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Drone services: payment

MKurr

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How much is it reasonable/customary to charge for filming/photographing/"drone work"?
 
Sure you will get some responses here but if your seriously
interested you should join our sister forum.
 
How much is it reasonable/customary to charge for filming/photographing/"drone work"?
Let's put this question into persepctive:

How much is a bag of groceries? Well are you filling it with marshmallows or Prime Rib? It's not as easy as a single answer with no supporting information. . . .

Are you taking a single pic right out of the camera or post editing?
Are you walking across the road or driving an hour to the shoot?
What is your hourly Cost to do Business?

If you're talking to Johnboy down the street who has no insurance and nothing invested you're talking $$ of a six pack. If you're talking about professional photography you're talking a lot more.

The lest we get for a single shot is $125 but most of our invoices are that many times over.
 
Benjamin Franklin: The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

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Hmmm, ok, so let's give an example:

A certain drone pilot has recently been certified, he has been flying drones for years, is skilled and good at filming and photography. So, someone contacts him and asks him to do real estate footage.

How much should he charge?
And how is it usually done? Per hour, per shot, some kind of contract....

What if the same pilot is asked to make a short video about a summer camp/scenic cabin rental place, how would that be handled?
 
As @dirkclod suggested you may want to join the sister forum Commercial Drone Pilots.

Post like THIS may help you

It primarily discuss travel expenses but also discusses per hour. You have to know what your business expenses are i.e. insurance, cost of drones, travel expenses, software for editing, etc and what YOU are worth.

What do the real estate companies pay in your area for photographers - have you checked ?
 
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It's actually very simple. What is your time and knowledge worth? I told a realtor not long ago that he can get a kid with a drone or he can get a FFA licensed drone operator and photographer! I see tpricing all over the place and cannot understand how someone can drive out to a piece of property, fly the drone and deliver the processed footage for $125. I calculate my time at $1,000 per day and the last two flights I made for a realtor took about 4 hours each (flying and processing the footage) and was paid $400 each time; and to top it off he drove me out to the property so there was not mileage charge. Stand your ground, explain your credentials and if someone wants a cheaper service, they will usually get what that they pay for. If you set the bar too low, it is really hard to raise it. Good luck!
 
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