
A 2022 snow storm covered the lake.
Jack Jeffery thrives on providing birds-eye views of Lake Lanier. His extensive background in photography, videos and as a drone pilot has put him right where he’s happiest.
Born in London, his family moved to California when he was under 4 years old. They lived there for eight years, before the family moved to Cobb County, eventually moving to Johns Creek where he attended South Forsyth High School.
“Looking back, I thought I wanted to be a news anchor, but life had other ideas,” said Jeffery, owner of Jack Jeffery Productions and founder of Georgia Drone Pilots. “After two years in college at Auburn, I had a chance to back-pack around the world. That grew into exploring Fiji and Australia, then on to Europe, traveling with another photographer/videographer and learning so much more than I did in college.”
After all the travel he ended up in Orlando and decided to enroll in the city’s Full Sail University that specializes in entertainment media and emerging technologies. He graduated in 2008 with his degree and began working for Visbyte, a video/marketing firm that produced 2-minute videos to help generate leads for companies.
He continued to focus on the technology industry, working with IBM, Oracle and start-ups like Brickstream and Covente.

A full moon casts a reflection across the lake.
“During that time I produced more than 400 videos for lead generation, trade shows, corporate profiles and social media,” he said. “The work continued to evolve into live production events and music videos, combining multiple digital technologies. We were also creating sales/marketing campaigns. Every company I worked for built on what I needed to learn and accomplish.”
In 2015, while living in Colorado, Jeffery was introduced to drone photography. “It really transformed my work. It was the ultimate filmmakers’ tool.”
With his drone expertise, he soon realized that the market was right to introduce the technology to real estate agents and construction companies. “As I focused my marketing, I earned my real estate license so that I could be the most effective.”
By 2020 he had moved back to Atlanta with his real estate license for Georgia in hand and set up his own shop. About that time he also founded the Facebook group Georgia Drone Pilots.
“We started with about 100 people, and now we’ve got approximately 20,000 members,” he said. “It’s a great support system and source for leads.”
The group hosts meet ups, banquets and chances to network. “The goal was to grow the drone community in Atlanta.”
He purchased a production van in 2021.

A drone allows for different angle shots, like this sailboat on Lanier.
“That allowed me to further broaden my capabilities. We’ve done drone shot movies and documentaries for the Atlanta History Center and Lanier Movie, among others.”
He has become known as the “drone guy,” and many companies across north Georgia hire him to translate birds-eye views of properties, the lake, attractions and events into more comprehensive and appealing views.
He says that his favorite work focuses on Lake Lanier.
“Viewing the lake from drone footage really changes how you look at the lake,” he said. “For instance, the lake is really spiritual in the mornings. When it’s cold the steam rises off the lake into the trees and it’s so still. It’s easy to spot the bald eagles that live here and the other features that many people never realize are there.
“Having a birds-eye view puts a different perspective on how you see things.”
Photos: by Jack Jeffery