Part 107 UAS pilot reported flying in controlled airspace without authorization. Pilot exited the airspace upon recognizing the unauthorized entry.

Narrative

As the Remote Pilot In Command (RPIC); I was operating a sUAS quadcopter to get photos on an open piece of land off the side of the road. It was daytime about midday with clear skies. My drone was flying in Class C Airspace without authorization which is an FAA violation. The UAS was about 100 ft up when I realized that the checking of where I was and if airspace authorization (would typically use the B4UFLY and Aloft apps) was needed was missed in my pre-flight checklist. Upon the realization this step was missed the drone was brought down immediately. After bringing the drone down I checked both B4UFLY and Aloft apps and turns out for a brief moment I was flying in class C without authorization. I aborted the mission called the client and told them even with being able to get LAANC auto authorization I would not be getting photos. It should be noted that no one and nothing was harmed or involved. No planes were in sight nor were there people flown over. After the incident I have reevaluated my pre-flight planning to involve a more detailed look at the process and rearrange my steps in which I take pre-flight action. With the small amount of flight time I have under my belt I am still getting used to everything I am supposed to check before flight so to correct this I have also revisited my Part 107 course for a more in depth look at how to have better systems in place to avoid this in the future.