A drone photography hobby is not exactly the cheapest interest you can have these days. If you’re planning to turn this into a professional thing, you have to invest not only your time but your money as well.

Remember that in drone photography, lighting is critical. Every second that ticks are essential to the output of your shots. Having just one drone or camera will squander away the golden opportunity of taking gorgeous shots of your subjects from the air.

To be able to capture every moment—as the sun rises or the sun sets—you have to spend an inordinate amount of time waiting for the perfect light.

Not only that, you would also need to spend a good amount of money on another drone and another camera that’s ready to fly once the first drone and camera lose their batteries or have filled their memories to capacity.

What’s a backup drone and why do I need it?

A backup drone is your second-in-command. Essentially, you are sending out your first drone out there to capture images and take photos of the subject matter.

But a drone, even the best ones, can only fly for 30 minutes straight before it starts to drain its batteries completely. You have to land these drones before they lose critical battery power.

Otherwise, they will crash and burn. Instead of pulling them off the air and losing the opportunity to shoot every angle of the landscape as the sun sets on it, put your backup drone to flight and place it on the right spot before landing the first drone back.

This way, you won’t be losing any great shots. Remember that it is very critical for you to capture every second that there is natural light available. Landing a drone with the attached camera can be tricky and it will take some time.

You will lose a lot of light before managing to change the batteries or the memory card. Instead of wasting the time, you can rent a similar drone and a similar camera and put them both on the same settings as your first drone and camera. Immediately fly them over once you realized that the first drone is losing its power.

Can I shoot without a backup drone?

Sure, you can. If you are not concerned about the lighting situation or capturing every angle at every turn, you can use a single drone and camera.

You can always come back on another day and time and capture the shots that you missed the first time. We just think that having a backup set of drone and camera is more time-saving and convenient.