I often mount my camera on a 22ft mast to give me the ability to take photographs from a higher angle than shooting from a normal tripod. The difference might seem small when compared to shots from a drone, but the angle it creates is often far more visually pleasing. The angle also offers the chance to shoot above nearby obstacles or over crowds of people. The resulting shots are far more engaging than ground level shots because it is not an angle that we are used to seeing, so it catches the eye of the viewer.
So why would I want to use it when I could almost always use a drone instead? The legal restrictions on the use of drones only allow for very small, light drones to be used in built up areas like town centres. The cameras on these drones are impressive for their size, but cannot compete with the image quality produced by a full-sized sensor on a professional camera. The control over the precise framing that can be achieved with a tripod also helps to produce a higher quality of image than using a drone.
Commercial property shot from elevated pole
USING A MOTORISED TRIPOD HEAD
I use the mast with a motorised camera head to remotely control the framing of the shot and adjust the camera settings. This allows me to make small adjustments from my phone while the camera is more than 20 feet above me, producing incredibly precise shots.
These shots are ideal for external views of a commercial property, for seeing over obstructions such as cars or bushes, for showing site boundaries or for shooting a retail unit above a street busy with pedestrians. If the property is at the top of a slope it also allows the camera to be positioned directly opposite the property rather than looking up at the property from a low angle, producing a more pleasing image. When combined with drone shots, this equipment offers the best of both worlds – complete freedom to shoot from any angle and high-quality images that can be used in any format.
Often the available ground level shots are not a bad option, but the angles offered by the elevated shots can produce more eye-catching images that show off the property to better effect. They often make the layout clearer because the image feels more three-dimensional and the camera has a less obstructed view. This can be seen in the examples below, where the ground level shots would be deemed acceptable by many, but the elevated views are the superior images.
