore State Park and the Summerfest grounds
- Milwaukee Art Museum's Calatrava wing and the lakefront
- American Family Field and the Menomonee Valley
- Fiserv Forum and the Deer District
- Harley-Davidson Museum and the Third Ward
- Port Milwaukee and Jones Island
- Lake Park, Bradford Beach and the North Point Lighthouse
- Cedarburg's historic Washington Avenue and Cedar Creek
- Port Washington harbor and the 1860 Light Station
- Oconomowoc's lake country and Lac La Belle
- The Milwaukee County Zoo and Miller Park corridor along I-94
Airspace & Permits
Milwaukee Mitchell International creates Class C airspace over the south side and the lakefront, and Timmerman Airport adds Class D on the northwest side. Downtown shoots often need an FAA authorization with a lower altitude ceiling, and American Family Field and Fiserv Forum carry game-day stadium restrictions. We handle all of it and build the approvals into your quote.
Madison's isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona is one of the best-looking places to photograph from the air in the Midwest. We shoot the Capitol Square, the UW campus, Epic-style tech campuses on the west side, new apartment and mixed-use projects and the farmland and lake communities of Dane County.
Cities & Communities
Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee, Monona, Stoughton, McFarland, Oregon, DeForest, Cottage Grove, Mount Horeb, Cross Plains, Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, Lake Mills, Fort Atkinson, Janesville, Beloit.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Wisconsin State Capitol and Capitol Square
- Monona Terrace and the Lake Monona shoreline
- University of Wisconsin campus, Bascom Hill and the Memorial Union Terrace
- Camp Randall Stadium and the Kohl Center
- Picnic Point and the Lakeshore Nature Preserve
- Olbrich Botanical Gardens
- Lake Wingra and the UW Arboretum
- Middleton's Greenway Station and Pheasant Branch Conservancy
- Verona's Epic Systems campus (exterior, from public airspace)
- Sun Prairie's Angell Park and downtown
- Blue Mound State Park and the Military Ridge
- The Yahara River chain from Cherokee Marsh to Stoughton
Airspace & Permits
Dane County Regional Airport (shared with the Truax Field Air National Guard base) puts most of Madison inside Class C airspace. We file LAANC authorizations as a matter of routine and coordinate campus and Capitol shoots with the venue. Camp Randall has a stadium flight restriction on Badger game days, so we plan sports-adjacent work around the schedule.
Rib Mountain, the Wisconsin River and thousands of acres of ginseng, cranberry and dairy country make central Wisconsin a dream for aerial work. We fly for manufacturers, hospitals, developers, resorts and ag operations from Wausau to Marshfield, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids.
Cities & Communities
Wausau, Weston, Rothschild, Schofield, Kronenwetter, Rib Mountain, Mosinee, Marathon City, Merrill, Antigo, Stevens Point, Plover, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield, Medford, Abbotsford, Wittenberg, Shawano, Tomahawk.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Rib Mountain and Granite Peak ski area
- Downtown Wausau and the 400 Block
- The Wisconsin River and Wausau's whitewater course
- Stevens Point's Schmeeckle Reserve and UWSP campus
- Marshfield's downtown and the Central Wisconsin State Fairgrounds
- Cranberry marshes around Wisconsin Rapids during fall harvest
- Lake Wausau and the Rib River
- Merrill's Council Grounds State Park
- Antigo and the Langlade County flats
- The Ice Age Trail through Marathon and Portage counties
- Mosinee's Big Eau Pleine Reservoir
- SentryWorld in Stevens Point (exterior, from public airspace)
Airspace & Permits
Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee and Wausau Downtown Airport create pockets of controlled airspace along the I-39 corridor; nearly everything else in the region is uncontrolled Class G, which means faster scheduling and fewer approvals. Cranberry harvest flyovers in late September and October book up quickly, so plan ahead.
Door County is the most requested drone location in our portfolio, and we have been photographing it from the air for more than a decade. Resorts, marinas, orchards, wineries, waterfront homes and county tourism campaigns all lean on aerial imagery here, and we know the light, the wind and the seasons on both the bay side and the lake side.
Cities & Communities
Sturgeon Bay, Sister Bay, Fish Creek, Ephraim, Egg Harbor, Baileys Harbor, Ellison Bay, Gills Rock, Jacksonport, Carlsville, Institute, Valmy, Forestville, Brussels, Maplewood, Sevastopol, Liberty Grove, Gardner, Nasewaupee, Clay Banks, Washington Island.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Cave Point County Park and the Lake Michigan limestone shoreline
- Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and the steel bridge
- Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park
- Ephraim's harbor and the white village along Eagle Harbor
- Fish Creek and Sister Bay marinas
- Cana Island Lighthouse
- Anderson Dock and the Hardy Gallery in Ephraim
- Death's Door passage and the Washington Island ferry crossing
- Egg Harbor's Harbor View Park and the marina
- Baileys Harbor Range Lights and the Ridges Sanctuary
- Door County cherry orchards in May bloom and July harvest
- Whitefish Dunes and Clark Lake
Airspace & Permits
Door County is almost entirely uncontrolled airspace, with a small Class E surface area around Cherryland Airport in Sturgeon Bay. The wrinkle is the parks: Peninsula, Potawatomi, Whitefish Dunes, Newport and Rock Island are Wisconsin state parks, and launching a drone inside them requires a DNR permit. We obtain the permit or, for most shoots, fly from adjacent private property with the owner's permission.
Lakes, pines, resorts and fall color: the Northwoods is where drone photography earns its keep. We fly for resorts and supper clubs, lake-home real estate, tribal enterprises, county tourism boards and the timber and logging companies that work the north from Minocqua to Bayfield.
Cities & Communities
Rhinelander, Minocqua, Woodruff, Arbor Vitae, Eagle River, St. Germain, Sayner, Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters, Presque Isle, Land O' Lakes, Phelps, Three Lakes, Tomahawk, Lac du Flambeau, Mercer, Hurley, Park Falls, Butternut, Phillips, Prentice, Hayward, Cable, Spooner, Minong, Ashland, Bayfield, Washburn, Iron River, Crandon, Florence, Laona, Crivitz, Wabeno, Lakewood, Townsend.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- The Minocqua chain of lakes and the Minocqua bridge
- Eagle River and the world's largest inland chain of freshwater lakes
- Lac du Flambeau and the Lake of the Torches shoreline
- Hayward's Chippewa Flowage and Lac Courte Oreilles
- Bayfield harbor, orchards and the Madeline Island ferry
- Ashland's ore dock ruins and Chequamegon Bay
- Hurley and the Penokee Range in fall color
- Boulder Junction's Trout Lake
- Rhinelander's Hodag Country and the Wisconsin River flowage
- Copper Falls and Amnicon Falls (state park permits required)
- The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest canopy in October
- Crivitz and the Peshtigo River whitewater
Airspace & Permits
The Northwoods is nearly all uncontrolled Class G airspace, so most shoots need no authorization at all. Two exceptions we plan around: the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is National Park Service land where drone launches are prohibited, and Wisconsin state parks and forests require a DNR permit. National forest land is generally open outside designated wilderness areas.
Twenty-two spring-fed lakes strung together southwest of Waupaca, ringed with lake homes, boat liveries and the kind of summer scenery that sells itself from 200 feet up. We shoot real estate, resorts, campgrounds and the annual events that bring the Chain to life.
Cities & Communities
Waupaca, King, Weyauwega, Fremont, Manawa, Iola, Scandinavia, Ogdensburg, New London, Clintonville, Embarrass, Marion.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- The Chain O' Lakes from Taylor Lake to Rainbow Lake
- Hartman Creek State Park (DNR permit required)
- The Chief Waupaca and Lady of the Lakes sternwheelers
- Downtown Waupaca and the Waupaca River
- Wisconsin Veterans Home at King on Rainbow Lake
- Whispering Pines Park and the Crystal River
- Iola Old Car Show grounds
- New London's Wolf River waterfront
- Weyauwega's Lake Weyauwega
- Clintonville's Pigeon River and the FWD Museum
- Fremont and the Wolf River sturgeon-spearing waters
- Ogdensburg's rolling farm country in fall
Airspace & Permits
The Chain sits in uncontrolled airspace with no towered airports nearby, which makes it one of the easiest places in Wisconsin to schedule. Hartman Creek State Park needs a DNR permit for drone launches, and we always coordinate with lake associations when a shoot involves a lot of neighbors.
If it is in Wisconsin, we have either flown it or can be there this week. Our pilots cover all 72 counties for commercial drone photography, from the Mississippi River bluffs to the Lake Michigan shore and from the Illinois line to Lake Superior.
Cities & Communities
Adams, Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Fond du Lac, Forest, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Price, Racine, Richland, Rock, Rusk, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Vilas, Walworth, Washburn, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Lake Superior shoreline in Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland and Iron counties
- The Mississippi River bluffs from Prescott to Prairie du Chien
- Wisconsin Dells' sandstone gorges (from public airspace outside the state park)
- Devil's Lake and the Baraboo Range
- Holy Hill Basilica in Washington County
- Timms Hill, Wisconsin's highest point, in Price County
- The Kettle Moraine forests of Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Waukesha counties
- Horicon Marsh in Dodge and Fond du Lac counties
- Kohler's Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run (exterior, with permission)
- The Driftless Area valleys of Vernon, Crawford and Richland counties
- Rock Island, Chambers Island and the Grand Traverse Islands
- Amish farm country in Clark, Vernon and Green counties
Airspace & Permits
Wisconsin has a dozen towered airports and hundreds of small fields, and we know which ones matter for your site. Statewide rules are the same everywhere: FAA Part 107 governs the flight, state parks and forests need a DNR permit, and National Park Service units are off limits. Travel outside Northeast Wisconsin is quoted flat, not by the mile.
The U.P. is two hours from Green Bay and a regular destination for our pilots. Lake Superior shoreline, iron-mining heritage, waterfalls, ski hills and the resorts and tribal enterprises of the peninsula all photograph beautifully from the air, and we have flown for clients from Menominee to Marquette.
Cities & Communities
Marquette, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Kingsford, Menominee, Houghton, Hancock, Calumet, Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield, Watersmeet, Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Munising, Manistique, Gladstone, Negaunee, Ishpeming, Norway, Crystal Falls, Iron River, L'Anse, Baraga, Ontonagon, Newberry, Curtis, Rapid River, Gwinn, Powers, Stephenson.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Pictured Rocks shoreline near Munising (viewed from outside National Park Service boundaries)
- Marquette's ore dock, Presque Isle Park and the Lake Superior shore
- The Mackinac Bridge from the St. Ignace side
- Tahquamenon Falls (state park permit required)
- Copper Harbor and the Keweenaw Peninsula
- Escanaba's Ludington Park and the harbor
- Iron Mountain's Pine Mountain ski jump
- Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains (permit required)
- Kitch-iti-kipi spring at Palms Book State Park
- Sault Ste. Marie's Soo Locks (restricted; from permitted vantage points only)
- Menominee's marina and the Menominee River
- Hannahville Indian Community and the Island Resort area
Airspace & Permits
Most of the U.P. is uncontrolled airspace. Sawyer International near Marquette and the Soo Locks area carry restrictions, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is National Park Service land where drones cannot launch, and Michigan state parks require a permit. We handle Michigan permits the same way we handle Wisconsin's.
From Traverse City's cherry country to the Grand Rapids furniture and manufacturing base, we travel the Lower Peninsula for commercial, industrial and tourism aerial work. Lake Michigan's east shore, with its dunes, lighthouses and harbor towns, is a favorite.
Cities & Communities
Traverse City, Petoskey, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, Mackinaw City, Gaylord, Cheboygan, Alpena, Cadillac, Ludington, Manistee, Frankfort, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Midland, Saginaw, Bay City, Flint, Port Huron.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Grand Traverse Bay and the Old Mission Peninsula
- Mackinac Island's harbor and the Grand Hotel (island drone rules apply)
- Holland's Big Red lighthouse and the tulip fields
- Grand Haven's pier, boardwalk and musical fountain
- Petoskey and Little Traverse Bay
- Charlevoix's round-arch bridge and the Pine River channel
- Ludington's breakwater light and the SS Badger car ferry
- Frankfort's Point Betsie Lighthouse
- Downtown Grand Rapids and the Grand River
- Detroit's riverfront and the Ambassador Bridge (Class B airspace)
- Saginaw Bay and the Thumb shoreline
- Muskegon's harbor and Pere Marquette Beach
Airspace & Permits
Detroit Metro and Grand Rapids' Gerald R. Ford International bring Class B and Class C airspace into play, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a National Park Service no-drone zone. We file authorizations before travel and plan lakeshore shoots from public or client-owned land outside federal boundaries.
The Twin Cities, Duluth's harbor and the North Shore of Lake Superior draw us west several times a year. We photograph corporate campuses, industrial facilities, waterfront redevelopment and resort properties across Minnesota, with the same flat travel pricing we use in Wisconsin.
Cities & Communities
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Two Harbors, Grand Marais, Rochester, St. Cloud, Mankato, Winona, Red Wing, Stillwater, Woodbury, Eagan, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Maple Grove, Blaine, Hibbing, Brainerd, Alexandria, Moorhead.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge, Canal Park and the ore docks
- Split Rock Lighthouse and the North Shore (state park permit required)
- The Minneapolis skyline and the Stone Arch Bridge
- St. Paul's Cathedral Hill and the Mississippi River bluffs
- Lake Minnetonka and the western suburbs
- Stillwater's lift bridge and the St. Croix River
- Red Wing's Barn Bluff and the river town below it
- Winona's Sugar Loaf and the Mississippi backwaters
- Brainerd's lakes country and Gull Lake
- Rochester's downtown and the Mayo Clinic campus
- Grand Marais harbor and the Sawtooth Mountains
- Hibbing's Hull-Rust-Mahoning open-pit mine overlook
Airspace & Permits
Minneapolis-St. Paul International creates one of the busiest Class B airspaces in the Midwest, and downtown shoots need FAA authorization with careful altitude limits. Duluth is Class D. Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters are closed to drone launches. We build the approvals into the schedule so travel days are never wasted.
Chicagoland is a three-hour drive and a frequent stop for industrial, logistics and commercial real estate clients. We fly warehouses, distribution centers, corporate headquarters, suburban office parks and the lakefront communities of Lake County and the North Shore.
Cities & Communities
Chicago, Rockford, Naperville, Aurora, Elgin, Schaumburg, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Joliet, Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington, Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield, Northbrook, Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, Barrington, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Oswego, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Galena.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Chicago's skyline from the lakefront (heavily restricted; authorization required)
- Navy Pier and Lake Michigan harbors
- Rockford's Anderson Japanese Gardens and the Rock River
- Galena's historic main street and the Galena River valley
- Starved Rock's canyons (state park permit required)
- The Illinois and Michigan Canal towns of Joliet and Lockport
- Lake Forest, Highland Park and the North Shore bluffs
- Waukegan Harbor and the Lake County lakefront
- The Fox River valley through Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia
- Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois campus
- Springfield's Capitol dome and the Lincoln sites
- Peoria's riverfront and the Illinois River bluffs
Airspace & Permits
O'Hare and Midway blanket the Chicago area in Class B airspace, and the City of Chicago adds its own drone ordinance on top of FAA rules. Suburban and downstate shoots are far simpler. We secure every authorization in advance and tell you plainly when a downtown shot is or is not possible at the altitude you want.
FAA Part 107 is a federal certificate, so our pilots can legally fly commercial drone photography in all 50 states. We have traveled for multi-site industrial clients, franchise groups, tribal nations and resort brands, and we quote travel as a flat line item so there are no surprises.
Landmarks We Photograph From The Air
- Multi-location franchise and retail portfolios
- Industrial and manufacturing campuses with multiple plants
- Construction programs with sites in several states
- Resort, campground and RV park brands
- Tribal nations, reservations and tribal enterprises nationwide
- Solar farms, wind farms and utility corridors
- Agricultural operations across the Corn Belt and the Great Plains
- Ports, rail yards and logistics hubs
- College and university systems
- Hospital and healthcare networks
- Golf course groups and destination clubs
- Real estate developers with out-of-state holdings
Airspace & Permits
Wherever the job is, the process is the same: we check the airspace, file the authorization, pull any state or local permits, and show up with insured, licensed pilots and backup aircraft. Give us the address list and we will map the whole program, including which sites can be flown in a single trip.
Know The Shot List
Top 25 Aerial Shots Every Business Should Own
Every aerial we get asked for, what it is, how we fly it and who it is for. Most projects need three or four of these; the honest advice about which ones YOUR property needs is free, just call.
Rule of thumb: start with the Hero Overview, the Straight-Down and the Context Shot. Add a Twilight Aerial if the property has any lighting worth showing. Everything else depends on what the photos have to do for you.
The Essentials
The five shots almost every client needs. If you only budget for one flight, this is what comes home.
The signature shot: your property or building from a raised three-quarter angle that shows the front, one side and the grounds in a single frame. It is the image that goes on the website header, the brochure cover and the billboard. We shoot it at the time of day the sun favors your facade.
Best for: Every business, every listing, every campus.
Camera pointed straight at the ground for a map-like view of the whole site. Parking counts, lot lines, roof condition, site layout and phase boundaries all read instantly. Stitch several together and you have an orthomosaic.
Best for: Real estate lot views, construction sites, site plans and campus maps.
Pull back until the neighborhood, the highway, the lake or the downtown fills the frame around your property. Buyers, tenants and visitors want to know what is nearby, and one frame answers it.
Best for: Commercial real estate, tourism, developments and relocation marketing.
Shot in the 20 minutes after sunset when the sky is deep blue and the building's lights glow. It is the most striking photo in almost every gallery, and it makes an ordinary building look like a destination.
Best for: Resorts, restaurants, luxury homes, hospitals, campuses and headquarters.
Not high, just higher than a tripod: an eye-level shot from 25 feet clears the cars, the shrubs and the parking lot and presents the building the way the architect drew it. Many clients are surprised this is a drone shot at all.
Best for: Storefronts, office buildings, churches, schools and homes with big front yards.
Property & Development
Shots that sell land, buildings and projects, from the first listing to the ribbon cutting.
A straight-down aerial with the property boundary drawn on it from county parcel data, plus acreage, lot numbers or dimensions as needed. Buyers understand it instantly and agents share it constantly.
Best for: Land listings, subdivisions, commercial parcels and auction catalogs.
Shot from out over the lake or river looking back at the property, the angle no ground photographer can get. Shoreline, dock, frontage and the house behind it, all in one image.
Best for: Lake homes, resorts, marinas and waterfront developments.
The same three or four GPS-locked angles captured every two weeks or every month from groundbreaking to completion. Line them up and the project builds itself in front of the viewer.
Best for: Construction, developers, lenders, owners and marketing time-lapses.
Two identical vantage points, months or years apart: the empty lot and the finished building, the old roof and the new one, the eroded shoreline and the restored one. Nothing tells a story faster.
Best for: Contractors, roofers, landscapers, conservation groups and remodelers.
A full overhead of the roof plus angled close-ups of valleys, flashing, vents and mechanical units, sharp enough to see hail bruising or a lifted shingle. No ladder, no lift, no risk.
Best for: Roofing contractors, property managers, insurance claims and facility teams.
Marketing & Storytelling
The shots that make people feel something, share something and book something.
First and last light rake across fields, fairways, dunes and rooftops with warm color and long shadows that give the land depth. It is when we schedule almost every tourism, golf and resort shoot.
Best for: Golf courses, resorts, farms, tourism boards and land listings.
Wisconsin's best two weeks, from above. Maples and oaks over a lake, a downtown, a campus or a resort, and a photo people will hang on the wall. Book early; the window is short and the calendar fills.
Best for: Northwoods resorts, Door County, campuses, communities and wall art.
Summer, fall, winter and spring from the same vantage points. Your website and social media always match the season outside, and the year-round comparison is content on its own.
Best for: Resorts, campgrounds, golf courses, tourism and school districts.
The fairgrounds, the festival, the parade or the grand opening from above, planned so the aircraft never flies over the open-air crowd but still captures its size and energy. Sponsors love it.
Best for: Events, festivals, fairs, races, parades and grand openings.
Trucks, trailers, boats, tractors or service vans lined up in a V or an arc with the logo side out, shot from 30 feet so every vehicle reads. It says capacity without saying a word.
Best for: Trucking, contractors, dealers, landscapers, farms and municipal fleets.
Data & Documentation
When the aerial has a job to do beyond looking good.
Hundreds of overlapping straight-down images stitched into one seamless, measurable, map-accurate image of the site. Drops into CAD and GIS, prints huge, and beats any satellite view for freshness and detail.
Best for: Construction, engineering, land planning, agriculture and municipalities.
The same flight builds a textured 3D model you can rotate, measure and share in a browser. Stockpile volumes, cut and fill, building massing and site planning all come out of it.
Best for: Quarries, developers, architects, engineers and facility planners.
A complete aerial record of a site before work begins: every angle, every corner, the neighbors' property lines and the condition of everything around it. Cheap insurance against a later dispute.
Best for: Contractors, developers, engineers and property owners.
Systematic close-ups of a roof, a tower, a facade, a solar array or a bridge, captured in a grid so nothing is missed and every image is tagged with its location.
Best for: Facilities, utilities, solar operators, engineers and insurers.
Storm damage, flooding, fire aftermath or a collapsed structure, photographed from above within hours for insurance, FEMA and emergency management. We prioritize these calls.
Best for: Municipalities, insurers, property owners and emergency managers.
Motion & Immersive
Captured in the same flight as your stills, these turn one visit into a complete media package.
A full spherical panorama from 100 to 300 feet that visitors can spin around in a browser or on a Google Business Profile. Nothing shows location and surroundings more completely.
Best for: Resorts, developments, tourism, campuses and real estate.
A smooth circle around the building or feature with the camera locked on it. The single most useful drone video move, and the one that makes a property look like it belongs in a commercial. See our drone video page.
Best for: Every video project, from listings to corporate reels.
The camera rises over a treeline, a roofline or a ridge and the property appears. Or it pulls back from a detail until the whole site fills the frame. Pure cinema, and it opens most of our client videos.
Best for: Resorts, tourism, developments, campuses and brand films.
A moving time-lapse from the air: clouds racing over a downtown, a shift change at a plant, a marina filling on a Saturday. Short, striking and built for social media.
Best for: Social media, tourism, industrial storytelling and event recaps.
Aerial stills, drone video, ground photography and a 360 virtual tour from one visit by one crew. It is how most of our clients actually buy: one trip, one quote, a complete marketing kit for the website we probably built too.
Best for: Anyone who wants the whole job done once, done right.
Every shot on this list is captured by FAA Part 107 licensed, insured pilots. Motion and immersive work is delivered through drone video, video production and 360 virtual tours.
Join The Sky
How To Become A Licensed Drone Pilot
Every commercial flight in the United States runs under the Federal Aviation Administration, and every professional drone pilot starts with the same certificate we hold: FAA Part 107. Here is the agency, the numbers, the eight steps, and a family of pilots who will answer your questions.
The FAA name and logo belong to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and appear here for information only. Fox Valley Web Design and Above Wisconsin are FAA-certificated operators, not FAA affiliates, and this section is not an FAA endorsement.The Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA (faa.gov) is the agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates every aspect of civil aviation: it certifies pilots and aircraft, runs the air traffic control system, sets the safety rules and, since 2016, licenses the commercial drone pilots who fly under Part 107. Created by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 in the wake of a midair collision over the Grand Canyon, it grew out of federal aviation offices that date to 1926. Its rules are what let a drone flying at 400 feet and an airliner cruising at 35,000 feet share the same national airspace safely.
For drone pilots the FAA lives in one place: FAA DroneZone, the official portal for registering aircraft under Part 107 or as a recreational flyer (5 dollars per aircraft, good for three years), managing Remote ID serial numbers, requesting Part 107 waivers for night, beyond-line-of-sight, over-people, multiple-aircraft and moving-vehicle operations, applying for airspace authorizations that LAANC cannot handle and Certificates of Waiver or Authorization for public agencies, requesting FAA-Recognized Identification Areas, and reporting any accident with a serious injury or more than 500 dollars in damage within 10 days.
Your certificate never expires, but currency does: every 24 calendar months a Part 107 pilot completes the free online recurrent course, Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent Non-Part 61 Pilots (ALC-677), on the FAA Safety Team site at faasafety.gov, which replaced the old paid recurrent exam in 2021, and keeps the completion certificate with their license. The same FAASafety.gov account offers free continuing education on airspace, weather, night operations and operations over people through the WINGS program, and the FAA B4UFLY app and LAANC-approved apps handle day-to-day airspace checks and near-instant authorizations. Recreational flyers complete the free TRUST safety test instead. Between DroneZone, FAASafety.gov and LAANC, a new pilot has everything needed to get certified, stay current and fly legally.
Eight Steps To Your Part 107 Certificate
No flight school, no medical exam, no flight hours required. A motivated person can go from zero to certified in a few weeks of study.
Check The Basics
You must be at least 16 years old, able to read, speak, write and understand English, and in a physical and mental condition to fly safely. That is the whole eligibility list.
Get Your FAA Tracking Number
Create a free account in the FAA's IACRA system (iacra.faa.gov) to receive an FAA Tracking Number, the ID that follows you through testing and certification.
Study Part 107
Airspace classes and sectional charts, weather, aircraft performance, loading, emergency procedures, radio communication, night operations and the operating rules themselves. Free FAA study guides exist; a good prep course makes it faster.
Pass The Knowledge Test
Schedule the Unmanned Aircraft General - Small (UAG) exam at an FAA-approved PSI testing center: 60 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, 70 percent to pass, 175 dollars. About 700 centers nationwide, several in Wisconsin.
Apply In IACRA
File FAA Form 8710-13 online, attach your passing test ID, and pass the TSA security vetting. Most applicants receive a printable temporary certificate within days and the permanent card by mail.
Register Your Aircraft
Every drone flown under Part 107 is registered in FAA DroneZone for 5 dollars per aircraft for 3 years, marked with its registration number and, since 2024, broadcasting Remote ID.
Learn The Airspace Tools
Get LAANC authorizations through an FAA-approved app before flying in controlled airspace, read the sectional chart, check NOTAMs and TFRs, and know when a waiver is required.
Stay Current And Insured
Complete the free FAA online recurrent training every 24 calendar months, carry liability insurance, keep a flight log, and keep learning. Then go find your first paying client, or come fly with people who have done it for 12 years.
A Short History Of The FAA
- 1926: The Air Commerce Act creates the Aeronautics Branch of the Commerce Department: the first federal oversight of pilots, aircraft and airways.
- 1934: Renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce; the first air traffic control centers open, staffed with blackboards and maps.
- 1938: The Civil Aeronautics Act creates the independent Civil Aeronautics Authority.
- 1956: Two airliners collide over the Grand Canyon, killing 128 people, and the public demands a modern system.
- 1958: The Federal Aviation Act, signed August 23, creates the Federal Aviation Agency; Elwood Quesada is the first Administrator.
- 1967: The agency joins the new Department of Transportation and becomes the Federal Aviation Administration.
- 2015: Drone registration begins in December: the first step toward integrating small unmanned aircraft.
- 2016: Part 107, the small unmanned aircraft rule, takes effect on August 29. Commercial drone flying becomes a licensed profession.
- 2018: LAANC opens near-instant airspace authorizations for drone pilots around hundreds of airports.
- 2023: The Remote ID rule takes effect September 16; full enforcement follows on March 16, 2024.
Facts About The FAA, Drones, Airplanes And Airports
- The FAA handles about 44,000 flights every day and more than 16 million a year, with roughly 5,500 aircraft in the sky at peak times.
- More than 3 million passengers fly in and out of U.S. airports every day.
- The United States has 19,482 airports: 5,146 open to the public and 14,336 private. Only 527 have a control tower.
- Twenty-one air route traffic control centers and 146 approach control facilities, staffed by more than 14,000 controllers, manage 5.3 million square miles of domestic airspace and 24 million square miles over the oceans.
- Aviation supports about 9.4 million U.S. jobs, 502 billion dollars in annual earnings and roughly 4 percent of the U.S. economy.
- There are more certificated drone pilots in America (over 427,000) than fixed-wing general aviation aircraft (166,000).
- The FAA forecasts the U.S. commercial drone fleet at about 1.09 million aircraft in 2026, and more than 1.6 million people have registered as recreational drone owners.
- The 400-foot ceiling for drones exists because manned aircraft generally stay above 500 feet outside takeoff and landing. The 100-foot gap is the buffer that keeps everyone safe.
- A Part 107 certificate never expires. Pilots stay current with a free online course every 24 months.
- Austin Straubel International in Green Bay, Appleton International and Wittman Regional in Oshkosh are all FAA towered airports, and every summer Oshkosh briefly becomes the busiest control tower in the world during EAA AirVenture.
A Father And Two Sons, Full-Time In The Sky
Above Wisconsin LLC is a one-of-a-kind drone company: Gary, an FAA-licensed commercial pilot for 11 years, and his sons Nick, a certified Part 107 Pilot in Command since 2026, and Brennen, our third pilot now in training. We fly full time, and we are also full-time photographers, videographers, website developers, video editors and photo editors, working in Adobe Creative Cloud and Final Cut Pro on Apple computers. The people who fly your aerials are the same people who edit them and build the website they land on.
Questions New Pilots Ask Us
Pilot-to-pilot answers, from a crew that has been flying commercially since before Part 107 existed.
If you will ever be paid, fly for a business, post drone footage to promote anything, or fly for a nonprofit or government body, you need a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Recreational flyers who fly purely for fun instead pass the free online TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test), register any drone over 250 grams, and follow the recreational rules. The line is purpose, not payment: a realtor photographing a listing with a personal drone is a commercial flight and needs Part 107.
Sixty multiple-choice questions drawn from these areas: applicable regulations, airspace classification and operating requirements, aviation weather sources and effects, loading and performance, emergency procedures, crew resource management, radio communication procedures, physiological effects of drugs and alcohol, aeronautical decision making, airport operations, maintenance and preflight inspection, and night operations. Reading a sectional chart and identifying airspace is the skill that trips up the most people. You get 2 hours, need 42 correct out of 60 (70 percent), and the historical pass rate is above 80 percent. Fail and you can retest after 14 days.
- Knowledge test: 175 dollars, paid to PSI when you schedule
- FAA certificate and IACRA application: free
- Drone registration: 5 dollars per aircraft for 3 years
- Recurrent training every 24 months: free, online
- Study course: free FAA materials, or roughly 100 to 300 dollars for a structured prep course
- Aircraft: a capable sub-250-gram camera drone starts under 1,000 dollars; a professional Mavic-class aircraft runs 2,000 to 4,000 dollars; enterprise platforms with payloads run well into five figures
- Liability insurance: from a few hundred dollars a year for on-demand coverage to more for an annual commercial policy
All in, most new commercial pilots are certified and flying a professional aircraft for less than the cost of one used car.
- Fly at or below 400 feet above ground level (or within 400 feet of a structure)
- Keep the aircraft within visual line of sight, with a visual observer allowed to assist
- Yield right of way to all manned aircraft, always
- Get LAANC or FAA authorization before flying in Class B, C, D or surface Class E airspace
- Fly over people and moving vehicles only under the FAA's category rules for your aircraft
- Night flight is allowed with current training and anti-collision lighting visible for 3 miles
- Maximum groundspeed 100 mph; minimum visibility 3 statute miles; stay 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds
- Aircraft under 55 pounds, registered, marked and broadcasting Remote ID
- No careless or reckless operation, no flying from a moving vehicle in populated areas, no operating impaired
- Report any accident involving serious injury or more than 500 dollars of property damage to the FAA within 10 days
- Respect temporary flight restrictions (stadiums, wildfires, VIP movements) and national park and state park rules
Real estate and construction photography are the front door; the industry is much bigger than that. Certified pilots work in mapping and surveying, roof and infrastructure inspection, utility and solar inspection, agriculture, public safety, insurance claims, film and television, live event broadcast, search and rescue, environmental monitoring, cell tower and wind turbine inspection, and package delivery testing. Many, like us, combine the certificate with photography, video production and web design so the drone is one tool in a larger creative business. The FAA counts more than 427,000 certified remote pilots, and the commercial fleet is forecast to keep growing every year through 2045.
FAA DroneZone is the FAA's official online portal for drone pilots. It is where you register aircraft under Part 107 or as a recreational flyer, manage your Remote ID information, request Part 107 waivers and airspace authorizations that LAANC cannot handle, report accidents, and manage your account as a certified pilot. Every aircraft in our fleet lives in DroneZone. Bookmark it on day one.
Yes, and you should. We have been in the professional commercial drone business for 12 years, since before Part 107 existed, and we remember exactly how confusing the first sectional chart looked. Call (920) 434-9772 or send a note through the quote form and ask for Gary or Nick. We are glad to answer questions about the test, the gear, the airspace around Green Bay and the Fox Valley, insurance, or what it is actually like to make a living in the sky. No sales pitch, just pilot to pilot.
Thinking about becoming a commercial drone pilot, or need a licensed crew for your project? Start at the FAA, then talk to us. We have been in the professional commercial drone operator industry for more than 12 years and we are happy to share what we know.
Drone Photography FAQs
Frequently
Yes. Every commercial flight is flown by an FAA Part 107 certified Remote Pilot in Command, and we carry liability insurance for drone operations. Gary has been a licensed commercial drone pilot for 11 years, Nick earned his FAA certificate in 2026, and Brennen, our third pilot, is in training. Certificates of insurance are available on request for property managers and general contractors.
Part 107 is the federal rule that governs commercial drone flight in the United States. Anyone paid to fly a drone, or flying to promote a business, must hold a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, pass a recurrent knowledge test, register the aircraft and follow the operating rules. A hobbyist flying for your business is breaking federal law, and the liability lands on you.
Usually, yes. Green Bay, Appleton, Milwaukee and Madison all sit under controlled airspace, and Part 107 pilots can fly there with an FAA authorization. We file through the LAANC system for near-instant approvals and request further-coordination approvals for the rare spots that need them. Hobby pilots cannot obtain these for commercial work.
Part 107 limits flight to 400 feet above ground level, or 400 feet above a structure when flying within 400 feet of it. That ceiling is plenty: most real estate and commercial shots are made between 50 and 250 feet, where detail is sharp and the perspective still reads as aerial.
Only within the FAA's category rules, which depend on the aircraft and how it is equipped. In practice we plan event and festival shots from angles that never put the drone directly over an open-air crowd, and we coordinate with organizers and public safety ahead of time. You still get the crowd shot, just from a safe geometry.
Yes. Part 107 permits night operations for pilots with current training when the aircraft carries anti-collision lighting visible for three statute miles, which ours does. Twilight and blue-hour aerials of a lit building, resort or downtown are some of our most popular shots.
Remote ID is the FAA requirement, in force since 2024, that a drone broadcast its identity and location during flight, essentially a digital license plate. Our aircraft are Remote ID compliant, so we can fly legally anywhere a Part 107 operation is allowed.
With a permit. The Wisconsin DNR requires a permit to launch or land a drone in state parks, forests and other DNR-managed lands. We obtain it in advance for park shoots, or fly from adjacent private property with the owner's permission when that gives the better angle anyway.
National Park Service units, including the Apostle Islands and Michigan's Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes, prohibit launching, landing or operating drones inside their boundaries. We can often photograph the scenery from outside the boundary, and we will tell you plainly when a shot is not legally possible.
Yes: active stadium flight restrictions on game days, temporary flight restrictions for events like EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, national parks, prisons, and anything our airspace check flags as off limits. We also decline flights that would be unsafe for people on the ground. Legal and safe is the only way we fly.
The FAA controls the airspace, not the landowner, so overflight is legal. That said, we are guests in every neighborhood. We keep the flight over or near your property, avoid hovering over neighbors, and are happy to give a heads-up to anyone nearby before we launch.
Yes. We pre-plan every flight, keep the aircraft in sight at all times, use a visual observer on busy sites, check for obstructions like guy wires and cranes, and follow your site safety rules. Our aircraft carry obstacle sensing and return-to-home safeguards, and we have flown thousands of commercial flights without incident.
Absolutely. Industrial plants, healthcare campuses, ports and tribal sites often have confidentiality and security requirements. We sign NDAs, check in with security, wear required PPE and give you final say over which images are released.
We reschedule at no charge. Drones do not fly in rain, snow or high wind, and flat gray skies make for flat photos, so we watch the forecast and move the shoot to the next good window. Wisconsin weather is part of the job; we build flexibility into every booking.
Our aircraft handle sustained winds in the low 20s (mph) safely, but photo quality starts to suffer before that, especially for straight-down shots. We aim for mornings and evenings when the wind lies down, and we will call a delay rather than deliver soft images.
Yes, and winter aerials are underrated: snow simplifies the landscape and makes buildings, ice shanties and snowmobile trails pop. Cold shortens battery life, so we bring extra batteries and keep them warm. Frozen lake and shoreline shoots are a Northwoods specialty.
No, though you are welcome. Most clients send a shot list and a contact number and let us work. For real estate we coordinate with the listing agent on timing so cars are moved and the lawn is mowed; for construction we check in with the superintendent on arrival.
A single property is usually 30 to 60 minutes on site. Commercial campuses, golf courses and multi-building sites run one to three hours. Progress documentation is typically 20 to 40 minutes per visit once the flight plan is on file.
Always. Two aircraft, spare batteries, spare props and spare memory cards travel to every job. A shoot that has been scheduled around your schedule, the sun and the wind should never be lost to a hardware hiccup.
Only with a Part 107 certificate, registered aircraft, airspace authorizations and insurance. Many business owners find that after the test, the gear and the learning curve, hiring a professional costs less and looks better. We are glad to advise either way.
Most single-property shoots are quoted as a flat rate based on location and shot list. Construction progress programs, multi-site work and seasonal image libraries are quoted per project. Request a quote and we will price it the same day, with travel listed as a plain line item and no hidden fees.
Northeast Wisconsin is our home turf and included in most quotes. Farther destinations in Wisconsin, the U.P., Minnesota, Illinois and beyond are quoted as a flat travel line, not by the mile, and we bundle multiple sites in one trip whenever we can to save you money.
Standard delivery is within a few business days. Rush and next-day delivery are available for listings and press deadlines. Construction progress sets are delivered on the cadence your draw schedule needs, every time.
Through a private online gallery where you can view, download and share full-resolution and web-sized versions. We keep an archive of every shoot, so if a file is lost two years from now, we have it.
Our drones capture high-resolution stills sized for large-format print, billboards, MLS and websites. You receive full-resolution files plus web-optimized versions ready to upload, in JPEG by default and RAW or TIFF on request.
Every image is color-graded and finished by hand: horizon leveling, exposure and color balance, lens correction, and sky and haze work when the day calls for it. We keep it natural; the property should look like the property on its best day, not a cartoon.
Yes. We annotate aerials with property boundaries, lot numbers, square footage, phase lines, tenant names, points of interest and drive-time notes, delivered as finished images and as layered files your team can edit later.
On request. Most clients prefer finished images, but agencies and design teams sometimes want RAW files for their own workflow. Just ask when you book.
You receive a license to use the images for your business, marketing and records in perpetuity, and we retain the copyright as the photographer, which is standard practice. Full copyright transfer is available for clients who need it; we will spell it out in the quote.
Yes, all of it. Website, social media, brochures, billboards, listings, presentations, annual reports and press. The only restriction in a standard license is reselling the images as stock, which almost nobody wants to do anyway.
That is exactly how construction progress and seasonal marketing work. We put the flight plan and angles on file, then return every two weeks, monthly, quarterly or by season so each set matches the last. Recurring programs are priced lower per visit.
A week is usually plenty in Northeast Wisconsin; two to three weeks for travel jobs or peak seasons like fall color, cranberry harvest and spring listing season. Same-week availability happens often, so it never hurts to call.
That is fine. Plenty of clients need a single hero shot for a website header or a billboard. We quote it as a small flat-rate shoot and deliver a handful of frames so you have options.
Usually, yes. Send us the reference and we will recreate the vantage point, which is a common request for before-and-after pairs, then-and-now anniversary images and rebuilding a shot from a photographer who is no longer available.
We fly interiors of large spaces such as warehouses, arenas, churches and plants when the client wants that perspective, and we pair drone work with traditional interior photography for the rest. Above Wisconsin offers both interior and exterior drone services.
Photos are high-resolution stills for print, listings and websites; video is 4K or 6K motion footage for websites, social media and presentations. Most clients get both in one flight because the aircraft and pilot are already there. See our drone video and video production pages for the motion side.
Yes. Aerial 360 panoramas let a viewer spin around the property from above, and they embed on your website or a Google Business Profile. We also produce full 360 virtual tours that combine aerial and ground views.
Yes. With photogrammetry we stitch hundreds of overlapping images into a georeferenced orthomosaic map, elevation model or 3D model, useful for construction, stockpile volumes, land planning and site documentation. Ask for it when you book and we plan the flight grid accordingly.
We can arrange thermal imaging for roof moisture surveys, solar panel inspections and building envelope checks as part of a project. Tell us what you are trying to find and we will recommend the right sensor and deliverable.
Yes, and for resorts, golf courses, campgrounds and tourism boards it is the smartest package we sell: summer, fall color, winter snow and spring green-up, captured from the same angles, so your marketing always matches the calendar.
For anything with acreage, water, a large lot or an interesting location, yes. Aerials show buyers what they are actually buying and set the listing apart in a scroll of ground-level photos. Realtors across Wisconsin book us repeatedly because listings with aerials get more views and stronger offers.
Scheduled progress flyovers from groundbreaking to completion, straight-down site maps, milestone photos for draw requests and investor updates, and finished-project photography for your portfolio. Same angles every visit, delivered on your schedule.
Yes: dairies, cash-crop farms, cranberry marshes, orchards and ginseng operations for marketing, land sales, drainage planning and lender documentation. Harvest and bloom windows are short, so we book those dates early.
Those are some of our favorite jobs. Whole-property overviews, hole-by-hole golf sets, campsite maps, sunset portraits and seasonal libraries, often paired with drone video and a 360 tour in the same visit. See the industries list on this page for details.
Yes, and we build and host websites for many Wisconsin municipalities, so the aerials can go straight into the site we already manage. Purchase orders, government pricing and public-meeting-ready deliverables are all routine for us.
We are proud to work with many of Wisconsin's and Upper Michigan's tribal nations and offer drone photography to any tribe, band or community in the country. We follow each nation's guidance on what may be photographed, coordinate with officials before every flight, and never fly sacred or restricted sites.
We provide high-resolution roof imagery for roofers, property managers and insurance claims: overheads, obliques and close detail of flashing and penetrations, with no ladder. The images are a visual record; pair them with your licensed inspector for structural findings.
Yes. Energy sites are large and remote, which makes them ideal drone subjects. We plan around sun angle so panels read clearly, coordinate on safety zones around energized equipment, and deliver marketing images and inspection sets from the same flight.
Yes. We coordinate with organizers and public safety, check for temporary flight restrictions, and plan angles that capture the crowd without flying over it. Sponsor recaps, next-year sales decks and social media all benefit from the overhead view.
Home base is Green Bay, and we cover all 72 Wisconsin counties, Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Minnesota and Illinois regularly, and travel anywhere in the United States for commercial projects. The Areas We Fly section on this page lists cities and landmarks by region.
Above Wisconsin LLC is our drone and video production division, a sister company to Fox Valley Web Design. Both are run by the same family in Green Bay: Gary and his two sons, with two FAA Part 107 Pilots in Command and a third pilot in training, which makes Above Wisconsin a one-of-a-kind father-and-sons drone company. You can hire the drone work through either company; the pilots and the quality are the same.
Licensing, insurance, airspace authorizations, professional cameras, editing and a decade of experience. A hobbyist flight for a business is illegal and uninsured, and it usually looks like it. We show up licensed, insured and prepared, and the photos sell.
A nine-aircraft DJI fleet: two Mavic 4 Pro, a Mavic 3 Pro, a Mavic 2 Pro, Mini 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro, a Neo, and a Matrice 400 RTK enterprise platform with Zenmuse thermal, zoom, LiDAR and photogrammetry payloads, plus NDAA-compliant American-made aircraft for government projects. On the ground we shoot Canon EOS R6 Mark II and GoPro. We keep the fleet current so you get today's image quality, not last decade's.
Gary has been a licensed commercial drone pilot for 11 years and has flown for real estate, construction, industrial, municipal and tourism clients across Wisconsin. Nick, our second pilot, earned his certificate in 2026. Fox Valley Web Design itself has been in business since 1997.
That is where we shine. We build websites, run social media, do SEO and AEO, and shoot photo and video, so your aerials land directly in the website, the listings and the feeds we manage for you. One team, one point of contact, everything working together.
Yes. Original, location-specific images on your website and Google Business Profile are trust signals for search engines and AI assistants, and they outperform stock photos in engagement. We optimize file names, alt text and captions so the aerials pull their weight in search.
Yes. Many clients order large-format prints, canvases and metal prints of their property, campus or town for lobbies, offices and boardrooms. We also license Wisconsin scenic aerials from our archive for commercial use.
We need the property owner's or manager's permission for anything beyond public overflight, and we will not photograph private property for a third party without it. For listings, the listing agent's authorization is sufficient.
The address, what the photos are for, any must-have angles or features, and your deadline. From there we check airspace, quote it flat, pick a weather window and get it on the calendar. Most bookings take one short phone call.
Call (920) 434-9772 or use the quote request form on this site. We respond the same business day with a flat-rate quote, available dates and any airspace or permit notes for your location.
Ready to See Your Property From Above?
Flat-rate quotes, licensed pilots, and photos delivered fast. Tell us about your project and we’ll handle the rest, airspace and all.