How much to charge for real estate photos?

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I recently purchased a Phantom 3 Standard.

I have a few clients that are willing to pay me for a few photos of their house. Probably 10 photos total. How much should I charge? I have 2 Hours flight time total.


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Have you got an FAA 333 exemption and pilot license? You do know that's required for you to legally sell those photos. Otherwise you may have the FAA knocking on your door.
 
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Well regardless, this thread is about how much to charge for real estate photos which has not been answered. I'm interested to know, anyone know the going rates?


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Well regardless, this thread is about how much to charge for real estate photos which has not been answered. I'm interested to know, anyone know the going rates?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
It really depends if you have a business license, liability insurance, or any other overhead. If you're a 14yr old I assume you don't, so the overhead is low. You have to judge what your time and drone investment is worth in this scenario. It also depends on how good the photos are and if any editing was done. Assuming 2hrs investment total, I'm guessing $200 is fair, but depending on the customer they may not think so. So if you charge $100 they might spread the word more to get more customers. At 14 you can afford that to get more experience. Jack's going to have to decide based on his clients. Pricing services like this start cheap to get some momentum. You cannot charge professional rates when you're not a professional yet. You have to build up to that over time, and I get the impression Jack's just starting out. Way to go Jack!
 
Well regardless, this thread is about how much to charge for real estate photos which has not been answered. I'm interested to know, anyone know the going rates?


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Well regardless what this tread is about what was asked is relevant .
Maybe add in the fine to that price if your caught doing it illegal .
Not seen any convicted yet but just saying .
Clint headshake.gif
 
Lololol at the picture. I'm just saying, the OP asks for going rates for aerial photography and immediately gets told he needs a 333 exemption and a pilot's certificate, nothing else that really answers his question. How it was assumed from what the OP wrote that he has no 333 exemption granted or pending, a pilot's license and is a 14 year old completely boggles my mind. It may very well be true, but he was just asking for how much he should charge. Lastly, we are all adults, and as such if we agree to take a risk by not complying with current regulations, then we accept the consequence of a possibility of a fine which is only affecting the OP's pockets.
 
Lololol at the picture. I'm just saying, the OP asks for going rates for aerial photography and immediately gets told he needs a 333 exemption and a pilot's certificate, nothing else that really answers his question. How it was assumed from what the OP wrote that he has no 333 exemption granted or pending, a pilot's license and is a 14 year old completely boggles my mind. It may very well be true, but he was just asking for how much he should charge. Lastly, we are all adults, and as such if we agree to take a risk by not complying with current regulations, then we accept the consequence of a possibility of a fine which is only affecting the OP's pockets.
At 14 he's likely unaware he may be doing something illegal, he's not an adult and teenagers sometimes need guidance. Hence it needed to pointed out. Just trying to inform is all, don't get your panties in a bunch.
 
Photos(you mentioned) are done around 100-150 bucks depending on lots of circumstances. Will the Agent use them as a virtual tour montage? Or just post them on MLS, because format matters.

Look at time spent on overhead and travel if over 60 m radius. Is it a quick shoot with minimal lighting required meaning shooting alone vs crew?

How much time does it take you to process the stills. will you bracket 7 low light to highlight and blend in Post. How long does that take you?

Video is time consuming to set up(will you do agent intros? or just property?) Generally it takes 2-3 times the time/work to do a real estate video vs stills.. Price should reflect that.

No matter where you are or what clientele you have you won't get enough $500 dollar Agents to keep you in business shooting real estate video.

Plus there will be hassles with State Real Estate Board whiny puss agents and MLS posting legalities.

Keep the material watermarked and let them access what they paid for via dropbox.

Be sure you know what you are getting into.
Grow a little more in years and stature.
 
I don't think it's mind boggling to assume a poster is 14 years old when his profile says he is 14 years old. Like Locke said, nothing wrong with informing a minor about potentially applicable laws. We all did dumb (and/or illegal) stuff as kids. A little guidance doesn't hurt anything.
 
OP HERE:
Thanks guys for all the guidance.

I am a 14 year old. I saved up all winter to buy my aircraft. I understand that I need a license to fly cosmetically. I am just doing it for a few local clientele out in the country. I mainly fly for fun. Seems that US drone rules are pushed more than Canadian drone rules. You do not need to register a Quadcopter under 2KG in Canada, meaning the phantoms are safe. At least that's what I read.

Thanks for all the help!

I think my rate will be around 100$ CAD. I I am guessing right that's about 70$ USD. For 10 photos of various angles and some slight colour correction done to spice them up.


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Canada may be different so you'll want to check around before investing too heavily but.. here in the US the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has repeatedly heavily suggested that Realtors only use licensed and granted (Section 333) companies. Some local groups have gone so far as to requiring any images taken from the air prove their original was either NOT a drone or if drone submit documentation to prove they were properly credentialed.

In my local area most Realtors play by the suggestion of the NAR but there are a couple who have opted to play otherwise.

Just research and know your local regs before you get in too deep.
 
OP HERE:
Thanks guys for all the guidance.

I am a 14 year old. I saved up all winter to buy my aircraft. I understand that I need a license to fly cosmetically. I am just doing it for a few local clientele out in the country. I mainly fly for fun. Seems that US drone rules are pushed more than Canadian drone rules. You do not need to register a Quadcopter under 2KG in Canada, meaning the phantoms are safe. At least that's what I read.

Thanks for all the help!

I think my rate will be around 100$ CAD. I I am guessing right that's about 70$ USD. For 10 photos of various angles and some slight colour correction done to spice them up.


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FYI.......then do as you can afford to......

Drone flyover lands Montreal man $1,000 fine

Quebec is Canada's king of illegal drone flying
 
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this thread is about how much to charge for real estate photos which has not been answered. I'm interested to know, anyone know the going rates?
I realize you are in Canada but in the US price collusion is illegal. Charge what you need to make it worth your while.
 
I am embarrassed for all of us at the direction this thread took. This young man came asking more experienced fliers for advice with the very best of intentions and got a bunch of lectures. Way to turn off someone young who's trying to do things right.

OP, somewhere buried in this mess are some correct answers. The more photos and videos you take just to practice, the better your product will become. Good editing software is critical to having a really nice-looking end result! Also, look up some high-profile, fancy-website aerial photography firms and just look how they shot their videos; you can likely reverse-engineer a lot of their ideas. Best of luck!
 
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Yeah, that was weird... I'm a 48 year old Airline Transport Pilot/Retired fighter pilot etc... (just getting that out of the way...)

I'm trying to get going with the same sort of real estate photography and have done a few for 100.00 for both stills and raw video. Another guy edits the video and he usually gets 500.00 for the package.

I think I could charge more, but, surprisingly, there has not been a huge amount of interest, and most real estate folks seem happy to use their IPhones.

I'm still having fun, and may even pay off the P4 before I crash it...


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I am embarrassed for all of us at the direction this thread took. This young man came asking more experienced fliers for advice with the very best of intentions and got a bunch of lectures. Way to turn off someone young who's trying to do things right.

OP, somewhere buried in this mess are some correct answers. The more photos and videos you take just to practice, the better your product will become. Good editing software is critical to having a really nice-looking end result! Also, look up some high-profile, fancy-website aerial photography firms and just look how they shot their videos; you can likely reverse-engineer a lot of their ideas. Best of luck!

Kinda funny that you chastise others for deviating on answers and not answering the OP's question. Where did I miss in your post your answer to him for how much to charge?
 
I've never done a real estate photography job because I haven't done the 107 yet. But I did try to actually give him some useful information. Which is the purpose of this forum.
 
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