How to get your foot in the door with drone work

[VJNow]

I need solid advice on a lead to get a paid job for with my drone. If I can make $50.00 to $100.00 I’d be beyond thankful. Anything. Big job, small job, a one timer. I can’t find paid work to save my (Mod Removed) Central Arkansas, Evo II Pro and Nano+, licensed part 107 of course.

 

[PRMath]

I need solid advice on a lead to get a paid job for with my drone. If I can make $50.00 to $100.00 I’d be beyond thankful. Anything. Big job, small job, a one timer. I can’t find paid work to save my (Mod Removed)Central Arkansas, Evo II Pro and Nano+, licensed part 107 of course.

Put your info on Facebook…..it worked for me

 

[flyingfool]

there is NO money in drones for the average guy...

start building a business based on doing ground based commercials and video editting. the drone is just a tool in the cabinent, not to base your business around

 

[gschulzuio]

I need solid advice on a lead to get a paid job for with my drone. If I can make $50.00 to $100.00 I’d be beyond thankful. Anything. Big job, small job, a one timer. I can’t find paid work to save my a$$. Central Arkansas, Evo II Pro and Nano+, licensed part 107 of course.

If u r willing to work for $50 sign up to droners, dronebase, plus a few others and undercut those doing $250 jobs for $100, and those doing $100 jobs for $75, granted at some point somebody will come and undercut the $50 jobs. Otoh, build your portfolio and experience and show case it on your website, FB, Insta and other pages. Also, use your own images on your sites/pages as opposed to something I see with some who use stock images or images from others to showcase their capabilities. Good luck.

 

[dirkclod]

Have a look around in our sister forum or join and you might get some ideas. Good luck

Commercial Drone Pilots Forum

Commercial Drone, UAV, UAS Industry Discussions

commercialdronepilots.com

 

[herein2021]

@flyingfool nailed it. There is no money in drone photography and video for most people. The rates you are willing to work for won't even pay for the gas required to get to the project site and there will still be someone willing to undercut you even further.

Regular photography and video production with drones as add on options will earn you far more than trying to just make money with drones. The person doing it all will get the job every time vs someone who just offers drone services. Drones are too easy to fly, too many college kids think they can get rich flying them, and too many people flying illegally commercially to get business with just drone photography and video.

There are specialties which do pay a lot of money such as thermal, mapping, inspections, etc. But that market is pretty saturated as well these days and the bigger companies now tend to have their own drone pilots on staff already (i.e. gas pipeline companies, railroad companies, etc.).

At the end of the day, the bar for entry into drone work is too low to be profitable for most people. My typical project has a few seconds of drone footage in the final project and the drone was typically in the air less than 10min. The rest of the project is traditional photography/video work.

As far as getting customers...its not that hard; just look in your area and start contacting potential customers; construction companies, real estate agents, AirBnB listers, etc. Advertise everywhere; FB, CraigsList, Google, etc. The real challenge these days is getting customers who are willing to pay you enough to cover your expenses and make a profit as well. In the meantime just get more proficient at flying it, build a portfolio of a variety of work, and post it everywhere (FB, IG, LinkedIn, your website, etc.).

You could also get into the stock photography business which is profitable for some people. Shutterstock, Getty, etc. pay pretty well if you are willing to take hundreds of stock images and your work is top tier.

 

[flyingfool]

poparazzi work is better for fly by the seat of your pants $$$ making.

 

[Michael O]

If u r willing to work for $50 sign up to droners, dronebase, plus a few others and undercut those doing $250 jobs for $100, and those doing $100 jobs for $75, granted at some point somebody will come and undercut the $50 jobs. Otoh, build your portfolio and experience and show case it on your website, FB, Insta and other pages. Also, use your own images on your sites/pages as opposed to something I see with some who use stock images or images from others to showcase their capabilities. Good luck.

Here’s what I did. I made a bunch of cinematic style videos, including some for nice houses in my area (rural) that friends and neighbors allowed me to film. I also took a number of real estate photos. I put all this on YouTube and Instagram and then sent letters to every real estate company within 40 miles and included links to the photos and videos. I also contacted commercial and residential construction firms and architects. All of that led to a few thousand dollars in work over 2-3 years. Then I learned about a major demolition project in my town of an iconic property. Before the demo started I pitched my services to the project managers after attending a public town meeting on the project. They hired me and I’ve made approximately $5000 so far. More to come with phase 2!

So, you CAN make some decent money but you have to do a bit of work upfront to get it. It won’t come to you. I’m retired and I’ve managed to turn this “hobby” into somewhat of a business, albeit a small one. I also took a part time job as a data collector for my town’s assessor office. I’ve used my drone to take great photos of properties I would otherwise not be able to get. So, I also count this as paid drone work, at least in part.

Good luck!
Mike

 

[VJNow]

Landed my first paid drone job, a one off if you will. Actually two jobs dropped in my inbox at the same time and I didn’t react fast enough to get both but I did get one and got paid for it. It feels good to finally get compensated for something that I love doing.
The job was for journalistic B-roll of a news worthy event and it didn’t call for a drone. The hospital asked the media to leave so I drove off property and launched my drone and captured a few minutes of video that was accepted.
Had I not had my Evo II, it wouldn’t have made a dime.
Hopefully more jobs will follow.
Thanks everyone!
David

 

[BigAl07]

If Drone Only is your business model stock up on Ramen Noodles because you're going to be VERY hungry. There was a time when simply having a Drone was profitable but those days went away on Sept 29. 2016. Today everyone and their brother is a Drone Professional so you've got to do something to Stand Out and Add Value to your potential clients. If you don't offer something they need or can't get somewhere else you're going to be competing for the scraps left on other people's table.

Also, it's a bit rude and disrespectful to simply fly off-property to capture whatever the Hospital was having after they asked the media to leave. That could put you and your new/budding company in a very poor light if a stink were to arise from such a stunt. That's pretty much taken directly right from the "poparazzi" book of tricks. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Conduct your work with high morals and integrity and you'll go much farther than being "Sneaky Pete" for a few pennies here and there.

 

[VJNow]

If Drone Only is your business model stock up on Ramen Noodles because you're going to be VERY hungry. There was a time when simply having a Drone was profitable but those days went away on Sept 29. 2016. Today everyone and their brother is a Drone Professional so you've got to do something to Stand Out and Add Value to your potential clients. If you don't offer something they need or can't get somewhere else you're going to be competing for the scraps left on other people's table.

Also, it's a bit rude and disrespectful to simply fly off-property to capture whatever the Hospital was having after they asked the media to leave. That could put you and your new/budding company in a very poor light if a stink were to arise from such a stunt. That's pretty much taken directly right from the "poparazzi" book of tricks. Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Conduct your work with high morals and integrity and you'll go much farther than being "Sneaky Pete" for a few pennies here and there.

Why so much anger? This narrative you spin is something else. Thanks for your insights.

 

[BigAl07]

Why so much anger? This narrative you spin is something else. Thanks for your insights.

I can assure you there is zero anger in that post. I am very intentional/careful with my words and formatting and if I intended to imply anger you WOULD HAVE KNOWN.

I stated some facts along with my personal opinion. As someone who has been in this industry (both Recreational and Commercial) for almost 5 decades, I have some degree of experience and insight that may not be as comfortable or palatable as you might want to hear. Just because my words might sting a little does not indicate anger, ill will, or malice towards you in any way. I merely offered an experienced perspective to possible help you think through future "gigs" and to maybe avoid shining a negative light on you and your new business. Once you become "that guy" you'll always be "that guy".

 

[flyingfool]

yeah if you want to do poparazzi you need to get out to Malibu CA. $2-10K for movie stars in percarious positions

 

[herein2021]

Why so much anger? This narrative you spin is something else. Thanks for your insights.

I won't pile on, I will just say congrats on your first paying gig, but everything @BigAl07 said is spot on. Hospitals in particular are nothing but trouble due to health privacy laws.

There are certain places where you have more to worry about than the FAA; hospitals, jails, power stations, college dorms (yes I actually got asked to film a female college dorm once without the college's permission), and stadiums just to name a few.

Anyway, like every one else said and like I mentioned earlier, it's nearly impossible to make money with just a drone. Literally everyone has one and every photographer / videographer that I know has one as well. The best thing you can do is find a niche, offer both photography and videography, and just add your drone services to your other offerings.

I have been shooting commercially for over 20 yrs now and to me drones are just a good way to show the big picture; the rest of the equipment is what I use to tell the rest of the story. No one hires you to just shoot part of their project if the next person they call can do the whole thing.