Pricing

[flockshot]

Supply and demand, in the aerial photography business, is going through a renaissance. Supply is increasing annually by a factor of 1000 (my guess), while demand remains about the same. Not to mention the amount of aerial work that is moving 'in house' by many business' who have employees that are drone enthusiasts.
Any business minded photographer understands what that means.
There are a lot of good aerial photographers now, and the number of good aerial photographers is exploding around the world.
My expectation is that as we move forward, it will be volume that drives profits. The days of being the only good aerial guy around, are ending.
my 2c

 

[Eagle One-Eye]

I'm on the same page as "Endless Horizons, more or less. I've been a commercial photographer for almost 40 years and am just starting out with my drone work. My billing has been by the hour @$195.00, plus travel @$95.00, plus an "imaging fee" which I vary depending on how many shots are actually delivered. I NEVER deliver raw images to a client. They get a nice selection that I have adjusted, cropped, sized, and perfected, so they have no additional work to do (or pay for). This simplifies my billing tremendously, and all of my clients like the approach.

 

[aerialimagery]

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.

I used a Pentax 6 x 7 too. Most of the time I did 10 photos of one subject. Now with digital I do at least 50. Yes There are more choices and the composition is better, but a non photographer will end up with 50 bad choices, IMO. Why did you have to land to reload the film?

 

[flockshot]

I used a Pentax 6 x 7 too. Most of the time I did 10 photos of one subject. Now with digital I do at least 50. Yes There are more choices and the composition is better, but a non photographer will end up with 50 bad choices, IMO. Why did you have to land to reload the film?

I didn't generally land, but I didn't want to promote bad habits on a website of mostly new photographers. It's like texting and driving.
I do not share your contempt for non experienced photographers, because I used to be one (and so were you).

 

[aerialimagery]

I didn't generally land, but I didn't want to promote bad habits on a website of mostly new photographers. It's like texting and driving.
I do not share your contempt for non experienced photographers, because I used to be one (and so were you).

You were the pilot and the photographer? How is it not like texting and driving to be taking pictures and looking into a viewfinder while piloting the aircraft? Changing film could be done with less distraction as I see it, but for me, I was always a passenger/photographer.

I don't have "contempt" for non experienced photographers. I just don't agree that taking a camera into a airplane or having a drone means that someone will be able to take good aerial photographs, even if digital cameras allow for taking hundreds of images. I agree that the skill can be developed. Remember you previously said a drone allows "anybody" to get the "great shots." That's what I was disputing. I have looked at many websites of drone photographers and I rarely see anything great, though of course there are some things such as construction photography and mapping that don't require "artistic" photography skills.

 

[flockshot]

You were the pilot and the photographer? How is it not like texting and driving to be taking pictures and looking into a viewfinder while piloting the aircraft? Changing film could be done with less distraction as I see it, but for me, I was always a passenger/photographer.

I don't have "contempt" for non experienced photographers. I just don't agree that taking a camera into a airplane or having a drone means that someone will be able to take good aerial photographs, even if digital cameras allow for taking hundreds of images. I agree that the skill can be developed. Remember you previously said a drone allows "anybody" to get the "great shots." That's what I was disputing. I have looked at many websites of drone photographers and I rarely see anything great, though of course there are some things such as construction photography and mapping that don't require "artistic" photography skills.

I was the pilot and photographer much of the time. I know what I will see when I bring the camera up to my eye and the shot is over in a few seconds. Kind of like looking at something while you are driving and take you eye off the road for a couple seconds (except there is nothing for me to run into). It is much like looking at a VFR chart, changing frequencies, or talking on the radio while flying.
But to your point about experience, my wile would go with me quite a bit, and if the shot was on her side of the plane, she may be the one pushing the shutter button. She took some really high quality photos that sold well, and she didn't know what a shutter was.
This is a fun conversation, but really, photography is not difficult (in my opinion) and I look forward to having a lot more people in the game.