ok so i finally landed my first actual paying client, it's a small construction company that wants progress shots of a site every two weeks. nothing crazy, just overhead stills and maybe a short clip showing the site from a few angles. they're not expecting anything cinematic which is good but i'm still nervous because this is the first time someone is actually depending on me to deliver something professional.

i've been flying my mini 3 pro for about eight months so i'm pretty comfortable in the air, got my part 107 a few months ago. my main worry is the workflow side - like how do i make sure i'm capturing the same angles each visit so the progress actually looks consistent over time. and also just general tips for not looking like an idiot on a job site since i've never done this kind of work professionally before. any advice appreciated

congrats on the gig, construction progress work is actually a great recurring client to have. for consistency between visits the easiest thing is to save your waypoints or just write down your exact coordinates and altitude for each shot position the first time you fly it. some people use the DJI flight log later to pull that info but honestly i just drop a pin on google maps for each key position and note the altitude in my shot list doc. sounds low tech but it works.

for the job site stuff - just check in with the site foreman when you arrive, introduce yourself, let them know roughly where you'll be flying. they appreciate it and it avoids any awkward moments with workers who've never seen a drone on site before. wear a hi-vis vest if you have one, it sounds silly but it makes you look like you belong there and people leave you alone.

the consistent angles thing is something i wish someone had told me earlier. i lost a client once because my month 1 and month 3 shots were from slightly different positions and it made the comparison footage look weird. now i spend like 10 extra minutes on the first visit just screenshotting my exact camera position and gimbal angle on the goggles/app and save it in a folder for that project. also bring a backup battery even if you think you wont need it, job sites sometimes run long and having to cut short because you're at 20% is not a good look on your first visit