Professional Photographers with Drones

[drone Pilot]

Hey, do they need another aerial cinematographer, who was born and raised in Southern California, plus a USC grad?. See my work below

 

[Riggs]

Thanks for sharing, Riggs. Is $95-$225 pretty standard in Real Estate?
Reason that I am asking is that I might be going this route soon, but the rates seems kind of low... Or it could just be me, because am currently spoiled by how much construction operators make.
Do you also provide video footage for the same rate?

Thanks in advance.

It’s hard to calculate. Because I was just doing only houses. So I can have a day where I may do 2 or 3 houses a twilight shoot and they may or may not include the drones. So on those days it’s easily $400-$600 a day. So for me I do 3 things, houses, drones and twilight shoots and everyday is different

 

[Riggs]

Hey, do they need another aerial cinematographer, who was born and raised in Southern California, plus a USC grad?. See my work below

Where are you located? Just call TourFactory.com. Out here in Southern California we have enough photographers. It took me several years to break in to this market.

 

[drone Pilot]

I don't have years to wait.

 

[PatR]

Unfortunately, the waiting period while we perfect our skills to become noticed, accepted, and requested is something that accompanies every trade. Carpenter, mechanic, engineer, attorney, photographer, aerial photographer, it applies to all of them with photography perhaps the most difficult and lengthy to accomplish.

The aerial photography side may be even more difficult as most aerial cameras lack to resolution and fidelity of the full frame and mirrorless cameras used by ground photographers. To compensate for the lower quality of an aerial camera more work is required in composition and post processing, becoming more critical to sell a photo. Both of those are skills that take time and practice to develop by themselves. Using a drone has its benefits but the drone, especially as so many are flooding media with repetitive themed images, can make it harder, especially if all you have is more elevation to make your work stand out.

 

[R.Perry]

I do love photography on cloudy days, makes things easier.

 

[R.Perry]

Unfortunately, the waiting period while we perfect our skills to become noticed, accepted, and requested is something that accompanies every trade. Carpenter, mechanic, engineer, attorney, photographer, aerial photographer, it applies to all of them with photography perhaps the most difficult and lengthy to accomplish.

The aerial photography side may be even more difficult as most aerial cameras lack to resolution and fidelity of the full frame and mirrorless cameras used by ground photographers. To compensate for the lower quality of an aerial camera more work is required in composition and post processing, becoming more critical to sell a photo. Both of those are skills that take time and practice to develop by themselves. Using a drone has its benefits but the drone, especially as so many are flooding media with repetitive themed images, can make it harder, especially if all you have is more elevation to make your work stand out.

Pat those are some really good points. However with construction aerial photography the quality, and composure isn't nearly as important as giving the construction people the views that they require. As for the quality of drone cameras, well, you get what you pay for. The above photo was taken from a I2 with the X5 and 15mm lens, to me it is an acceptable picture, not perfect by any means but it does the job. It was one of 35 pictures in a pano.

 

[Fred Garvin]

.....I do love photography on cloudy days, makes things easier........

I’ll take a cloudy day over full sun every time. The soft, diffuse light is brilliant....and no dappling that will ruin an image.

 

[drone Pilot]

Watch my aerial & ground cinematography

 

[R.P..R]

As a sUAS construction operator, I spend a lot of time surveying, inspecting, mapping, and asset management. My lens of choice is similar to @R.Perry

 

[GothamDronePilots]

Yes I am a commercial photographer thats added the skill to service the amount of commercial work thats come through requesting drone work. I must say drone filters are a must have !

 

[Riggs]

It depends on the job and location. Obviously Orange County pays more. Video is extra depending on duration

 

[R.P..R]

It depends on the job and location. Obviously Orange County pays more. Video is extra depending on duration

Los Angeles, in particular, pays more. I at times work in SoCal and I sometimes hold my breath, flying autonomously in SoCal when documenting a build is scary.

 

[Cinesky]

I was a photographer who moved to video and later incorporated drones but I find that the majority of my clients are requesting videos. I'd say about 1/5 of my work would be for aerial photography. I shoot on the Phantom 4 Pro which is a gives a good quality image but still nowhere near a dslr. Hopefully this will change in the next year with the release of the Phantom 5 or mavic Pro 3.

 

[drone Pilot]

I started as a aerial cinematographer but had to include video using my Dji osmo pocket.
Ground and aerial clips are awesome.

 

[OnLocation]

I've been a commercial photographer since 1979, graduated from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. I started out as a Photojournalist and later opened my commercial studio. Mostly did product shots, Annual reports and Lifestyle photography. I see drones as a great tool to stay off of bucket trucks, high ladders and helicopters. I have incorporated drones into my still photo business. Here is an example I did for Centennial Bank where I mixed my still photography with aerials. I use LR & PS for all my work along with Lucis Pro which is no longer available.

 

[MAYOR_G]

Photographer first.... Then came the drones. To much fun!

 

[simonphotographic]

I'm currently under contract with TourFactory and they provide me with my clients. The beauty of it is I don't do any marketing, (well some word of mouth). They just schedule me and I go fly or shoot. The guy that owns the Riverside county territory knows just about every real estate agent in Southern California so he's help me build these relationships. I've gotten to a point now where I'm pretty much in high demand. Clients like that because I can come in and do the house and the aerial. It's sorta one stop shop, which gives them a very consistent look and feel. As far as prices go I can make anywhere from $95-$225 a shoot. I typically do 2-5 shoots a day and that can be a mix of both house and drone. Oh and one other thing, TourFactory sets the prices I never have to discuss it with my clients.

I shot for Tour Factory for a couple years then they just sort of went away. Not sure what happened. I don't know if I sucked, or if there wasn't enough work where I'm located, or what. But they're a good group. Glad they're keeping you busy.

 

[simonphotographic]

Roll Call:

So, who here is a Photographer first, who added a drone to their kit? Or has a history of Photography and now uses that with Aerial Photography?

I have a Photography Business and added drones for aerial photo/video capability, in order to extend my offerings to clients.

I’m a Nikon Shooter. My main kit is a D810 with all 3 Gold Ring 2.8’s: 14-24mm; 24-70mm; 70-200mm.

Count me in. I've been shooting commercially for about 47 years. I had so many clients pestering me the last couple years to do drone work I finally broke down and got into it. Gotta admit, it's kind of fun having a new perspective to play with. The industry has changed so much since I began shooting that I find myself shooting things I never thought I would, real estate being one of them. But, hey, ya gotta eat and pay the bills, eh?

 

[simonphotographic]

I started out as a Real Estate photographer and added drones to my offerings. It doubled my business. Clients like having one person that does both. Makes for a consistent look and feel. Heres an aerial shot of an Estate in Ocean Ranch which is in Laguna Niguel California
View attachment 1340

Very nice shot, amigo. Great work.