How to make your drone fly circles around your wedding proposal

Scott Simmie | Aug 11 2020 - 3:36 pm PT

A clever drone pilot recently put his drone to use in a very new way: To document his marriage proposal. Using a DJI Mavic Air, the plan worked perfectly, capturing a picture-perfect proposal from the air. Regardless of the occasion, we’ll show you how to do the same.

If you’re married, you’ll undoubtedly remember the moment your significant other made the big ask. I can tell you that in my case, I proposed on the flat playa of Burning Man in 2005 (we’re still together, so I guess that worked out). Some friends were with us when this happened, and there’s a photo or two. But there is no video of the event, which did take place in very special surroundings. Woulda been nice to have some video of that — and it would have been incredible to have some footage from the air.

Well, the owner of a Mavic Air managed to capture the occasion recently by using one of the drone’s many specialized pre-programmed shots. That allowed the hopeful groom to focus on making the ask, rather than trying to fly the drone.

A seamless orbit

Of course, many of DJI’s drones can be set to fly preprogrammed intelligent routes. And that’s what makes this so simple. Many people, however, don’t get around to fully exploring the DJI Fly app, so we’ll put this down in order:

Select the Photo icon

Select Quickshot

On the right-hand column, three down, select “QuickShot.” You’ll see a list of pre-programmed shots pop up, along with a very helpful little video that shows precisely what each mode does. There are plenty to choose from.

Select “Circle”

You’re going to want to select “Circle” – unless one of the other modes really appeals to you more. (Again, you can preview these shot styles by simply touching them and watching the onscreen videos.) Depending on the mode, you can also select distance, but not with Circle.