A method for optimizing image capture of a scene by a swarm of drones including a root drone and first and second level-1 drones involves the root drone following a predetermined trajectory over the scene, capturing one or more root keyframe images, at a corresponding one or more root drone orientations and root drone-to-scene distances. For each root keyframe image: the root drone generates a ground mask image for that root keyframe image, and applies that ground mask image to the root keyframe image to generate a target image. The root drone then analyzes the target image to generate first and second scanning tasks for the first and second level-1 drones to capture a plurality of images of the scene at a level-1 drone-to-scene distance smaller than the root drone-to-scene distance; and the first and second level-1 drones carry out the first and second scanning tasks respectively.