Construction Progress Photos

Z06Aggie · Feb 12, 2018

Afternoon everyone - I've been asked to do monthly progress photos of a construction site with my Mavic Pro.

My question is, is there a way to ensure that I am taking the exact same photo every month from the exact same location & angle? Other than bringing a copy of last months photo with me, and comparing it to my screen shot, of course.

I want to get as close to same each month so that the client can flip through month by month and see the progress they have made, without having to compare different angles and whatnot. I may even try to put together some sort of timelapse or slideshow at the end.

Thanks!

rvrrat14 · Feb 12, 2018

Consider a Waypoint intelligent flight mode. Save it for future use and fly to the same location/elevation each time.

AH-1G · Feb 12, 2018

I also do time line, so I use POI at a specific height then back out x feet all video. At post production I can capture the exact picture frame from the video in 4k.
Same longitude and latitude.

BigAl07 · Feb 12, 2018

You should look into purchasing Litchi. You can create simple or complex Waypoint missions and fly the exact same one over and over.

We have several contracts where we fly the same flight months on end. We do both video and still images.

The beauty of Litchi (IMHO) is being able to create and/or tweak the flight from the comfort of your home via laptop/PC.

Z06Aggie · Feb 12, 2018

Thanks for the tips!

Florida Drone Supply · Feb 12, 2018

You could also consider stitching the full construction site as an orthomosiac each time for them. Then you could show them layered progression photos of the entire site...possibly an upsell or add on service you could offer.

Levitated Media · Feb 13, 2018

Great information, I'm still trying to find my niche market to be honest with everyone and I've always loved the idea of taking construction progression shots.

Dave Pitman · Feb 14, 2018

Agree with @BigAl07 on using Litichi for repeated perspectives and @Florida Drone Supply about using orthos.

I have an example page with once a month orthos shot with a P3P over the course of 1 year HERE

philsmith76 · Feb 17, 2018

Hello. I too have just started a construction progress job. I use dji gs Pro for the mission. I purchased the in app POI function for the pictures. Created a POI mission and slides the waypoints down to 10 or so pictures and the trick is change the min max height to less than a foot difference and then will only orbit once. Change the gimbal angle (but during orbit I noticed you can manually move the gimbal from the controller). Then land use go4 for the overhead shot then back out for a orbit poi video. Great part is I turn my camera to full auto for the shot as the customer is only using the shots for progress and not production and really is not interested in the “perfect” shot. I tried the maps made easy orto but the buildings are 8 story and they stitched something awful that I wouldn’t show the customer.

Norm Kokes · Feb 17, 2018

I am doing 2 construction projects right now. Each will take about a year to complete and I run a litchi mission once per month so the video is always the same. In the end I will blend them into a timelapse and send this to the GC. I almost never use djigo and litchi is the goto app

Z06Aggie · Feb 17, 2018

Thanks Norm - I think I'm going to give Litchi a try. Sounds like the way to go.

Z06Aggie · Feb 17, 2018

If you just want to do stills, and not video, can Litchi be programmed to fly to a waypoint and stop to take a pic, then on the the next waypoint, etc......

BigAl07 · Feb 17, 2018

Z06Aggie said:
If you just want to do stills, and not video, can Litchi be programmed to fly to a waypoint and stop to take a pic, then on the the next waypoint, etc......

Absolutely. You can program several different "actions" at each waypoint. I have some missions that stop the video, take a picture, and restart the video at waypoints.

Z06Aggie · Feb 17, 2018

BigAl07 said:
Absolutely. You can program several different "actions" at each waypoint. I have some missions that stop the video, take a picture, and restart the video at waypoints.

Nice! - Thanks again for the help. I have my first construction shoot Tuesday, so I'll prob take some time tomorrow or Monday to test out Litchi beforehand.

rvrrat14 · Feb 17, 2018

Which IOS Litchi app is it?

BigAl07 · Feb 18, 2018

rvrrat14 said:
Which IOS Litchi app is it?

Litchi for DJI Mavic / Phantom / Inspire / Spark

Clinton Carman · Feb 19, 2018

BigAl07 said:
You should look into purchasing Litchi. You can create simple or complex Waypoint missions and fly the exact same one over and over.

We have several contracts where we fly the same flight months on end. We do both video and still images.

The beauty of Litchi (IMHO) is being able to create and/or tweak the flight from the comfort of your home via laptop/PC.

This is a wonderful program that you can create a flight from scratch on your computer with exact waypoints, and can even tell your drone which way to face and what angle to set your camera at. That way you can get the same photo each time!

Also make sure you shoot about the same time each day that way the shadows in your image will line up nicely.

rvrrat14 · Feb 19, 2018

So, BE GENTLE on me........I started using DJI software to go along with my Phantom 4A. My thought was it is more designed to go with the hardware. I’ve heard and read about LItchi. As I’ve developed more experience I see more positives with some other apps due to limitations and enhancements.

So I’m sure some of you guys have used both Litchi and Go 4/GS Pro. Why did you move to Litchi?
Thanks.

Clinton Carman · Feb 19, 2018

rvrrat14 said:
So, BE GENTLE on me........I started using DJI software to go along with my Phantom 4A. My thought was it is more designed to go with the hardware. I’ve heard and read about LItchi. As I’ve developed more experience I see more positives with some other apps due to limitations and enhancements.

So I’m sure some of you guys have used both Litchi and Go 4/GS Pro. Why did you move to Litchi?
Thanks.

I don't use one exclusively. Normally my go to is DJI GO4, but if I need to create an exact waypoint mission, I use Litchi. Some apps are better at certain things, play around with them and see what works best for you.

BigAl07 · Feb 19, 2018

I tend to use Litchi almost exclusively after having it for a few years. I used to switch back and forth a lot but I found the more I used Litchi the more I found I could do with Litchi.

Keep in mind that DJI Go was woefully unimpressive and have virtually not "Intelligent Flight Modes" early on. Today's DJI Go has a lot more bells & whistles and in some case you may not even need Litchi.