No idea what to charge for real estate photography

[BigAl07]

On the flip side 'the client' could be putting their niece at risk by encouraging them to do a commercial job wo a 107 and permit.

Per an email from 2017 directly from the FAA someone who knowingly "hires" a Non-Part 107 operator is indeed at fault and can be fined accordingly. Of course this is all "up in the air" until the first time it goes to court but until then it's "against the law".

 

[sonamwsingh]

Real estate photography charge is depends on the purpose the photographs required. The top real estate companies in Nagpur go with fair charges for regular real estate ads and charge more for real estate photo contest and other online promotions through real estate photography.

 

[Cslucas34]

A lot of it will depend on the local market and how properties are moving, what the demand is for IE townhouses don’t necessarily sell better with aerial shots because property isn’t important where as most rural properties with acreage do sell better with aerial shots because people like to see the property they are going to own. I start at federal standard mileage rate (54.5 / mile for 2018) + $150 for standard external stills with post processing, 100 without. Video bumps it to $250 and indoor to 350. Sellers and or agent responsible for staging, sign removals (not allowed to be in real estate shots) etc and they get full rights to all media (still in jpg + raw and video). Definitely make sure you have all license requirements and insurance because you don’t want to go down that road should something ever happen.

 

[BigAl07]

A lot of it will depend on the local market and how properties are moving, what the demand is for IE townhouses don’t necessarily sell better with aerial shots because property isn’t important where as most rural properties with acreage do sell better with aerial shots because people like to see the property they are going to own. I start at federal standard mileage rate (54.5 / mile for 2018) + $150 for standard external stills with post processing, 100 without. Video bumps it to $250 and indoor to 350. Sellers and or agent responsible for staging, sign removals (not allowed to be in real estate shots) etc and they get full rights to all media (still in jpg + raw and video). Definitely make sure you have all license requirements and insurance because you don’t want to go down that road should something ever happen.

Very SOLID advice @Cslucas34 . The key point is LOCAL MARKET. That in and of itself could be a whole day's worth of lecturing to determine who. what, and how the local market is.

Where I live in the mountains of Western NC many of the properties can not be seen/shown from the front of the home/property because of mountainous terrain. Due to this limitation sUAS photography has taken off (pun intended) since the day we started in 2013. I'd estimate that at least 70% of our Realtor base now utilize sUAS photo/video in most of their listings even "plain" empty lot listings. That's a huge plus but the down side is the number of licenses and of course unlicensed drone operators has exploded and we went from literally no competition to having half a dozen sUAS Professional Photographers in my county in less than 6 months. The good news is a couple of them over estimated the profit of the business and the "strictness" of the Realtors and decided to sell their equipment and move on to another profession.

Your pricing will depend on how much it costs you to do business: how much your equipment/fees/licenses/memberships/insurance costs, how much time you spend on the job site, preflight planning, post flight processing, and then finally delivery costs for each project. Calculate all of those and then figure how much you feel like you need to make an hour. Once you have all these #'s you can then come up with a ballpark price for your product in your area and I'd add a small amount to it just for good measure. Toss that price out there and see how it goes. If you get no work your price is too high. If you get covered up with work you're too low. Adjust pricing until you find the sweet spot or until you determine that you can't make $$ doing it. Don't ruin yourself trying to force a business to prosper if it isn't. Give it a finite amount of time and then step back and evaluate it with as little emotion as you can.

 

[Weaponized]

I own a business catering to real estate. I don't use my drone for it yet but that will change in about 2 months. Never allow real estate agents or competitors dictate your prices. Yes... You have to factor your competitors prices into the equation, but I don't view them as a measure of what the consumer is willing to pay...just as a number to exceed.

Even on a really bad day I make $30 more per hour than my competitors do. On a good day is $100 more per hour. Most businesses are far cheaper than they realize.

 

[black_magic100]

Very SOLID advice @Cslucas34 . The key point is LOCAL MARKET. That in and of itself could be a whole day's worth of lecturing to determine who. what, and how the local market is.

Where I live in the mountains of Western NC many of the properties can not be seen/shown from the front of the home/property because of mountainous terrain. Due to this limitation sUAS photography has taken off (pun intended) since the day we started in 2013. I'd estimate that at least 70% of our Realtor base now utilize sUAS photo/video in most of their listings even "plain" empty lot listings. That's a huge plus but the down side is the number of licenses and of course unlicensed drone operators has exploded and we went from literally no competition to having half a dozen sUAS Professional Photographers in my county in less than 6 months. The good news is a couple of them over estimated the profit of the business and the "strictness" of the Realtors and decided to sell their equipment and move on to another profession.

Your pricing will depend on how much it costs you to do business: how much your equipment/fees/licenses/memberships/insurance costs, how much time you spend on the job site, preflight planning, post flight processing, and then finally delivery costs for each project. Calculate all of those and then figure how much you feel like you need to make an hour. Once you have all these #'s you can then come up with a ballpark price for your product in your area and I'd add a small amount to it just for good measure. Toss that price out there and see how it goes. If you get no work your price is too high. If you get covered up with work you're too low. Adjust pricing until you find the sweet spot or until you determine that you can't make $$ doing it. Don't ruin yourself trying to force a business to prosper if it isn't. Give it a finite amount of time and then step back and evaluate it with as little emotion as you can.

Would starting off with $120 +.55 like another person said be a good start. I feel like I don't understand how much work I will have to put in so it is difficult to estimate.

Also, where can I get insurance? Should I just use Verifly and buy it on a per usage basis? I believe it is $10 for 1 million coverage

 

[BigAl07]

Would starting off with $120 +.55 like another person said be a good start. I feel like I don't understand how much work I will have to put in so it is difficult to estimate.

Also, where can I get insurance? Should I just use Verifly and buy it on a per usage basis? I believe it is $10 for 1 million coverage

You need to research your market and find out what others are getting per hour for this type of work and then do some work on your end to know what it's going to take. Since you don't know how much time you'll have to put in you're pretty much flying blind. You need to work this formula from the OTHER end. Do the work so you'll know what is involved. It's hard to price something without knowing how long it will take. Go to the grocery store and ask the clerk, "How much will a bag of groceries cost?" That's the same situation here. Until you know what goes INTO the product you have no way to fairly (for you and the client) and accurately price it.

If you spend 6 hours on processing etc you'll have no money left over to pay bills etc. On the flip side, if you can do everything in 30 min and charge $125 you're doing well. Until you know what you're doing and how long the processing etc will take you're !@##$%^ into the wind.


Verify might work but we have some clients who do not accept Verify. Also if you end up working/flying a lot Verify can get expensive.

 

[black_magic100]

You need to research your market and find out what others are getting per hour for this type of work and then do some work on your end to know what it's going to take. Since you don't know how much time you'll have to put in you're pretty much flying blind. You need to work this formula from the OTHER end. Do the work so you'll know what is involved. It's hard to price something without knowing how long it will take. Go to the grocery store and ask the clerk, "How much will a bag of groceries cost?" That's the same situation here. Until you know what goes INTO the product you have no way to fairly (for you and the client) and accurately price it.

If you spend 6 hours on processing etc you'll have no money left over to pay bills etc. On the flip side, if you can do everything in 30 min and charge $125 you're doing well. Until you know what you're doing and how long the processing etc will take you're !@##$%^ into the wind.


Verify might work but we have some clients who do not accept Verify. Also if you end up working/flying a lot Verify can get expensive.

I'm only 21 so the only bills I have is tuition and that is already paid off. (2 semesters left). Really just trying to get into the real estate market so I can begin making money. It's not easy thus far, but I'm not giving up. It seems that pricing is the hardest part to figure out. Should I literally just contact competitors and ask them how much they charge for a typical shoot of a house?

 

[BigAl07]

I'm only 21 so the only bills I have is tuition and that is already paid off. (2 semesters left). Really just trying to get into the real estate market so I can begin making money.

In order to do this as a business you'll have to spend some $$ up front. Do you have that $$ set aside or will you have to go and borrow it? If borrowing from a lender many won't even consider a Small Business Loan without a detailed Business Plan in hand.

Since you're still in school check with your Business Dept and look into taking some in-depth Small Business classes. Be sure to check your local Community College because generally speaking Community Colleges are very strong on Small Businesses and can really help you a lot. You'll be doing yourself a life-long favor by doing this. Also in the process you'll learn how to and ultimately will build a solid Business Plan. During this whole building of the BP you'll answer all of your questions and be left with tons of knowledge that you can build your business on. A solid and well developed Business Plan is worth it's weight in gold (maybe even more). Our BP literally changed how we set-up and organized our company from the very start. Had we waited on the BP and created the company we might wasted thousands of $$'s learning things the hard way.

Should I literally just contact competitors and ask them how much they charge for a typical shoot of a house?

You can go that route to get a feel for what others who are already doing this are charging but keep in mind they probably have a leg up on you in terms of skills and experience so you'll need to keep that in mind when it comes to meeting with potential clients. If you can't WOW them with talent you may have to WOW them with pricing. The more you know the more you charge.

It's not easy thus far, but I'm not giving up.

Starting and running a Small Business is anything but easy and it consumes a lot of time and resources. Most "SUCCESSFUL" Small Business Owners work crazy long hours each and every week. Last time I read about it said the "average" small business owner works 70hrs a week.

 

[black_magic100]

In order to do this as a business you'll have to spend some $$ up front. Do you have that $$ set aside or will you have to go and borrow it? If borrowing from a lender many won't even consider a Small Business Loan without a detailed Business Plan in hand.

Since you're still in school check with your Business Dept and look into taking some in-depth Small Business classes. Be sure to check your local Community College because generally speaking Community Colleges are very strong on Small Businesses and can really help you a lot. You'll be doing yourself a life-long favor by doing this. Also in the process you'll learn how to and ultimately will build a solid Business Plan. During this whole building of the BP you'll answer all of your questions and be left with tons of knowledge that you can build your business on. A solid and well developed Business Plan is worth it's weight in gold (maybe even more). Our BP literally changed how we set-up and organized our company from the very start. Had we waited on the BP and created the company we might wasted thousands of $$'s learning things the hard way.



You can go that route to get a feel for what others who are already doing this are charging but keep in mind they probably have a leg up on you in terms of skills and experience so you'll need to keep that in mind when it comes to meeting with potential clients. If you can't WOW them with talent you may have to WOW them with pricing. The more you know the more you charge.


Starting and running a Small Business is anything but easy and it consumes a lot of time and resources. Most "SUCCESSFUL" Small Business Owners work crazy long hours each and every week. Last time I read about it said the "average" small business owner works 70hrs a week.

What capital do I need exactly? I have a drone. I have the accessories needed. I have an expensive camera with different leneses. Etc etc. Im not trying to buy an office lol. Just trying to start making a couple hundred bucks a week so I'm not living at my parents house at the age of 30.. I understand what your saying, but I'd rather try and get the clients first before taking hundreds of hours and planning things I don't need right now. It's the same reason why I put building a website on hold. Can't build a website without a portfolio.

 

[Classic flyer]

I'm only 21 so the only bills I have is tuition and that is already paid off. (2 semesters left). Really just trying to get into the real estate market so I can begin making money. It's not easy thus far, but I'm not giving up. It seems that pricing is the hardest part to figure out. Should I literally just contact competitors and ask them how much they charge for a typical shoot of a house?

Just don't tell them you're looking for that info for your business

What capital do I need exactly? I have a drone. I have the accessories needed. I have an expensive camera with different leneses. Etc etc. Im not trying to buy an office lol. Just trying to start making a couple hundred bucks a week so I'm not living at my parents house at the age of 30.. I understand what your saying, but I'd rather try and get the clients first before taking hundreds of hours and planning things I don't need right now. It's the same reason why I put building a website on hold. Can't build a website without a portfolio.

Did you pass your 107 cert...

 

[black_magic100]

Just don't tell them you're looking for that info for your business

Did you pass your 107 cert...

Lol yes of course. I got a 92%. That was only $150 though.

 

[Classic flyer]

Lol yes of course. I got a 92%. That was only $150 though.

Good deal that's the most important thing to have the rest you can learn as you go...good luck fly safe be safe

 

[Cslucas34]

What capital do I need exactly? I have a drone. I have the accessories needed. I have an expensive camera with different leneses. Etc etc. Im not trying to buy an office lol. Just trying to start making a couple hundred bucks a week so I'm not living at my parents house at the age of 30.. I understand what your saying, but I'd rather try and get the clients first before taking hundreds of hours and planning things I don't need right now. It's the same reason why I put building a website on hold. Can't build a website without a portfolio.

I could literally spend hours trying to talk you through the items you need to run a small business, no offense at all but you seem relatively naive at everything it takes to run your own business. I’m not knocking you, we have all been there! I’m just trying to say if you are trying to legitimately start a business to make enough money to live off of in this particular field (photography) you won’t make enough. I have been doing it a couple years now and literally only to support my drone and camera toys. Especially the even more narrow field of real estate. Most real estate agents aren’t willing to pay for professional shots, it eats into their commissions for one and for two they have to pay up front before they get their money. Sales in winter dry up so you’ll need to book enough clients in the nice weather to get you through the winter months when you will have next to no clients. The best advice I can give you if you really want to get into this is to go get a real job first that will pay the bills and work on getting your foot into the door for real estate photography. Build a portfolio doing work for friends or even offering free sessions for friends and then when you have a portfolio and website / online presence take your business card to all the local real state offices and see what happens. Maybe offer your services free to one and let word of mouth do the rest. That’s how I got my foot in the door. Not trying to shoot you down or say you won’t make it but trying to make sure you have realistic expectations. As for running a small business if your doing commercial work you will need to be on the up and up. That means business plan, state license, filed as sole proprietor or LLC (my recommendation is LLC), insurance, quarterly filings, p&l statements, etc. your business plan will lay out how your going to achieve your goals, what sets you apart, business trends, market info etc. I’ve successfully ran 3 businesses now and I can tell you a good solid business plan should always be your first step because it will tell you right off the get go if you have a chance at making it work if you do it right. Your going to need capital for all of this up front. How much you ask? Guess what’s part of the business plan........ just my two cents. You’ve gotten a lot of good advice from several people on here, hope it works out for you. Hopefully you already know how to post process / edit photos and video and have the hardware / software. If not, you’ll need to learn that before you start.

 

[Classic flyer]

Lol yes of course. I got a 92%. That was only $150 though.

I don't know what you are studying in school but maybe you should consider some small businesses classes and basic photography classes... just a thought...be safe flysafe

 

[BigAl07]

What capital do I need exactly? I have a drone. I have the accessories needed. I have an expensive camera with different leneses. Etc etc. Im not trying to buy an office lol. Just trying to start making a couple hundred bucks a week so I'm not living at my parents house at the age of 30.. I understand what your saying, but I'd rather try and get the clients first before taking hundreds of hours and planning things I don't need right now. It's the same reason why I put building a website on hold. Can't build a website without a portfolio.

You're trying to push a rope with your approach. It doesn't work like that. If you want any chance of having a long-term business you need to do it right.

If you're going to have a genuine business you're going to have expenses (you'll learn those developing the BP). Do you have the computer to edit your images/video? Do you have the software to edit photos/videos? How are you going to deliver the data to the client? Do you have enough batteries for multiple shoots in a day? Do you have multiple SD cards?

You BUILD the business framework long before you go into business.

You get clients by showing them you can produce a quality product for their hard earned money. If you don't have a portfolio you have nothing to show. If you get clients and then can't provide the product they expect you're just going to creating a hole that will be hard (very hard) to ever dig out of. 1 unsatisfied client will tell 10 people about you in less than a week. It only takes a couple of upset clients to ruin your customer pool.

Aerial Photography is a bit more than flying a drone snapping the shutter button now and again. You've got to be a pilot, photographer, editor, IT Guru, Marketing Pro, Social Media GuRu, Accountant, Salesman, and at times your own cheerleader.

 

[black_magic100]

You're trying to push a rope with your approach. It doesn't work like that. If you want any chance of having a long-term business you need to do it right.

If you're going to have a genuine business you're going to have expenses (you'll learn those developing the BP). Do you have the computer to edit your images/video? Do you have the software to edit photos/videos? How are you going to deliver the data to the client? Do you have enough batteries for multiple shoots in a day? Do you have multiple SD cards?

You BUILD the business framework long before you go into business.

You get clients by showing them you can produce a quality product for their hard earned money. If you don't have a portfolio you have nothing to show. If you get clients and then can't provide the product they expect you're just going to creating a hole that will be hard (very hard) to ever dig out of. 1 unsatisfied client will tell 10 people about you in less than a week. It only takes a couple of upset clients to ruin your customer pool.

Aerial Photography is a bit more than flying a drone snapping the shutter button now and again. You've got to be a pilot, photographer, editor, IT Guru, Marketing Pro, Social Media GuRu, Accountant, Salesman, and at times your own cheerleader.

I literally have almost all of that lol. Just trying to figure out the pricing. Like I said I'm only 21 man. I'd rather just undercut myself, get into the business and go from there. I've seen the work from other photographers and videographer in the industry and its awful.

I've changed up my marketing to "guerrilla marketing" where I could call realtors, take pics of a house for free so there is literally 0 risk and then they see first hand what I can provide.

I can pilot a drone, I can get the composition and whatever I mess up I can fix in post.

 

[beachcombing]

Would starting off with $120 +.55 like another person said be a good start. I feel like I don't understand how much work I will have to put in so it is difficult to estimate.

Also, where can I get insurance? Should I just use Verifly and buy it on a per usage basis? I believe it is $10 for 1 million coverage

You can get a quote for insurance through AMA. It will probably cost around $900 per year. AMA Commercial Insurance

 

[beachcombing]

I literally have almost all of that lol. Just trying to figure out the pricing. Like I said I'm only 21 man. I'd rather just undercut myself, get into the business and go from there. I've seen the work from other photographers and videographer in the industry and its awful.

I've changed up my marketing to "guerrilla marketing" where I could call realtors, take pics of a house for free so there is literally 0 risk and then they see first hand what I can provide.

I can pilot a drone, I can get the composition and whatever I mess up I can fix in post.

You keep saying "I'm only 21" which says that you aren't serious about creating a real business.

Bill Gates was 20 when he started Microsoft.

 

[Simmo]

Also, you may piss off 1 client, that will tell 10....
But do an exceptional job, and that client will also tell 10..