Featured Drone Photographer and Videomaker
My name is Johan and I’m a professional drone photographer from Belgium. However I’m always traveling around the world to take the most beautiful and creative drone shots with my Mavic 2 Pro.
The last year I’ve worked hard to bundle all my experience into 1 online course, the first ever Drone Adventurer Masterclass, where I teach my students how to take those amazing drone shots and cinematic videos. From drone pilot to confident Drone Adventurer, just like me!
My Drone Adventure
My own drone adventure started exactly 2 years ago. My girlfriend and I had decided to quit our jobs and leave on a world trip and I wanted something to make this trip a bit more special. After having tested my friend’s drone, a DJI Spark, I was immediately hooked and so I decided to buy my own. My first drone was the (original) DJI Mavic Air. Such a fun and compact drone, my perfect travel buddy. It was literally always in my backpack and that’s how my passion took off.
After a roadtrip through Slovenia – the hidden gem of Europe – we were ready for the big adventure. Our world trip first took us through Southeast Asia, where I especially hold great memories of Myanmar and Vietnam. Probably also linked to the amount of great drone photos I was able to take in both countries. My topdown photo of the ‘round coconut boats’ near Hoi An was also the first photo that went viral for me. Back then it was reposted by so many accounts on Instagram, among which also PassionPassport (1,2M followers). That’s when I first realized there was some real potential here.
As we were heading into our third week of Indonesia, an agency contacted me and the owner – Paul – had seen my ‘round coconut boats’ photo and was impressed. We talked for a long time, about my future in drone photography and he convinced me to upgrade my drone. He was right, it would be a shame to take all those incredible drone photos and not have them in the best possible quality.
So, I ordered the DJI Mavic 2 Pro with a 20MP Hasselblad camera. Which proved to be a huge difference compared to the old 12MP camera on the Mavic Air. Not long after, I decided to join his agency – Amazing Aerial Agency – to start selling my photos on premium stock websites. Not having had any prior photography experience, this was an important step towards considering myself a professional drone photographer.
With my new drone I quickly pushed my level of aerial photography and also my editing skills. Some of my favorite photos to date were taken back in Indonesia, in the Komodo National Park, a true paradise on earth. With my new drone my portfolio has grown tremendously and now also includes beautiful snaps from all over Australia, Colombia and more recently Europe. And along the way I’ve taken on numerous partnerships with brands, travel agencies and websites.
As I was getting more and more reposts by big Instagram accounts and I had sold my very first print as well, I was feeling confident and decided to enter a couple of photography contests as well. After looking and submitting around a bit, I came across the Agora app with its almost weekly contests. They had some cool contests and the community was really oriented towards fellow photographers and photo-lovers. A place where I felt at ease.
After messing around a bit in 2019, I was lucky enough to be shortlisted in the TOP50 of the #aerial2020, #landscape2020, #urban2020, #travel2020, #roadtrip2020 and even #light2020 contests. Unfortunately I haven’t actually won any yet 😅. Competition is fierce! But this recognition does give me the energy to continue and pursue my passion of drone photography even further!
And on top of that, the publicity around the TOP50’s on big news websites around the world has scored me a big licensing deal with a huge international law firm. Which definitely would not have been possible without Agora.
Next to Agora, my ‘Art or architecture’ photo had also been selected for an Urban photography exhibition in Berlin earlier in 2020 and my ‘Tatacoa desert’ photo won the abstract category in the Aerial Photo Awards 2020 in Paris 💪
After 15 months our world trip was cut short unfortunately, when Covid-19 took over the world and we were forced to come back home to Belgium. I decided to use this time productively, as for some time I had wanted to share my experience and so I decided to teach fellow drone photographers what I had learned. No more spending hours and hours on YouTube trying to find the right information, but one course that can take you from drone pilot to confident Drone Adventurer, just like me!
So over the last 12 months I’ve recorded, edited, subtitled, interviewed and published a masterclass that will teach you exactly how to take those amazing drone shots and cinematic videos. In 3 modules I break down the entire process of taking the photo or video, editing it like a PRO and then making some money with it.
Drone photographers who want to fast-track their learning curve can now join the Drone Adventurer Masterclass and get direct feedback on their work in our Facebook group.
