Well known for its pristine beaches and warm weather, Miami is also called The Sunshine City. With its wild nightlife and diverse styles of buildings, the idea of capturing a bird’s-eye-view of such a vibrant city holds a lot of excitement for many local industries, from tourism to architecture. Another huge Miami attraction is the many shipwrecks below the water around it, as well as its proximity to the Everglades. Because of these factors, Miami aerial photography is special in how many facets of this area it can reveal. And while an aerial photographer can work all over the world, Miami is a perfect town to call home base because of the variety of what one can capture. From wildlife areas that usually command a distance from humanity to the many undersea levels of a coastline revealed in its amazingly clear water, aerial photography in Miami is packed with an endless amount of potential for an adventurous spirit.
At Wonderful Machine, we define Aerial photography as anything shot from a high vantage point, usually from a drone or piloted aircraft. Let’s take a walk in the clouds with the best in Miami aerial photography.
For 20 years Antonio Cuellar has been a commercial photographer, specializing in luxury hotels and resorts. With a passion for the technical side of photography, Antonio also shoots video and is a licensed drone operator, adding to the many ways he covers and presents the cities and resorts in front of his lens. With so much work being done outdoors, Antonio is very adept at working with natural light, almost seeming to paint with the colors of the sky. This makes exploring his work in Miami aerial photography an exciting and dynamic experience, moving through multiple moods and sides of the areas he shoots. Because his technical skills are so highly regarded, Antonio is often invited to be a panelist at events by photography equipment manufacturers and also works as a guest judge on resort-related travel shows.
Clients Include: Mandarin Oriental, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, CB2, Cartier, Autograph Collection Hotels, JW Marriott, W Hotels, Edition Hotels, Blu Dot, Ashford Castle, AJWA Hotels Istanbul, Hamad Hyatt, Sea Island Resort, Solmar Hotel & Resorts
Studying in Detroit, Jeff Herron began his artistic journey with a fascination for how designs, lines, and photography coexist. Taking inspiration from the New Topographics movement of the 1970s, Jeff developed a passion for seeing places from a vantage point that few often do, which this movement achieved by showing human-made structures as part of a natural landscape. Now based in West Palm Beach and working across the United States and the Caribbean, Jeff has turned that passion into an exploration of cities, resorts, and coasts. Drawing from his early preoccupation with exploring the landscapes surrounding structures, he often includes the natural terrain around the subject of his image, showing a rare glimpse into the climate, environment, and vastness of the world around the places we inhabit. Clearly enjoying the lines and patterns that reveal themselves in aerial photography, Jeff’s lifelong passions bring about a fascinating body of work that celebrates the many facets of how humans interact with the land and sea.
Clients include: Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, JW Marriott, Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton, AC Hotels, CBT Architects, Siemens, Lumens, Couples Resorts, PGA Resort, OPL Hotels, Lloyd Loom, Columbia Sussex, Ett Hem Designs, Centex Construction, Bluegreen, Home Magazine, Gulfshore Life, Tropic Magazine
Growing up by the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, John Olive was constantly near water with his grandfather, a boat builder. He developed a passion for both creativity and performance, which resulted in him taking portraits and directing short films featuring his friends. While going to school for theatre as both a performer and creative, a life-changing class on directing shifted John’s focus away from acting and towards working behind the lens. Now a seasoned photographer working professionally since 2009, John uses the expressive atmosphere of the theatre to find the activity and exuberance in every place he shoots, giving his work an energetic and vibrant feeling. Also fascinated by the storytelling potential of his craft, John often focuses on a particular structure or area to center his photograph on in a way that engages a viewer’s imagination. Sometimes it’s a bridge extending far out into the water above the reefs, others it’s a football field existing with busy roads around it. With his lifelong passion for being around water, John is a perfect match for Miami aerial photography and often incorporates the sea into his colorful work.
Clients Include: Amari Mitchell, C2C Designs, Citizen LA, Informa, Jockey, Mercadito, Miami Bunny, Paddle8, Paxful, Seminal Studios, South Seas Island Resort, STREAM Capital Partners, TryRight, Virgin Voyages, Vnikabrand
Antonio Chagin, who runs ACH Digital Photography, has a passion for architecture and has become an expert in capturing every side of it. With a focus on the stories buildings can tell of the people who design them and live in them, Antonio’s work specializes in cityscapes and structures bordering on bodies of water, a perfect combination for aerial photography in Miami. His technical ability sets him and ACH Digital Photography apart from many as he pilots multiple kinds of drones as well as a helicopter to get his images. Additionally, he shoots video, which often takes viewers on thrilling journeys flying down a busy coast, following the flows of downtown traffic from above, or venturing yet higher to float amongst the tops of skyscrapers during a pink sunset. With a focus on utilizing his technical expertise to the fullest in order to capture an area’s magic, Antonio is an experienced and sought-after photographer for those looking to tell such fascinating stories.
Born in Quito, Ecuador, Ricardo Cornejo is both a photographer and director who began with an education in advertising. Though he may not have initially expected to be a photographer by trade, an assignment requiring him to finish and present a photography book to his professors changed everything. The feedback was great and he began a career as an art director. In the after hours he continued to hone his craft, developing a deep interest in architecture and design. With a diverse portfolio, Ricardo works with perspective and angle to bring out the action in anything he photographs. In his aerial photography, this often manifests in his focus on the flow within the patterns and geometry of structures and the landscapes around them. His dedication to treating each shoot as its own adventure also shows in the multitude of ways he approaches aerial photography, from bird’s-eye-view images that show the planning involved in architecture to rare glimpses of details in massive statues up close. Because of this, there is always an air of excitement and exploration in Ricardo’s work. His thoughts:
“Each photoshoot for me is very important and special in its way. It doesn’t matter the size of the company or the kind of product you work with – you can find beauty out of anything under any circumstance, all you have to do is keep experimenting and creating and, of course, loving what drives you crazy.”
Considering all of the uses of aerial photography, Miami is one of the most ideal places to practice it. Given its proximity to many other regions as well as the diversity of buildings and terrains within itself, Miami aerial photography is an exciting foray into the dynamic potential of what can be captured from up above. With the collective know-how of these aerial photographers, the possibilities are endless within their equally diverse stories, passions, and focus.
Further Reading
See more aerial photographers in Miami on our Find Photographers page.
Learn more about other types of photography on our Specialties page.
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