Making money with drone shots?

[wkang87]

Hey guys how do you go about making money with drone footage? Is there even a thing like this?
Do people buy your footage for commercial purpose or whatever they want it for?

 

[Don the engineer]

Hey guys how do you go about making money with drone footage? Is there even a thing like this?
Do people buy your footage for commercial purpose or whatever they want it for?

First you need your FAA 107 Commercial license. Then you can either put an ad in Craig's list, or check out sites like dronebase.

 

[BigAl07]

As stated above you'll want to study for and get your Part 107 license.

Research your local area and see how "saturated" the market is before you invest too much time and $$ into this. It's VERY saturated in many areas of the US already.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

..
Aside from the part 107 requirements . . . it could work, but I suspect it will be just like the general photographic market.

It all comes down to talent . . . camera quality, intimate knowledge of taking photos on your equipment, patience, awesome composition, post processing, and the big one, marketing . . . how to sell yourself and your work to the masses.

If you are switched on and good with social media, that seems to be the way to get things happening in such fields now.
But you certainly won't be alone in trying to break into this market.

Good luck with your endeavours.

 

[THE CYBORG]

Professional photography is a bit like musicians, artists or footballers, you could be exceptionally good but if you don't get you name recognised you don't get the cash.

 

[DebianDog]

You can do it but the market is pretty saturated right now. One of the YouTubers I watch said 15 years ago he made the most money with a picture of leaves on Shutterstock. But almost every Pro photographer I watch has a drone in the arsenal.

 

[Don the engineer]

I'm curious, so like if this is true:
I suspect you could break down professional UAV pilots into the following categories:
1) Photographers who wanted the extra abilities
2) Pure drone enthusiasts who are really good and marketed those skills
3) Professionals who come from other disciplines (engineering in my case) who wanted the extra abilities.

The first group likely considers the drone to be a highly positionable tripod, the second enjoys the control and connection with the aircraft, and the third focuses on data collection from various sensors (rgb, elevations, spectrometry).

The reason why this is pertinent to your question is that for groups 1 and 3, the drone itself is secondary to what they do, and therefore they are insulated to an extent from market saturation. However, the drone itself is primary for the second group. Only the top 2% as far as abilities would be insulated from saturation. Like all those kids playing sports through school hoping to go professional.

If you are good, and I mean very good, the right exposure could mean lots of opportunities. Otherwise, I would consider fields that make use of the drone so you can use it while doing something else.

 

[DebianDog]

This is the guy that I aspire to be. He will have awesome drone shots of him doing exceptional landscape photography all the while him narrating what he is doing. Now granted he quit his job years back and this is all he does but in most of his videos I am like, "****... I am such an amatuer!!"

 

[Kneebeard]

I'm curious, so like if this is true:
I suspect you could break down professional UAV pilots into the following categories:
1) Photographers who wanted the extra abilities
2) Pure drone enthusiasts who are really good and marketed those skills
3) Professionals who come from other disciplines (engineering in my case) who wanted the extra abilities.

The first group likely considers the drone to be a highly positionable tripod, the second enjoys the control and connection with the aircraft, and the third focuses on data collection from various sensors (rgb, elevations, spectrometry).

I would be in the first and third group. I am a retired professional photographer in love with the photographic ability of these little flying cameras. I'm also in the third group of professionals who look to use these machines in their line of work, which is not in professional photography.
The other comments here are very valuable. You'll need your 107. Do your research and carefully consider the market you are looking to penetrate.
Before you make the jump and try to make a living at it - factor in your business savvy. Marketing, sales, maintenance, insurance, support staff, advertising, bill collection, book keeping, etc. etc. etc. I feel that having a business degree would be a great help.
Having a successful photography business is 80% business and 20% photography.
I wish you all the best!

 

[DebianDog]

Having a successful photography business is 80% business and 20% photography.

True that! My daughter is making a go of it (no drones) and is not happy with all the work required when she is not behind a camera or in photoshop.

 

[Lgpproducciones]

Hey guys how do you go about making money with drone footage? Is there even a thing like this?
Do people buy your footage for commercial purpose or whatever they want it for?

Yep, you can sell your footage in places like shutterstock, istockphoto, etc

 

[GadgetGuy]

First you need your FAA 107 Commercial license. Then you can either put an ad in Craig's list, or check out sites like dronebase.

Actually, if the footage was originally shot solely with recreational intent, no 107 is necessary to sell it afterwards in any way you choose.

 

[timlyg]

You got 2 options:
1. get commercial license.
2. Do your transaction outside of U.S.A.

 

[GadgetGuy]

You got 2 options:
1. get commercial license.
2. Do your transaction outside of U.S.A.

Again, see post #12 above. No 107 license needed to sell what you have already shot recreationally. Once you have a commercial intent, then you need a 107 for any future flights shot thereafter with that intent.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Professional photography is a bit like musicians, artists or footballers, you could be exceptionally good but if you don't get you name recognised you don't get the cash.

Just to add to this, one of the biggest issues is people thinking they are professionals because they can afford professional equipment (just generally speaking). This is also a great way to get sued if you ever cover an important event such as a wedding.

I've lost count of the amount of people I've come across who got an entry level DSLR and kit lens from Costco for their birthday and are advertising wedding photos, portraits, and real estate photography shortly after. I've also seen people with $20K of camera gear who haven't a clue how to use it, but everyone thinks they must shoot for Nat Geo because the lens is huge haha.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Just to add to this, one of the biggest issues is people thinking they are professionals because they can afford professional equipment (just generally speaking). This is also a great way to get sued if you ever cover an important event such as a wedding.

I've lost count of the amount of people I've come across who got an entry level DSLR and kit lens from Costco for their birthday and are advertising wedding photos, portraits, and real estate photography shortly after. I've also seen people with $20K of camera gear who haven't a clue how to use it, but everyone thinks they must shoot for Nat Geo because the lens is huge haha.

It is kinda nice when you push your way to the front row of a large crowd at an event with a big lens. The seas part, like they did for Moses. They give you respect! However, owning a plumber's wrench does not make you a plumber. You still have to have the expertise to know when and how to use it. At least you won't have the crowd in your shots!

 

[AMann]

Hey guys how do you go about making money with drone footage? Is there even a thing like this?
Do people buy your footage for commercial purpose or whatever they want it for?

Write and sell “make money with your drone” books on Amazon. Use your own photos in it for illustrations.

Seriously- a friend did it for bird photography and made a mint!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Write and sell “make money with your drone” books on Amazon. Use your own photos in it for illustrations.

Seriously- a friend did it for bird photography and made a mint!

So true! Successful professional photographers are morphing into "photo educators," teaching photo travel workshops and seminars. That's where the real money is now! There are far more people with a camera or a drone wanting to pay to learn to become a professional than clients willing to pay a professional a profitable amount for the actual photography! Shhhh! Don't spoil their dream!

 

[AMann]

So true! Successful professional photographers are morphing into "photo educators," teaching photo travel workshops and seminars. That's where the real money is now! There are far more people with a camera or a drone wanting to pay to learn to become a professional than clients willing to pay a professional a profitable amount for the actual photography! Shhhh! Don't spoil their dream!

You are right, I’ve paid for some professional photography workshops and really enjoyed them. But you know what? It’s sad, but true- I’ve made more money doing Google Image Searches of my own pictures online than I’ve made just selling them... how? I look for copyright violators using my work without permission and write nice letters to them with an offer they can’t refuse. It’s terrible!

 

[GadgetGuy]

You are right, I’ve paid for some professional photography workshops and really enjoyed them. But you know what? It’s sad, but true- I’ve made more money doing Google Image Searches of my own pictures online than I’ve made just selling them... how? I look for copyright violators using my work without permission and write nice letters to them with an offer they can’t refuse. It’s terrible!

That's actually a better business model. Lots of photographers post their work around liberally on the internet, hoping somebody will steal it, where they never would have paid for it, and have an attorney on retainer to pursue settlement claims. Some even deliberately leave their copyright off the image, so it looks like its in the public domain, and then claim the user deliberately removed the original copyright. A friend got caught in the middle of one of these lawsuits, as the web designer, where he was supplied the stolen image by the client 5 years earlier, and the client tried to pin it on him, claiming he supplied the image to them, after they got sued. He was quoted a $10,000 retainer just to answer the complaint! Fortunately, he was able to prove the image originally came from the client, as he found the original correspondence on an older computer, and the plaintiff dismissed him. His client ended up settling the case for over $20,000! Nothing remarkable about the image either. Crazy world out there!