- Joined
- Jan 10, 2018
- Messages
- 355
- Reaction score
- 91
Just curious how everyone else is doing.
I had a good business doing aerial photography as a full-time business (with no other job or business) for many years.
After the advent of drones a couple of years ago it fell off a lot, though there was some declining before that. I eventually purchased my own P4P drone, hoping to be able to compete.
I like using a drone and am happy with the quality of the imagery. And there are still customers who need work done from airplanes because of their large sizes and a need to fly much higher than 400 feet AGL.
But overall, my aerial photography business has declined so much that I am having to give it up as a means to support myself and am looking into doing other things. If I get aerial photography jobs, I will happily do them, but I am no longer going to count on them, and aerial photography will have to be a side business.
I have done some work with my drone, but 90% of the work I've done has been with former customers. I have received very little work from new customers. I have been paid very well for the work I have done, but I am not doing enough of it, and it continued to become further and further spaced apart, and is now at a point where it has almost entirely dried up. I would happily do work much more cheaply if there could be a concentrated volume of work, but I have to work hard to give it away sometimes, so there is no point in going that route. I'll just have low-paid jobs spaced far apart instead.
The type of aerial photography work I've done is primarily the "pretty picture" of a large industrial plant or any other very large facility. In the past, often very large prints were made to hang in offices or lobbies. I'm not sure how much of that is being done now since I now provide the high resolution images to the customer and they do what they want with them.
In the past it seemed that I had very little competition. It takes some skill to take good aerial photos from an airplane, even if one is already a good photographer. But with a drone, any good photographer can now be a good aerial photographer. As a photographer, I wouldn't compare a drone to an airplane or helicopter--it's more like having a gigantic tripod. Besides that, there are also many bad photographers and mediocre photographers who have entered the market and who are also considered to be "aerial photographers."
I've been disappointed in that I have done some speculation work for about 5 good former customers, just to show them what I can do with a drone. I sent them some very good images to review, and I received no responses, no reactions, not even a thank you. I don't get it except that maybe they are already now working with someone locally, or maybe are even considering buying their own drone.
I believe I am a very good photographer and that I usually provide excellent work, but that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. I'm wondering if the market for aerial photography is over-saturated. That idea really hit home a few weeks ago when I saw "MY DRONE" (a P4P) for sale at Wal-Mart.
The bottom line for me is that I'm not getting business anymore. I've been turning over every rock among previous contacts and have experimented with some low-ball offers, but nothing is working anymore. I have a couple of jobs to do next month, but after that, nothing. I've tried to do construction progress, but have found construction contractors to be as chintzy as realtors (though I know others are doing well there).
Anyway, maybe this is my fault. Maybe I'm not marketing properly. Maybe I should be going out there making cold calls. Or maybe I should be thinking about the other things drones could be used for, but then that would be (for me) an entirely new business, as my interest and skills are centered in photography. Maybe I should be looking into doing video, as I do have some skills there and studied TV and film in college, but I haven't figured out yet how to get that type of client.
I'm thinking that there must be an explosion of drone sales and my question is whether others here have felt that and if your sales are decreasing as a result.
I hope you're doing better than I am. For me at this time, aerial photography as a business is dead. It's time to move onto something else.
I had a good business doing aerial photography as a full-time business (with no other job or business) for many years.
After the advent of drones a couple of years ago it fell off a lot, though there was some declining before that. I eventually purchased my own P4P drone, hoping to be able to compete.
I like using a drone and am happy with the quality of the imagery. And there are still customers who need work done from airplanes because of their large sizes and a need to fly much higher than 400 feet AGL.
But overall, my aerial photography business has declined so much that I am having to give it up as a means to support myself and am looking into doing other things. If I get aerial photography jobs, I will happily do them, but I am no longer going to count on them, and aerial photography will have to be a side business.
I have done some work with my drone, but 90% of the work I've done has been with former customers. I have received very little work from new customers. I have been paid very well for the work I have done, but I am not doing enough of it, and it continued to become further and further spaced apart, and is now at a point where it has almost entirely dried up. I would happily do work much more cheaply if there could be a concentrated volume of work, but I have to work hard to give it away sometimes, so there is no point in going that route. I'll just have low-paid jobs spaced far apart instead.
The type of aerial photography work I've done is primarily the "pretty picture" of a large industrial plant or any other very large facility. In the past, often very large prints were made to hang in offices or lobbies. I'm not sure how much of that is being done now since I now provide the high resolution images to the customer and they do what they want with them.
In the past it seemed that I had very little competition. It takes some skill to take good aerial photos from an airplane, even if one is already a good photographer. But with a drone, any good photographer can now be a good aerial photographer. As a photographer, I wouldn't compare a drone to an airplane or helicopter--it's more like having a gigantic tripod. Besides that, there are also many bad photographers and mediocre photographers who have entered the market and who are also considered to be "aerial photographers."
I've been disappointed in that I have done some speculation work for about 5 good former customers, just to show them what I can do with a drone. I sent them some very good images to review, and I received no responses, no reactions, not even a thank you. I don't get it except that maybe they are already now working with someone locally, or maybe are even considering buying their own drone.
I believe I am a very good photographer and that I usually provide excellent work, but that doesn't seem to be enough anymore. I'm wondering if the market for aerial photography is over-saturated. That idea really hit home a few weeks ago when I saw "MY DRONE" (a P4P) for sale at Wal-Mart.
The bottom line for me is that I'm not getting business anymore. I've been turning over every rock among previous contacts and have experimented with some low-ball offers, but nothing is working anymore. I have a couple of jobs to do next month, but after that, nothing. I've tried to do construction progress, but have found construction contractors to be as chintzy as realtors (though I know others are doing well there).
Anyway, maybe this is my fault. Maybe I'm not marketing properly. Maybe I should be going out there making cold calls. Or maybe I should be thinking about the other things drones could be used for, but then that would be (for me) an entirely new business, as my interest and skills are centered in photography. Maybe I should be looking into doing video, as I do have some skills there and studied TV and film in college, but I haven't figured out yet how to get that type of client.
I'm thinking that there must be an explosion of drone sales and my question is whether others here have felt that and if your sales are decreasing as a result.
I hope you're doing better than I am. For me at this time, aerial photography as a business is dead. It's time to move onto something else.