Beautiful Aerial Drone Video of Austin Scenes
- At June 28, 2020
- By Johnny Stevens
- In aerial, austin, beautiful, Drone Video, Fine Art, scenic, travel, video
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Beautiful Aerial Drone Video of Austin Scenes
During these spring Covid days my normal architectural photography work in Austin was slow, so I decided to spend some time shooting spectacular scenic video of mostly Austin attractions. There are also some scenes from Gavleston and Ponte Vedra. This is a perfect Spa Style video to watch during meditation, relaxation, yoga, pilates or during a hot bath. The video is shot with Mavic 2 Pro. This video shows off the best of Austin, Texas, and why it is that we all love Austin so much.
Photographing Student Housing with the drone
Photographing Student Housing with the drone
How many times have I just wanted to get the camera up 10 feet to really showcase the exteriors of some of the student housing properties I have shot? Photographing aerial Student Housing with the drone is the simple answer because the drone allows me to get a different perspective on the property. Usually I noticed that I do get some keystoning distortion simply because I am often shooting down. This is easily corrected with the vertical perspective tool in Camera Raw in Photoshop. Here an example of the difference in perspective from ground photographs off the tripod and similar ones from the drone. These are both the same property by American Campus Communities.

Ground photo from tripod of the pool at Townhomes at Newtowne in Lexington

Aerial Drone photo from Mavic Pro drone of the pool at Townhomes at Newtowne in Lexington
Aerial Drone Architectural Photography
Aerial Drone Architectural Photography
I was asked by an architect named Humphreys & Partners Architects who have offices in the US, Vietnam, China and Uruguay, to photograph some twilight aerial drone architectural photographs of a property in Austin, called ThinkEast Austin. Student Housing photography is my main forte so this apartment complex was a familiar project. As a professional architectural photographer in Austin I have learned that the drone is my best friend. Just to be elevated 10 to 15 feet to photograph a structure can make all the difference. The rain had just ended and I launched the DJI Mavic Pro in pretty heavy wind. Getting a fast enough shutter speed with the lowest possible ISO is always the challenge when shooting in the dark. You cannot shoot from a drone with a shutter speed higher than 1/30 especially if it is windy. My ISO was pumped up to 1000 but it worked out well after I did my adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw. The lighting on the building was not very attractive so I had to create my own light in Photoshop. I had to push and pull the shadows, highlights and white quite a bit to get a nice looking final image. Here is the before and after.

Aerial architectural photo with Mavic Pro Austin AFTER editing

ThinkEast Drone architectural photo before editing
The Mavic Pro drone perfect perspective
The Mavic Pro drone perfect perspective
How many times have I been shooting architecture from a tripod and wishing I could get just 10 feet higher? The Mavic Pro drone adds the perfect perspective for those situations. The drone does not have the vertical perspective adjust-ability as the TS-E 17 lens does, but once you are up 10 or 20 feet, you don’t need it because the verticals are true at those heights.

Aerial architectural photo with Mavic Pro photographer Johnny Stevens

Aerial architectural photo with Mavic Pro Austin

Aerial architectural photo with Mavic Pro Johnny Stevens
Aerial Drone Photography and Videography
How many times have I been shooting a structure and wishing I could get just 20 feet up rather than shooting from the ground?

ThinkEast Apartment Aerial architectural photo with Mavic Pro 2 Austin
Alas, this is just what the drones offer us. Not only do they offer a different perspective on a structure, but we can add video to leverage aerial motion and feature the surroundings. Add a bit of moody music and you have a very compelling representation of a property. My drone of choice is the DJI Mavic Pro 2 with the Hasselblad camera simply because I can pack it in my photo bag and travel with it on planes. The camera delivers a superior still image as well.
Drone Photography and Video by Johnny Stevens
FAA Licensed Drone Pilot
FAA Registration FA3347KRKA
Clients
- At February 09, 2015
- By Johnny Stevens
- In aerial, aerial video, american campus, architectural photos, art for sale, austin architectural photographer, Austin photographer, canvas prints for sale, Drone photography, Drone Video, Fine Art, headshots, landscape, light painting, Photography, Photoshop, portrait, protrait, real estate, real estate photography, rust rapture
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BizFilm Media, LLC
Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurants
Mason Health Care
Oxford Commercial Real Estate
Paul Mitchell Systems
Pauly Realty
Premier Partners Homes
Regsiter Dixon Homes
Riverplace Country Club
The Natasha Group Keller Williams
The Roby Institute
Threshold Agency
Wayport
Will Mokry Designs
World Class Capital Group
Todd Associates
Blog
- At August 06, 2012
- By Johnny Stevens
- In aerial, Aerial photography, aerial video, american campus, architectural photos, areial video, austin architectural photographer, Austin photographer, beautiful, drone, Drone photography, Drone Video, family, Fine Art, headshots, hot rods, landscape, lifestyle photography, light painting, Photography, Photoshop, portrait photography, professional, protrait, real estate, real estate photography, rust rapture, speedlights, student housing, student lifestyle, travel, video, videography
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Contact
- At August 06, 2012
- By Johnny Stevens
- In abstract, aerial, architectural photos, art for sale, Austin photographer, drone, Drone photography, Drone Video, Fine Art, lifestyle photography, nature, Photography, Photoshop, portrait, portrait photography, professional, real estate photography, student housing, student lifestyle, video
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Contact Johnny Stevens
CPP Photographer in Westlake, 78746
FAA Licensed Small Unmanned (Drone) Aircraft Pilot #4099138
FAA Registered DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter # FA3347KRKA
(512) 762-5621
johnny@johnnystevens.com
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About
- At August 05, 2012
- By Johnny Stevens
- In abstract, aerial, architectural photos, art for sale, Austin photographer, drone, Drone photography, Drone Video, Fine Art, headshots, Photography, Photoshop, portrait, portrait photography, professional, real estate photography, student housing, student lifestyle
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Austin Professional Photographer
Johnny Stevens, a native of Lenoir, N.C. has spent over 30 years behind video and still image cameras as both a director and producer. Johnny has shot hundreds of videos of all genres, and has honed his eye for photographic composition through tens of thousands of still images. Johnny started taking photographs as a hobby in his late teens and is now enjoying photography as a profession, focusing on portrait, interior design, architectural, and fine art photography in Austin, Texas. His photographic approach is uniquely artistic as seen in the galleries on this site. He is skilled in studio portraiture as well as natural light photography. He is also well seasoned in the art of High Dynamic Range photography (HDR).

Johnny Stevens architectural and portrait photographer Austin, Texas
Johnny is also a respected member of the following professional organizations:
National Association of Photoshop Professionals
Professional Photographers of America
Texas PPA
Austin Guild PPA
Interior Design Society
Don’t forget to share with your friends on social media using the sidebar, and connect with Johnny through the widget at the bottom of each page! Your reviews and likes/follows are the utmost compliment!
Check out and review Images by Johnny Stevens on Yelp