Pricing

jwaitkus · Mar 27, 2018

Looking for some help pricing a job. Boat broker looking for pictures of boats/yachts for sale. I would think valued anywhere between 20K and 250K. It would be in the northeast 6-8 photos and 30-45 second video circling. I don't want to screw myself and but also don't want to miss the opportunity. Just trying to get a ball park. Feel free to private message me.

Thanks

BigAl07 · Mar 27, 2018

How much travel?

How much time on site?

How much post processing?

You and only you can price your product. You estimate the above answers and then you figure out how much you "need" to make per hour to make a "FAIR" profit at the end of the day.

jwaitkus · Mar 27, 2018

I would guess an hour for each maybe 3 hour total.

Florida Drone Supply · Mar 28, 2018

jwaitkus said:
I would guess an hour for each maybe 3 hour total.

How many boats/yachts is the broker looking to get images of?

jwaitkus · Mar 28, 2018

Not sure.

TreeLineView · Mar 28, 2018

I do a lot of work on Cape Cod. All Real Estate but glad to share my pricing model if you PM me John

BigAl07 · Mar 28, 2018

jwaitkus said:
Not sure.

You'll need to get that kind of information up front. You need to know all of this before you can accurately (and safely) price anything.

A few years ago I priced a job for a lady over the phone and she said, "I have my home and a couple of out buildings. I'd like a few pictures of each and maybe some views etc". I priced it as such and when I arrived on sight the "couple of out buildings" were FOUR additional homes (rental units but full homes none the less) and she was shocked my original price would not cover the fact that she was expecting QUADRUPLE the amount of work and images and video than she had disclosed.

We discussed it and she agreed to my price and ended up hiring me for more work down the road.

flockshot · Mar 29, 2018

How much would you pay for 6-8 photos and less than a minute of video? At that price, would you ever use that guy again?
Pricing is always "what ever the market will bear".

Texas_Willie · Mar 29, 2018

TreeLineView said:
I do a lot of work on Cape Cod. All Real Estate but glad to share my pricing model if you PM me John

Sorry in advance for my ignorance, but how do I PM someone (you) here? I am still awaiting the arrival of my new Q500 4K and am researching all that I can find.

TIA

TW

BigAl07 · Mar 29, 2018

Texas_Willie said:
Sorry in advance for my ignorance, but how do I PM someone (you) here? I am still awaiting the arrival of my new Q500 4K and am researching all that I can find.

TIA

TW

You can click on their username and in the box that pops up click "Start a Conversation" and that will get you going.

aerialimagery · Mar 29, 2018

I'd charge something like $350 for the first one, and $150 to $200 each for additional, depending upon the circumstances. I'd give them the all the raw images and video for them to process for that price.

Ultimately, IMHO, pricing is based on value and what the market will bear and not on your time and costs, although of course that has to be taken into consideration. I recently added a couple of jobs I didn't expect to do on a recent trip to do aerial photos (from a plane) and am billing an additional almost $2,000 for an extra hour or two of work and little additional aircraft cost. Definitely I was not going to charge by the hour for those jobs. On the other hand, I travel far to do some work, and don't charge for travel costs because I am competing with a local market, and feel it's up to me to add on additional work to make up for the costs, and if I don't, I eat the travel time with the hopes that I can make up for it the next trip. Again, I see it as how the market values the work and not my time and costs. If I'm panning for gold, I get paid the same price per ounce whether it takes me 10 minutes or 10 months.

R.Perry · Mar 30, 2018

As some have said, whatever the market will bare, however it you don't know what the market limits, then it is about your costs and what you feel you need to be profitable, but not pricing yourself out of a job. For a new client I might give a little to get you foot in the door and build a reputation. Remember 15 to 20 seconds of video will most likely take some processing time so you need to figure that in as well.

Folks in my area, (California) range from 100 to 200 per hour depending on the area, and the job.

Good luck and sounds like an interesting job.

flockshot · Mar 30, 2018

My aerial 'farm job' with an airplane went for $350 and included a 16x20 print. I realize that was in the 90's and 00's but I had a blast. They paid the plane fee and I got to fly. I will have a blast with my drones also, so if I could get that job for $200 for 3 hours of my time, I would do one every day. If you try to pay for your drone with a few days work, somebody like me will be right around the corner. Something over 17,000 drones in the USA and now the cameras have caught up so everybody can get great shots.
The only ones I have seen getting rich so far are the 107 schools.

R.Perry · Mar 30, 2018

flockshot said:
My aerial 'farm job' with an airplane went for $350 and included a 16x20 print. I realize that was in the 90's and 00's but I had a blast. They paid the plane fee and I got to fly. I will have a blast with my drones also, so if I could get that job for $200 for 3 hours of my time, I would do one every day. If you try to pay for your drone with a few days work, somebody like me will be right around the corner. Something over 17,000 drones in the USA and now the cameras have caught up so everybody can get great shots.
The only ones I have seen getting rich so far are the 107 schools.

Don't know if you have rented and airplane lately, but a Cessna 172 goes for about 150 to 175 per hour minimum, now if you need a pilot, there is another 30 to 40 bucks an hour. 172 is a great platform for photography but sure isn't cheap. Now if you are doing the flying, and photography work, who is paying attention to flying when your taking pictures?
Unless the photography work is in an area an drone can't get to, drones will be the answer for most aerial work.

flockshot · Mar 30, 2018

R.Perry said:
Don't know if you have rented and airplane lately, but a Cessna 172 goes for about 150 to 175 per hour minimum, now if you need a pilot, there is another 30 to 40 bucks an hour. 172 is a great platform for photography but sure isn't cheap. Now if you are doing the flying, and photography work, who is paying attention to flying when your taking pictures?
Unless the photography work is in an area an drone can't get to, drones will be the answer for most aerial work.

Find a small airport and join a club my friend. Lots of fun to be had with a common goal of economy.
And yes drones are a game changer.

R.Perry · Mar 30, 2018

I'll be seventy this year, and a man needs to know his limitations. I can still pass the physical, have 20/20 vision, but I don't fly to burn holes in the sky anymore. Got my first license in 1978 and I'm too old to fly commercial any more, other than drones, no age limit yet.
Had a 182 RG up until a couple of years ago, insurance is the killer, and it is outrageous, add your annual to that. Had 1300 hrs on the engine so I was two hundred hours from and overhaul, about 18 grand.
Yes there are clubs out their that will cut the cost a little, or buy into a partnership and that can be good or a complete nightmare, been there, done that.
Now I just fly drones, hang out with the airport bums and listen to the latest bs, and it is mostly bs.

aerialimagery · Mar 30, 2018

flockshot said:
My aerial 'farm job' with an airplane went for $350 and included a 16x20 print. I realize that was in the 90's and 00's but I had a blast. They paid the plane fee and I got to fly. I will have a blast with my drones also, so if I could get that job for $200 for 3 hours of my time, I would do one every day. If you try to pay for your drone with a few days work, somebody like me will be right around the corner. Something over 17,000 drones in the USA and now the cameras have caught up so everybody can get great shots.
The only ones I have seen getting rich so far are the 107 schools.

I disagree. Not "everybody" can get "great shots." It takes photography skills to get the great shots, and buying a drone doesn't give someone those skills. I haven't yet seen a website of any drone photographers who had a gallery of excellent photographs. So far they have all looked very amateurish.

What camera were you using back then?

flockshot · Mar 31, 2018

aerialimagery said:
I disagree. Not "everybody" can get "great shots." It takes photography skills to get the great shots, and buying a drone doesn't give someone those skills. I haven't yet seen a website of any drone photographers who had a gallery of excellent photographs. So far they have all looked very amateurish.

What camera were you using back then?

I used a Pentax 6x7. It gave me the medium format negative (2 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches) so I could crop at will and still have very high quality 16x20 prints. On the downside, it was roll film and I had to land to reload after each roll, so 20 exposures was my limit for a flight (I could easily do one or two farms on a roll of film)
Now, with 20 megapixel cameras and 'unlimited' exposures (at no extra cost) anybody can get good shots. Just take 100 and pick the best 5. When I studied photography in college I could not agree with the instructors who claimed photography is a fine art, when I believe that it is a craft that can be learned by just about everyone. Practice, practice, practice.

Valentiaman · Mar 31, 2018

There is no such thing as a "going rate" for video and photography work. The old adage 'you get what you pay for', is relevant here because experience counts, or at least it should.

When I started in commercial photography in the early 1980's I met an experienced photographer who told me that he didn't get out of bed for less than $150. My half-day rate is now $500 and my full day rate is $900, which with inflation is probably not much more than he was getting (maybe even less).

But, it's more than my competitor's charge, and clients often tell me that they can get it for half of what I charge, from Joe Bloggs down the road. I usually reply..."when you've seen his work come back and let me know when you want me to start. Or, you could could save yourself some money and hire me right now."

My point is, experience and quality of work counts. Photography and videography and drone work is not an even playing field. It's not all the same, just at a different price. Get that point over to your client and they will pay whatever you want. But, you have to produce the goods!

EndlessHorizons · Mar 31, 2018

Don’t know about others, but I go by the hour. $150. It is been able to withstand market here in Oklahoma. For that hour, I am the clients [Language Removed] and shoot as many pictures/videos as they want, as of many structures they want. I don’t do any grid auto flights, too much of a hassle for me.
I have found that when they hear that it’s an hourly cost, and not a per picture/subject cost they are more willing to comply and write the checks. Something about them getting as many pictures as they want within the confines of that hour and reasonably being able to have a lot of choices.
Have been doing it this way for over a year and it fundamentally changed the booking process for me. Your mileage may vary.