Drone photography and videography. Why you need to think about who is flying the drone and what if something happens.

For your wedding day, would you hire a bridal car from somebody who doesn't have a licence or doesn't have liability insurance? Having a drone at your wedding is no different and needs to be something you take seriously when choosing your wedding photographer or videographer.

Drones are amazing and capture birds eye views of your wedding day. They allow me to capture images I only dreamed of 10 years ago. They are also fun to fly. But there is a dangerous side to drone use; unqualified users! Protecting yourself and your guests is simple.

Ask your wedding photographer or videographer to provide you with their certification.

You will need to sight the below three documents:

1. Their licence (RePL) - think "L-plates" driver's licence
2. Their operator's certificate (ReOC) - this is the pilot's licence
3. Their drone specific liability insurance

If they are not a fully licenced pilot they cannot hold liability insurance for drone use.

Once they provide that, you can safely know that you have covered your bases to ensure the risk of things going wrong on your wedding day is minimalised. In the event something does go wrong, or CASA (the drone police) make an entrance at your wedding your photographer or videographer has nothing to worry about as they will have flight approvals and risk assessments completed prior to the day.

In 2018 I gained my drone licence and operator's certification. The reason I did this was to ensure I was meeting the legal requirement associated with drone use at weddings. Most people don't know, but without having both RePL and ReOC it is illegal to take photos or video at any wedding or event in Australia.

What is airspace law? If you can imagine our roads and highways flipped upside down and placed into the sky, then you can imagine why airspace also needs rules. There are rules about where you can fly, how high you can fly, how close you can fly to people or buildings. You need to consider the weather, things like wind or rain can cause problems when you're flying a drone.

Most east coast wedding venues are located within airspace which requires clearance from the RAAF and National Parks, even councils follow CASA regulations. Here's a notable example; a wedding held at Tocal Homestead in the Hunter Valley is located within restricted airspace and requires specific flight approvals. The property is in a flight corridor for the RAAF, civilian and commercial aircraft. To fly over that property, you will need initial approvals and then follow-up phone calls to the control tower 30-minutes before your flight, and again once you have landed.

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Being a licenced operator means that I hold current drone liability insurance, in the event something happens. Having someone flying a drone for your wedding can be costly. There is a risk of a guest or you being hit by the drone, and they can cause significant injury, usually requiring stitches. Imagine your white dress being covered in red blood on your wedding day?

Imagine the authorities arriving at your wedding to issue fines to your photographer illegally using the drone, and the venue for not siting flight approvals. If your photographer isn't licenced, they will be told to ground the aircraft, and you will not get any of those photos you dreamed about. Instead of your guests talking about your beautiful wedding they'll be talking about the drone incident.

At GMTMT Films we operate drones in line with current rules and regulations. For drone photography or videography for your wedding day please feel free to get in touch!