Guides

Photos and visuals that sell vacant land

In a 2020 LANDTHINK reader poll, 76.6% of respondents picked photos as one of the three most helpful parts of an online land listing, more than any other element. The poll covered the site's own readers and was not a scientific survey.

The shots land buyers look for

A mapping vendor, Land id, suggests photos at 6 to 10 key spots: the entrance, any water, the best building site, a high point with a view, and the access road.

• Show the access road and whether it is paved or a two-track. A land broker writing for LANDTHINK calls access perhaps the most critical thing behind a parcel's value.
• Show the utilities you have. Land id says easy access to electricity, water and sewage systems makes land more attractive to buyers.
• Show the neighbors. Buyers want to know whether what is next door adds value or risk.
• Caption every photo with where it was taken and which way it faces, such as "Looking south toward the pond from the north ridgeline."
• For hunting land, add trail-camera photos. In a 2017 LANDTHINK poll, 30.3% of buyers said they prefer game pictures on hunting and recreation listings.
• Do not hide weak spots. LANDTHINK advises listing them in the description with ideas for how a buyer could fix them.

Good photos with just a phone

• Clean up trash and debris first.
• Shoot in soft light, early to mid morning or mid to late afternoon.
• Take lots of photos and keep only the best.
• Hold the phone level and shoot horizontally, then straighten and crop.
• Mix wide shots for scope with close-ups of plants and wildlife.
• Edit lightly, without going overboard on brightness, shadow and color tools.
• If the land is under snow, add photos from other seasons.

Add a map and the public data buyers check

Remote buyers want to understand the land's layout before they drive out. Parcel maps show them the lot's shape, its size and where it sits.

Land id says buyers doing their own due diligence will pull data such as flood zones eventually, so giving it to them up front builds trust. Government sources include:

• Flood: FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for flood hazard information. FEMA warns that newer maps can replace the ones you download, so date any flood map image.
• Wetlands: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Mapper shows mapped wetlands. USFWS says not to read the map as showing whether regulated wetlands are present or absent, or how big they are.
• Soils: USDA's Web Soil Survey has soil maps for more than 95% of U.S. counties.
• Terrain: USGS topoView lets you view and download USGS topographic maps free of charge.

Google's rules for map and Earth images

You can embed a standard Google Map on your listing page without asking Google. Google's other imagery comes with limits:

• Google bars Google Earth imagery on the web for commercial or promotional use, and its rules name real estate listings.
• Google says not to screenshot Street View for any purpose, and you may not use Street View in print.
• Google bars Earth, Earth Studio and Maps satellite imagery from promotional films and ads.
• Google says it cannot grant exceptions.

Drone photos: what the FAA requires

The FAA names taking photos to help sell a property as Part 107 flying, paid or not.

• The person flying needs an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, kept current with online recurrent training every 24 calendar months.
• Every drone used for listing work needs FAA registration, whatever it weighs, and must broadcast Remote ID unless it flies inside an FAA-recognized identification area (FRIA).
• The height limit is 400 feet above ground level. Within a 400-foot radius of a structure, the drone may fly up to 400 feet above the structure's top.
• Part 107 has no privacy rules, so check state and local law. Florida, for example, bars using a camera drone to record images of privately owned property, or of the people on it, with intent to conduct surveillance that violates their reasonable expectation of privacy, without their written consent (2026 Florida Statutes, section 934.50).

Hiring a drone pilot

A land investor who bought a drone wrote on REtipster that the numbers do not work for the average real estate pro. When you hire a pilot:

• Confirm their FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, and ask to see it and the drone's registration on shoot day.
• Check their insurance. The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) suggests requiring liability insurance from anyone you hire, though the FAA does not require it.
• As NAR suggests, put photo and video ownership and an indemnity clause for privacy, injury and property damage claims in the contract.
• Send a property map and, if needed, walk the lot together before the shoot.

Show lot lines honestly

A due diligence checklist on LANDTHINK says most local tax maps are meant only to show general location. Another LANDTHINK article says a computer-drawn map of boundary lines is not a survey.

In Florida, for example, the statewide parcel map uses files that the state's 67 county property appraisers send to the Department of Revenue. The department says the data should not replace an accurate professional survey. It updates the statewide parcel lines each August, so the statewide copy can lag county records. REtipster suggests always checking the county's own GIS map system.

Call county-sourced lines approximate unless you have a survey. If a recorded survey exists, use it. A legitimate survey carries a licensed surveyor's imprint.

Article 12 of the NAR Code of Ethics requires REALTORS to present a true picture in their advertising, and the FTC says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive. Do not grab photos off the web, since their owners hold the copyright to many of them.

Questions

Sources

1. Pulse: For Land Buyers, Quality Photos Inspire Love at First Sight landthink.com
2. How to Refresh a Stale Property Listing id.land
3. A Land Buyer's Checklist: Part I, Due Diligence | LANDTHINK landthink.com
4. How To Sell Land: Strategies for Maximizing Value | Land id id.land
5. OH SNAP! The Real Estate Professional's Guide to Landscape Photography retipster.com
6. Enhance Your Land Listing With These 4 Simple Phone Photography Tips acres.com
7. It's a Winter Wonderland for Selling Land | Land id id.land
8. How to Market Raw Land with Interactive Map Listings acres.com
9. Where to Find Free Real Estate Images (Without Leaving Home) retipster.com
10. FEMA Flood Map Service Center msc.fema.gov
11. Wetlands Mapper | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service fws.gov
12. Web Soil Survey | USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov
13. topoView | USGS ngmdb.usgs.gov
14. Brand Resource Center | Products and Services: Geo Guidelines about.google
15. Recreational Flyers & Community-Based Organizations | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov
16. Become a Certificated Remote Pilot | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov
17. How to Register Your Drone | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov
18. Certificated Remote Pilots including Commercial Operators | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov
19. 14 CFR 107.51: Operating limitations for small unmanned aircraft | eCFR ecfr.gov
20. Drones | National Association of REALTORS nar.realtor
21. The 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 934.50: Searches and seizure using a drone | Online Sunshine leg.state.fl.us
22. 5 Things You Should Know BEFORE Buying a Drone retipster.com
23. In Real Estate, a Picture Can be Worth More Than 1,000 Words | Land id id.land
24. Does a Buyer Need a Survey for Country Property? | LANDTHINK landthink.com
25. Florida Statewide Parcels | ArcGIS Online arcgis.com
26. 2026 Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice | National Association of REALTORS nar.realtor
27. Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business | Federal Trade Commission ftc.gov
28. UAS Data Exchange (LAANC) | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov
29. Part 107 Airspace Authorizations | Federal Aviation Administration faa.gov

General information, not legal, tax or survey advice. Laws differ by state and change over time.