Hourly Rate

[maxpeters]

I'm currently looking into the world of pricing drone services, and have found how complicated it is. A client I'm currently working with is looking for 10 photos and 30 seconds of video. Should I charge for these on top of my hourly rate, or are the photos and videos expected to be included in my hourly rate? I'm thinking these should be an additional cost but wanted to hear what other people though. Thanks for the help!

 

[Meta4]

Should I charge for these on top of my hourly rate, or are the photos and videos expected to be included in my hourly rate? I'm thinking these should be an additional cost but wanted to hear what other people though.

If I was paying, I wouldn't be too happy paying your hourly rate and getting nothing for it.
I've always charged for my time and that includes handing over the imagery created.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

If you have to print photos and maybe supply video on disk, usb, or whatever, then they are extra goods I'd say, and should be considered a cost of goods sold.
Business should add a markup on anything like that, some even charge to go get the item / part etc (like an electrician once did to me !).

Clients should realise (being in biz themselves) that it's not just 10 photos, a video, time spent on site . . . ie what they see.
It's travel, preparation, destaging gear at home again, charging batteries etc, post work on photos and video editing, and the likes.

Have your biz plan worked through for actual days / hours you can produce during a year, and your own personal hourly rate based on desired income, add anything else you actually have to spend $ on, along with a reasonable markup, maybe 20% on cost.

There are many factors affecting hourly rate, how someone works out what suits them.

 

[maxapeters]

If I was paying, I wouldn't be too happy paying your hourly rate and getting nothing for it.
I've always charged for my time and that includes handing over the imagery created.

So what if for example the client wanted a 2-3 minute fully edited video and 50 edited pictures. I feel like at some point you have to charge for that. Or maybe that extra work is just in the post production fees.

 

[Meta4]

So what if for example the client wanted a 2-3 minute fully edited video and 50 edited pictures. I feel like at some point you have to charge for that. Or maybe that extra work is just in the post production fees.

You shouldn't be working for free.
I charge an hourly rate that allows for average postprocessing effort.

 

[Skyflyer129]

This is always an interesting subject matter to discuss, so thanks for posting. Being an independent contractor for 25 years, I get asked the “what does it cost?” question all the time. 3 things I would like to add to this thread 1) You need a firm grasp of what are your fixed and variable cost. 2) How do you compare to your competitors? 3) Don’t undervalue your expertises, service and industry. Blue skies.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Exactly, you need to work out in your mind (estimate for quoting etc) how long you will take to prep, get to site, fly, travel home, download and edit, package up, # of hours x what your want per hour for desired income, then add what misc items you used, disks, usb stick, etc, onto the price.
You might also add overheads like fuel to / from site, and any portion of home office costs . . . equipment depreciation (it needs replacing eventually) on drone gear, computer(s), even vehicle costs like portion of servicing, tyres (tires ) and other such.
If you're just doing it as a sideline / hobby income, most of this won't matter to you.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

May raw video and photos are always included in my pricing which is generally figured on an hourly rate

 

[Radio]

I am a Real Estate agent that has been using Drone photographer's for shooting water front properties and farms.
The charge of $150.00 to $250.00 for photos and $300.00-450.00 for a short video is pretty standard in my geographic area. The time he is on site is usually an hour to an hour and a half. They tell me their time is spent in post processing. I have found buyers more interested in photo's vs a video. They like to be able to click through the pictures and don't want to wait for the video to run it's course. The younger the buyer the less time they want to see a video, they tell me. My web site: Eastern Shore of Maryland Real Estate | Waterfront Homes for Sale | Richard Budden, Top producing Real Estate Agent

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I am a Real Estate agent that has been using Drone photographer's for shooting water front properties and farms.

Nice site R, and some great looking real estate.
Nice drone photos too, seems to be popular with those larger properties, gives a good perspective.

So you've posted here a bit 40+, are you flying drones now too, getting into the drone photography ?
Or just interested in general, and happy to keep using your current 'crew' ?

 

[FASTFJR]

I'm currently looking into the world of pricing drone services, and have found how complicated it is. A client I'm currently working with is looking for 10 photos and 30 seconds of video. Should I charge for these on top of my hourly rate, or are the photos and videos expected to be included in my hourly rate? I'm thinking these should be an additional cost but wanted to hear what other people though. Thanks for the help!

When I did real estate (no video) I only did package deals. 99% of the time I was doing 12-15 photos for $500. That was 4-5 years ago. That was before everyone and their grandmother got into it. I was only doing it on the weekends and I could make $3000.00 - $4000.00 in 4-5 hours of shooting if I lined up everything right

 

[Radio]

I have a F3 I have been flying off and on for 3 years, but like the size of the MA and what I am learning flying her. Just starting to get into drone photography, for my own enjoyment. I have no plans to go commercial doing my own work for my clients. Time is the issue, I do my own on the ground photography for my listings. Too busy with work, life and finding time to just have fun. There are a number of commercial drone pilots to choose from and they are quite competitive with pricing also there are the new guys who are trying to get into the market. Am always interested in speaking with drone photographers. Finding the drone photographer that understands light, time of day, ( is flexible), has innovative creativity, weather, the sites strong and weak points and can relate this to his shooting. Interesting process.

 

[BigAl07]

This is always an interesting subject matter to discuss, so thanks for posting. Being an independent contractor for 25 years, I get asked the “what does it cost?” question all the time. 3 things I would like to add to this thread 1) You need a firm grasp of what are your fixed and variable cost. 2) How do you compare to your competitors? 3) Don’t undervalue your expertises, service and industry. Blue skies.

GREAT advice!! If you know those things and how much you need to "profit" to stay in business then you can come up with a pricing scheme.

If you can't answer the questions from @Skyflyer129 above you really need to spend some time in the office crunching #'s. If you don't know what it costs to operate you gotta get back to basics and learn from the ground up. Otherwise you're flying blind and you won't last (or at least won't profit) long term in this industry.

When I did real estate (no video) I only did package deals. 99% of the time I was doing 12-15 photos for $500. That was 4-5 years ago. That was before everyone and their grandmother got into it. I was only doing it on the weekends and I could make $3000.00 - $4000.00 in 4-5 hours of shooting if I lined up everything right

Man those were the Good Ole Days for sure 2016 was one heck of a good year. We did 2 shoots (1 on Friday and 1 on Sunday) and paid for our entire business for a year.

We did 14 shoots this weekend and made out very well.

 

[BigAl07]

I have a F3 I have been flying off and on for 3 years, but like the size of the MA and what I am learning flying her. Just starting to get into drone photography, for my own enjoyment. I have no plans to go commercial doing my own work for my clients. Time is the issue, I do my own on the ground photography for my listings. Too busy with work, life and finding time to just have fun. There are a number of commercial drone pilots to choose from and they are quite competitive with pricing also there are the new guys who are trying to get into the market. Am always interested in speaking with drone photographers. Finding the drone photographer that understands light, time of day, ( is flexible), has innovative creativity, weather, the sites strong and weak points and can relate this to his shooting. Interesting process.

Ah so you like to work with Photographers who fly drones rather than drone pilots who happen to snap pictures Some people really don't understand the difference.

 

[FASTFJR]

GREAT advice!! If you know those things and how much you need to "profit" to stay in business then you can come up with a pricing scheme.

If you can't answer the questions from @Skyflyer129 above you really need to spend some time in the office crunching #'s. If you don't know what it costs to operate you gotta get back to basics and learn from the ground up. Otherwise you're flying blind and you won't last (or at least won't profit) long term in this industry.



Man those were the Good Ole Days for sure 2016 was one heck of a good year. We did 2 shoots (1 on Friday and 1 on Sunday) and paid for our entire business for a year.

We did 14 shoots this weekend and made out very well.

2014 - 2015 were amazing. I'm a full time graphic artist and photographer for a large printing company. I've also being flying R/C aircraft for 30 years. Doing photography with my drone was a no brainer. The first year I started shooting real estate I was the only one around Philadelphia doing it and I made a freaking killing. Now at last count their are over a dozen and everyone is cut throating on price

 

[dave canada]

your hourly rate shoud pay for the equipment or tools you use if it dosen,t then you settled for less tan you could afford so if they expect your photos and videos than the rate should pay for that and then it is easy for all conserned

 

[Mavic Air Head]

The best business advice I was ever given by one of my mentors was that after having accurate costs in hand, you are better off not taking work than taking it at break even or small loss (in hopes of finding a way to turn a profit). After owning several service companies in up and down markets over the years, I regretted not following that advice twice.
One instance was taking a high profile job thinking the exposure would lead to future work. It did not, and it drained precious resources that would have carried the business through months of limited work. The next was agreeing to do a job for less than a competitor just to get the work to keep personnel employed (and tweak the competitor). Again bigger loss than it was worth.
Even when cut throats rush into a market I always did better by holding to my price and constantly developing ways to do things better and faster. A very pleased customer is better advertisement than thousands of dollars spent on shotgun approach advertising in a flooded market. The referrals I got from a happy customer knew upfront I wasn't going to be the cheapest, but I was always honest and often because of surprise additional charges, lost time due to re-do's, poor initial quality or uncompleted projects by my competition, my final cost to the client was often less than the cut throats.
The most significant benefit was being the enduring company among companies that fed the revolving door of business failure. Ultimately most business start ups fail because they run full speed in loss mode.
I realize this doesn't directly address your question, but I offer it in hope that it helps you grow in a stable manner, and if you find yourself as I did needing to sell a business (or getting incredible buyout offers- even for businesses where I was the only "employee.").
I deliver raw photos and/or video as part of my hourly rate. My rate is based on volume of photos or minutes of video that I do per 15 minutes of flight time (based on one typical battery per flight). For example after analyzing 50 flights I may average 8 minutes of usable video or 20 well composed photos per flight. That historical data sets the minimum of what I tell a client I can deliver. If I deliver 9 minutes of video or 25 photos they are always happy. If 10 minues of my flight time on a prospective project is flying to and from the site, the volume promised is reduced accordingly with an explanation as to why. Post production is a separate service charged at different rates.
I typically run video from takeoff to landing, starting and stopping at the target to make sorting the files easier. By doing so I get a lot of B-Reel footage that generates some bonus income.

 

[anotherlab]

Never undervalue your work. It's an unsustainable business model. Also, if you do work for less than the market rate, you lowered the market rate for everyone else.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Try and stay away from hourly rates- quote on the job and agreed deliverables. Logical variations in pricing would include travel, post production etc. Your base pricing would provide for you handing over images/footage straight off the card at job completion. A client who wants you to beak down materials and labour isn't worth dealing with.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Yes hourly rates are only to aid you in quotations to the client, better to just give an all up price including other additions like printing or USB stick / disk.