Wren thumbed the gimble dial, adjusting the camera angle to forty-five degrees. She took some shots as Chase nodded.
“Looks good,” he said.
Wren sent the drone higher but kept the camera angled. A high shot straight down was cool when photographing a beach, but in this case, she’d just get a flat-looking shot of the roof—not very sexy when selling a house. She took some photos then moved on. Once the drone was in place in the backyard, she turned it. Yup, the light was perfect, showing off the sandy-colored stone. The back patio begged for a happy couple enjoying coffee and croissants on a leisurely Sunday morning.
She turned her attention to the hot tub and lap pool just off the patio. The sparkling water reminded her of Elias’ perfect lagoon-blue eyes. She shook off the distracting memory and tried to focus on her job. A couple of leaves floated on the pool’s surface, but she could clean that up with her editing software. A few more angles, a few more shots, and she brought the drone in for a landing.
Chase had stayed quiet while she worked, but now that the drone landed, he was full of questions. He asked again about fly time, then about the cost of the drone.
If too many real estate agents decided to learn how to fly drones, she might be out of a job before she even got started. Wren tried to keep her voice light. “Are you planning on becoming a drone pilot yourself?”
“A drone pilot? I don’t think I could fit into a cockpit that small.” He chuckled at his own joke.
Wren smiled. “You need a remote pilot license if you want to do this professionally. Classes, tests, all that, then you need a top-notch drone. I’ve spent a small fortune already.”
“Huh.” His interest seemed to wane.Good. “What’s the zoom like on the lens?”
“Really strong. I could have done interior photos from the backyard through the patio door and picked up the texture of the oranges in that bowl on the counter.”
“Cool. Speaking of, let’s get some interior shots.”
Wren carefully packed her drone up and grabbed her camera bag. She winced as she lifted it, remembering too late how much her shoulder hurt. She set the bag back down and picked it up with her other hand. She was still getting used to carrying her equipment on her other shoulder.
“Shoulder pain?” Chase asked.
“Yeah. Hazard of the occupation, lugging heavy equipment around. If I were smart, I’d get a new rolling bag. I broke a wheel on mine. But that can mess up your elbow after a while.”
“Ever try acupuncture? I know a guy, works miracles.”
Wren hid her smile.Serge. Chase ran in the same circles as Barbie, which was how she got this gig. “Thanks, but I’m looking into other options.”
“You afraid of needles?”
No, but I’m terrified of fires now. Wren only shook her head.
The house was big and they spent over an hour inside, photographing every angle imaginable. The sun was well up and the day already warm by the time they finished. Back outside, Wren took a few more shots of the front of the house.
“Thanks for your help,” Chase said as they walked back to their vehicles. “When can I expect the photos?”
“I’ll have the best ones cleaned and uploaded to the cloud for you by Sunday night, and a video of that loop the drone made around the house.” Wren had every intention of finishing in the afternoon—under promising and over delivering was the name of the game. “You’re my priority today.”
“Fantastic.” Chase gave her a smile and shook her hand. “I’ll look them over and if I like what I see, I’ve got a couple more properties that could use some drone photos.”
Yes!
“Sounds good.” She looked into the woods opposite the house. “What did you say the name of the good-cop, bad-cop couple was?”
Chase laughed. “That’s a fantastic description of those two.” He took out one of his business cards and wrote their names and address on the back. “If you’re thinking of doing some work for them, make sure you talk toher. You’ll get further.”
“And maybe not get my head bitten off?”
Chase laughed again. “Exactamundo.” He saluted her and got into his Jeep.
Wren got into her car and took a deep breath once she was behind the wheel.
That went well. She had hoped to get some more work out of Chase. He sold a lot of high-end properties all around Boulder County.
Then again, the way prices are skyrocketing, pretty much every property is high-end anymore.
