Stills carry different requirements than motion — resolution, latitude, and the patience to wait out the light.
Aerial stills for architecture, development and editorial in a city where the buildings are the subject. Chicago's light is directional and seasonal in a way LA's is not, so the shot list here is planned against the calendar as much as the clock.
Aerial stills for key art, campaigns, editorial, architecture and listings. We shoot raw, deliver graded or flat depending on what your retoucher wants, and we plan around the sun rather than around the schedule where the schedule allows it. The same certification and insurance apply as on any motion job, because the airspace does not care what you are capturing.
The flying window here is genuinely seasonal. Winter cold cuts battery endurance roughly in half and lake wind can shut a day down outright. Summer and early autumn are when the lakefront and the river actually cooperate.
Chicago is squeezed between O'Hare and Midway, both Class B, with the lakefront offering the one clean approach into the skyline. Wind coming off Lake Michigan is a genuine operational factor rather than a footnote, and downtown creates canyon effects that punish crews who have not flown it before.
We shoot the Loop, the lakefront, the river, and the neighborhoods — and we travel. CineDrones works nationwide, so if your production is basing in Chicago and shooting somewhere else entirely, that is a normal week for us.
High-resolution stills payloads with the latitude to hold a sky and a shadow in the same frame.
Our aerial units have worked on Ozark, Jack Ryan, Bosch, Mayans M.C., SEAL Team, NCIS: New Orleans, Fear the Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Modern Family, 9-1-1, Goliath, The Resident, Raising Dion, Castle Rock, Doctor Sleep and Chef's Table, for Netflix, Amazon, Apple, HBO, Hulu, Showtime, Sony, CBS, AMC, MTV and Bravo. See the work →
Raw files as standard, plus graded selects if you want them. We will deliver flat if your retoucher would rather start clean. Nothing is baked in that you cannot undo.
That is usually the plan. The constraint is rarely the light — it is getting authorization for the specific location at the specific hour, which is why these shoots get planned rather than improvised.
Commercial aerial photography carries the same requirements as motion work: a certificated pilot, airspace authorization where applicable, and usually a location permit. The airspace does not care whether you are shooting stills or motion.
DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY — OTHER MARKETS: Albuquerque Atlanta Austin Las Vegas Los Angeles Miami New Orleans New York Salt Lake City
Get ready to elevate your production to new heights with CineDrones! Operating in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Albuquerque, Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Miami, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans, we bring the power of cutting-edge drone technology to every project. Whether you're capturing breathtaking aerial footage, thrilling FPV shots, or immersive drone-based virtual reality, our expert teams of FAA-certified pilots, aerial camera pros, and drone techs have you covered. Fully compliant with Part 107 regulations and protected by a $5M aviation liability policy, we guarantee precision, safety, and creativity. Plus, with Local 600 union and non-union crews available, we’re ready to deliver jaw-dropping results wherever you need them!