RAW Digital Group flies drone photography and video in St. Clair Shores, MI, with FAA Part 107 certified pilots from its Detroit studio. Published starting prices are $450 for aerial photos, $1,500 for aerial video and $2,500 for FPV fly-throughs, with no travel charge in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties.
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What St. Clair Shores businesses film from the air
The city describes the Nautical Mile as the strip of Jefferson Avenue between 9 and 10 Mile with shops, boat dealers and marinas, and that stretch drives much of the aerial work here. A marina selling slips wants the whole basin, the channel to the lake and the open water in one frame. Dealers and yacht brokers use drone video to show boats running on the lake, not just sitting on a lot. Off Jefferson, canal-front and lakefront homes sell on water access, which only reads clearly from above. Restaurants, condos and event hosts along the lakeshore use aerial photography for the same reason.
There is history to work with too. According to the city, the Jefferson Beach amusement park, built in 1927, once had the longest roller coaster in the United States, and its last buildings came down in 1959 to make room for a marina.
Two kinds of airspace in one city
We sampled the FAA’s Class Airspace and UAS facility map data across the city. Most of St. Clair Shores, including the Nautical Mile, City Hall and Blossom Heath Park, is uncontrolled Class G at the surface, so no LAANC filing is needed below 400 feet. The northeast corner is different. Selfridge Air National Guard Base’s Class D, from the surface to 3,100 feet MSL, reaches into the city along the lake from roughly the 31000 block of Jefferson north, and it covers Veterans Memorial Park. There we request LAANC, and the FAA facility map allows 300 feet over most of that corner and 200 feet at the far northeast edge.
The Selfridge national security flight restriction, which bans drones over the base from the surface to 400 feet around the clock, starts a few miles north of the city line. FAA data lists the Class D as part-time, set by NOTAM, and we treat it as active for planning. Our Detroit drone rules guide covers how these layers fit together, and we confirm every flight in B4UFLY or a LAANC app on the day.
Parks, passes and the lake
The city’s four waterfront parks, Blossom Heath, Wahby, Lac Sainte Claire and Veterans Memorial, require a park pass, and the city sells passes only to residents. Blossom Heath, at 24800 Jefferson, has the historic Blossom Heath Inn, an activity pier and a beach house. Any commercial launch in these parks goes through Parks and Recreation first, and events change the plan: the Blossom Heath farmers market runs Thursday evenings from May into October in 2026, and Shorestoberfest fills Veterans Memorial Park on October 3, 2026, according to the city’s events page. Part 107 limits flights over crowds, so we schedule around both.
Just north in Harrison Township, Lake St. Clair Metropark has a 600-foot beach, a 1,600-foot boardwalk and an Olympic-size pool, according to the Metroparks. Its Rule 28 bars flights over beach and pool bathhouses and requires notice to Selfridge, which is on the Metroparks airport list.
Light and seasons
The shoreline faces east, so sunrise lights the water side of Jefferson and puts a glow on the lake behind marina shots. Summer brings full slips and boats on the water, which is what most marina and dealer marketing needs. Wind off the open lake can build quickly, so we watch the forecast and on-site gusts and move a waterfront shoot rather than push a small aircraft in strong wind.
Planning a St. Clair Shores shoot
Send the address, your date window and what you need to deliver. We check whether the site falls under Selfridge’s Class D, the LAANC ceiling there and who controls the launch point before we quote. See our Detroit drone photography services and waterfront drone photography, or contact us to start.