5.0 from 150+ Google reviews Austin, TX and Central Texas
Get a quote (512) 859-6430
Book a shoot

Ranch and Land Photography in Central Texas

Acreage, ranch and vacant land shot from the air, with marked boundaries, water features and access. The photography land actually needs.

Book a shoot See pricing

On A Land Listing, The Aerial Is The Primary Photography

On a land listing the aerial is not an add on, it is the primary photography. Everything a buyer needs to know is about shape, size, terrain, water and access, and none of that is visible from the ground.

Land around Austin is some of the hardest property to photograph well, and some of the most commonly photographed badly. A ground level shot of a gate and a fence line tells a buyer nothing about 42 acres.

Single story stone home in Liberty Hill across a wide mown lawn, with a gray storage barn beside it and a neighboring house beyond
The house is part of the listing, but on acreage it is rarely the part that sells it.

What we shoot on a land listing

  • The parcel from altitude, framed so the whole property fits with enough surrounding context to orient a buyer.
  • Marked boundaries. The property line drawn onto the aerial images, which is by far the single most useful thing you can give a land buyer and the thing most land listings do not have.
  • Terrain and elevation. Lower angled passes that show how the ground actually moves, because a flat overhead makes a hill country property look like a parking lot.
  • Water. Creek, pond, tank, river frontage, and honestly how much of it there is at the time of year we shot it.
  • Access. Road frontage, the gate, the interior roads and how you actually get from the road to the building site.
  • Improvements. Barn, shop, arena, pens, house, well, utilities. Photographed from the ground as well as the air.

Boundary marking is not a survey. We draw the property line onto the image based on the plat or the boundary information you supply, and it is labeled as approximate. It is a marketing tool for orientation, not a legal document, and no buyer should be treating it as one.

Aerial photograph of a Hill Country parcel with the property boundary drawn on in yellow
Boundary drawn on the aerial
Aerial photograph of a vacant Central Texas parcel with the lot outlined and the road named
Lot outlined and road named

Working out where the value in the land is

The most useful thing you can do before a land shoot is tell us what the property is being sold as. A hunting tract, a homesite, a ranch operation, a subdivision play and a recreational property are the same dirt and completely different photographs. If the value is the building site with the view, we shoot the view from the building site. If it is 200 acres of hunting cover, that is a different flight entirely.

What to expect on a land shoot

Land shoots take longer than a house and need more planning. Large parcels take several flights and battery changes. We need to know about livestock, locked gates, cattle guards and anything on the property that will not appreciate a drone. Time of day matters more than on a residential shoot, because low sun is what reveals terrain, and a midday flight flattens everything.

Most of our land work is out around Bastrop, Del Valle, Dripping Springs, Manor and the hill country west of Bee Cave.

Selected work

Recent Land And Acreage Work

Farmhouse set well back across open mown acreage under a wide Texas sky
Acreage, Lockhart
Level backyard running out to a wrought iron fence with hill country greenbelt beyond
Homestead, Liberty Hill
Aerial photograph of a Lockhart home with the property boundary outlined in orange
Lot outline, Lockhart
Aerial photograph of a Lockhart property with the lot boundary outlined in red
Parcel outline, Lockhart
Aerial photograph of a Round Rock neighborhood with a single lot pinned and highlighted
Lot pin, Round Rock
Aerial view of hill country acreage and waterfront property west of Austin, with the lake beyond
Hill country and water, west of Austin
Stone home in Austin photographed across a large level lawn framed by a mature tree
Land at ground level, Austin
Aerial view of a golf course beside the Colorado River with hill country on the far bank
River frontage, West Austin
View the full portfolio

What a shoot covers

What A Land Shoot Covers

Aerial led, because everything that decides a land purchase is only visible from above.

The whole parcel from altitudeFramed so the property fits with enough surrounding context for a buyer to orient themselves.
Boundary lines markedThe property line drawn onto the aerials from your plat, clearly labeled as approximate. The single most useful image on a land listing.
Terrain and elevation passesLower, angled flights shot in low sun so the ground reads as it actually moves. A flat overhead hides every contour.
Water featuresCreek, pond, tank or river frontage, shown honestly for the time of year we shot it.
Access and frontageRoad frontage, the gate, interior roads and the route from the road to the building site.
ImprovementsBarn, shop, arena, pens, house and utilities, photographed from the ground as well as the air.

Ranch and land

On acreage the value is in what surrounds the house, and almost none of it reads from the ground.

Services For This Property Type

Land listings are aerial first. Ground coverage is for the improvements and the building site.

Book these together

Drone photography Aerial video Ground photography Marketing kit

The Other Property Types We Shoot

Land is aerial led and quoted per property. Everything else we photograph is below.

Primary bedroom in South Austin with a vaulted ceiling and a bench at the foot of the bed Residential Listings Downtown Austin condo living room with floor to ceiling glass and a view over the city Condos and Townhomes Open kitchen and dining space in a Westlake home with a stone island and full height glazing Luxury Homes New build kitchen in South Austin with wood cabinetry and a green tile splashback New Construction Retail storefront in West Austin with a stone facade, awnings and parking in front Commercial Property Aerial view of a four story apartment community with its parking court and landscaping Apartments and Multifamily Short term rental kitchen in South Austin with a white island and bar stools Short Term Rentals Attendees at an Austin real estate networking evening Events

Ranch And Land Service Areas Around Austin

Acreage tends to sit at the edges of the map, out past Dripping Springs, Bastrop and Manor, and that is exactly where we shoot it. Travel to every city below is generally included, and the booking form shows any trip fee for acreage further out.

Land outside this map? Get in touch. We cover most of Central Texas, and the booking form shows any trip fee for an address before you confirm.

Ranch and Land Photography FAQs

Can you mark the property boundaries on the photos?
Yes, and on a land listing it is the most useful thing we produce. We draw the line onto the aerial images from the plat or the boundary information you supply, clearly labeled as approximate. It is a marketing aid for orientation, not a survey, and it should never be treated as one.
How much land can you cover in one shoot?
Large parcels need several flights and battery changes, so acreage drives the time on site more than anything else. A 20 acre homesite is a short visit. A 400 acre ranch is most of a day, and might justify a second visit if the terrain needs different light. We scope it from the acreage before you book.
What do you need to know before a land shoot?
What the property is being sold as, first of all. A hunting tract, a homesite, a working ranch and a subdivision play are the same dirt and completely different photographs. Beyond that: gate codes, locked access, livestock, cattle guards and anything on the property that will not react well to a drone.
Does time of day matter on land?
More than on a house. Low sun in the morning or late afternoon is what reveals terrain and elevation. A midday flight flattens a hill country property into something that looks like a parking lot, which is exactly the opposite of what you are selling.
Do you shoot the house and barns as well?
Yes. Improvements get proper ground level coverage alongside the aerial work, because a buyer evaluating a ranch operation cares about the shop, the pens and the water as much as the acreage.
See all FAQs

What Land And Acreage Clients Say

I had a wonderful interaction with Zabe media when they provided the service of a photo shoot for my unimproved lot in South Austin. The pictures they took look great.
Esmeralda M.Google review
The aerial photography provides another in-depth layer to whatever property you are promoting. 10/10 would recommend and would definitely use their services again.
Cooper P.Google review
The photos show the property in a really great way, with excellent angles and lighting. The aerial shots are wonderful, and for the floor plans, thank you so much.
Monte Davis Realty GroupGoogle review

5.0 from 150+ Google reviews Read more reviews See them on Google

Get started

Get A Quote For A Land Listing

Tell us the acreage, roughly where it is and what it is being sold as, and we will scope the flights and come back with a price.

Book a shoot Call (512) 859-6430

Prefer to talk it through first? Send us a message and we will come back to you within a couple of hours on business days.