Renters choose the location first
A renter comparing two buildings can read the floor plans and amenity lists online in a few minutes. What decides the tour is harder to show: the river across the street, the walk to the park, how close the office or the stadium is. Aerials answer those questions at a glance, and neighborhood footage finishes the thought.
For multifamily, that context has to work in every format the leasing team uses: listing platforms, the property website, paid social, email and the screen in the leasing office. We shoot with all of them in mind, so one visit fills every channel.
The shots that do the most work for apartment communities:
- The reveal. A slow rise from street level to the building’s full height, with the river, park or skyline behind it.
- The neighborhood pull-back. Starting on the building and pulling out to show what is within walking distance.
- The view from the unit. Aerial stills captured at the height of specific floors, so a prospect can see the view before touring.
- Amenities in context. The pool deck or rooftop terrace from above, showing how it sits against the city.
- Twilight. Lit windows and a glowing lobby, for listings and ads that run through the dark months.
The Water Square approach
The Residences at Water Square is a 496-apartment tower on the former Joe Louis Arena site that opened in February 2024, according to WDET. The building lists an all-seasons pool and a rooftop garden terrace among its amenities, on the Riverwalk with Canada across the water.
Our film for the property starts high over the Detroit River, sets the tower against the downtown skyline and then moves inside to the lobby, the units and the amenities. That order matters. It sells the address first, then the finishes, which is the order most renters decide in. The same shoot produced vertical cuts the leasing team can post for months.
Lease-up is a content problem
A new building can spend a year or more in lease-up. The polished launch film does the heavy lifting in the first month, and then the leasing team needs something new to post every week. We plan for that: a launch shoot that builds the core library, then short return visits for seasonal aerials, resident events, new retail on the ground floor and the neighborhood as it changes around you.
Our real estate and development marketing team handles the full plan, and the development marketing timeline shows what to shoot at each phase.
Flying around residents
An occupied building changes the flight plan. People live behind those windows, relax on those pool decks and walk those dog runs. FAA rules limit flying over people who are not part of the shoot, and Michigan law bars capturing images where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. We send resident notices through management, shoot amenities during quiet windows and hold angles that show the building without looking into homes.
Location adds its own rules. Downtown riverfront towers are in uncontrolled airspace below 400 feet, but game-day restrictions around Comerica Park and Ford Field close the area during Tigers and Lions home games, and the Riverwalk needs a Conservancy permit for drone launches. Midtown properties sit inside Coleman A. Young airport’s controlled airspace and need LAANC authorization. Our Detroit River drone rules guide covers the riverfront in detail.
What property managers receive
Every shoot delivers listing-ready stills, web versions, a property film if ordered, and vertical cuts sized for Reels, TikTok and Stories, organized by platform so your team can post without hunting through folders. FPV fly-throughs are available when a single continuous shot from the curb to the rooftop tells the story best.
Send the property, the phase you are in and your leasing goals. We will check airspace and access and send a fixed quote. Plan a multifamily shoot.