DroneMount Bromo · East Java

Drone photoshoot · Mount Bromo

In short

A drone photoshoot at Mount Bromo costs from $240 for 30 minutes, with 15+ edited aerial photos — top-down and wide frames, no video — in 48–72 hours. We fly over the open sea of sand after sunrise, away from crowds and the crater. The national park’s drone permit, park entry and the jeep are not included.

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 Mount Bromo?

From the ground, the sea of sand is a flat grey plain. From above, it becomes a drawing: jeep tracks curving across the ash like pencil lines, the deep vertical gullies of Batok’s cone, the perfect circle of Bromo’s crater with steam pouring out of it, and, somewhere in the middle, a single small figure — you. That graphic, almost abstract view is the reason to book a drone photoshoot here rather than at a beach. It is also the most regulated way to photograph Bromo. The caldera is a national park, flights need the park’s permission in advance, and even with it the pilot keeps away from the sunrise crowds, from Pura Luhur Poten and from the vent itself, where sulphur and rising air make flying unsafe. Thin air and cold shorten flight time too. So the session is planned around what is both permitted and spectacular: the open floor of the caldera in low morning light.

How the shoot is planned

What does the shoot in Mount Bromo look like?

The route

We drive into the caldera once the sunrise crowd has thinned, around 6:45, and choose a take-off point on open sand with the park’s permit in hand and no one nearby. The first flight goes straight up above you for top-down frames: you standing, then lying on the ash with arms out, the long shadow the low sun throws beside you, the grain of the sand and the jeep tracks looping around. The second flight climbs and pulls back along the line of the caldera so that you, Batok’s fluted cone and the steaming crater of Bromo stack up in one frame — the scale shot. The third, if the light and wind allow, is a low sideways pass with you walking on a jeep track that leads the eye towards the cone. Batteries are kept warm inside a jacket between flights, because at this altitude in the cold they drain faster than at sea level.

The timing

The window is short and specific: about 6:45 to 8:15. Before that, the caldera floor is still in shadow and the viewpoints above are crowded; after it, the sun is too high to throw the shadows that give the sand its texture from above, and the wind usually strengthens. Dry-season mornings from May to October are the most reliable for clear air and calm starts; August to October can be gusty and dusty, so we may fly fewer, shorter flights. In the wet season, November to April, low cloud can lie across the caldera, which grounds the drone even if the floor below is visible. The park can also close areas when Bromo’s alert level rises, which overrides any permit.

What’s included

What does the package include?

The Drone photoshoot package in Mount Bromo 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: Penanjakan viewpoint — national park entry fee (higher at weekends and holidays) plus 4×4 jeep hire; drone use needs park permission; King Kong Hill — covered by the national park entry; reached by jeep on the Penanjakan road; Sea of Sand (Pasir Berbisik) — covered by park entry; flares, smoke bombs and fireworks are banned after the 2023 savanna fire; Savanna Teletubbies — covered by park entry; jeep access via the southern caldera track; Bromo crater rim — covered by park entry; horses to the foot of the stairs are paid separately; closed when the alert level rises; Madakaripura waterfall — entry ticket and a local guide, paid on site; can close in the wet season for flash-flood risk.

Book online

Portfolio

Drone photoshoot in Mount Bromo

Frames from recent shoots, to plan yours against.

Before you book

FAQ — Drone photoshoot in Mount Bromo

Who arranges the drone permit, and what does it cost?

We request it from the national park with your date and the planned flight area once you book. The park sets the fee, which is not part of the $240 and is passed on at cost; we tell you the amount before you confirm. If the permit is not granted for your date, we let you know before you travel.

Why can’t you fly over the crater or at the sunrise viewpoint?

Over the crater, sulphur gases, heat and strong updrafts make a drone unstable, and the vent is the centre of a sacred site. Over the viewpoints at sunrise there are hundreds of people, and flying over crowds is both unsafe and not allowed. The caldera floor gives the volcano in the frame without either problem.

Can we combine this with a photoshoot on the ground?

Yes — book any photo session, such as the couple photoshoot, with the drone add-on ($150): a pilot joins the photographer for aerial frames during the same morning. This standalone drone photoshoot is for when the aerials are the point, with 15+ frames from above rather than a few added to a ground gallery.

What should we wear to show up from above?

One bright, solid colour that contrasts with dark ash: red, orange, yellow or white. Long fabric — a scarf, a skirt, a cape — spreads out on the sand in top-down frames and turns a small figure into a shape. Patterns and dark tones disappear at height. Bring something to lie on between frames; the ash is cold first thing.

Same shoot elsewhere