A drone photoshoot on the Gili Islands costs from $240 for 30 minutes with a licensed drone pilot, usually over Gili Meno’s empty beaches and clear shallows. You receive 15+ edited aerial photos — top-down and wide frames of you in the landscape, no video — online within 48–72 hours. The island transfer is $90 if needed.
Starting from
$240
Duration
30 min
Edited photos
15+
Video
15+ aerial photos — top-down and wide frames of you in the landscape, no video
Why here
Why choose Drone photoshoot in Gili Islands?
Water this clear is wasted on photographs taken from the beach. From the shore the Gilis are turquoise; from forty metres up you see why — pale sand under a metre of water, dark patches of seagrass where turtles feed, then the abrupt drop where the shallows end and the colour turns to ink. A person on that canvas becomes a graphic shape: a figure lying on white sand, a swimmer floating on their back above their own shadow, two people walking a line of footprints along an empty beach. Gili Meno is our usual island for this because it is the least built-up of the three, so the frames are mostly sand, palms and water rather than roofs, and there are fewer people to keep the drone away from. The shoot is flown by a licensed drone pilot, who tells you where to stand and how to lie for each overhead frame.
How the shoot is planned
What does the shoot in Gili Islands look like?
01
The route
We pick a stretch of Meno’s coast with nobody on it and check the wind at the waterline before launching. The first frames are top-down on dry sand: you lying in a shape, writing in the sand, a towel and a hat as props, shot from directly above so the composition is all lines and shadows. Then into the water. Standing knee-deep, the sand below shows through and you appear to be floating; further out, floating on your back over the pale bottom gives the frame most people come for. The drone then climbs and pulls back for the wide shots — you as a small figure where the turquoise meets deep blue, the island’s curve of beach and palms beside you. If a turtle is grazing nearby, we photograph it from above only, without flying low over it. The 30 minutes is about two short flights with a battery change between them.
02
The timing
Aerial photos over water follow different rules from portraits. Top-down frames need the sun high enough to light the seabed through the surface, so the best window is mid-morning, roughly 8.30 to 10.30 am, when the light is already bright but the wind has not yet picked up and the tour boats have not arrived. Sunset gives warm colour but a dark sea, so it suits wide shots of the islands more than the see-through-water frames. In the dry season, April to October, the water is at its clearest, but the south-east trade winds strengthen through the day, so mornings are the reliable flying time. In the wet season, November to March, visibility drops for a day or two after heavy rain, and the pilot grounds the drone if gusts exceed safe limits; keep a spare morning if you can.
What’s included
What does the package include?
The Drone photoshoot package in Gili Islands covers: 15+ edited aerial photos; Top-down and wide frames of you in the landscape; Location checked against no-fly zones before the day; Directions on where to stand and how to lie for overhead frames; Private online gallery within 48–72 hours. Nothing is added to the price after the shoot. Permits worth knowing about: Gili Trawangan sunset swings — swings belong to beach bars and hotels; usually a drink order or a small fee.
Yes, within Indonesian drone rules. The Gilis are far from any airport, which makes them easier than much of south Bali, but the waters around the three islands form a marine conservation area, and some hotels and villages ask that drones stay away from their guests. Our pilot checks the location against no-fly zones before the day, keeps the aircraft in sight, and does not fly over people, the mosque or other private property without permission.
02Do I need to be a good swimmer for the water frames?
No. The see-through-water effect works best in shallows you can stand in, since the sand needs to be close to the surface to show. Floating on your back is optional and done near the shore; a snorkel vest is fine and barely visible from above. Watch the current along Meno’s west coast — we choose a sheltered spot and never ask you to swim out to the drop-off.
03What should we wear to stand out from the air over turquoise water?
Colours that are not already in the water: red, orange, yellow, deep pink or black stand out sharply against turquoise and white sand. Pale blue and white swimwear tends to disappear in the shallows. A long, light skirt or sarong spreads beautifully on the surface or the sand in top-down frames. Hats with a wide brim work from above too, as long as they are tied on in the breeze.
04Can we have ground photos and video too?
This service delivers aerial photos only. For both, book a couple or holiday photoshoot and add the drone add-on ($150), so the drone joins the ground session for a set of aerial frames. If moving footage from above is what you want, the drone video service gives a 60–90 second aerial film with the raw clips.
