How to accept payment for aerial photography in U.S

I am a real estate agent and I do take aerials of my listings. Most of the agents in my office know about my "hobby" and if they have a property that interests me enough I'll take a look a their listing from a higher perspective than I might otherwise be able to see from the ground. I charge a very nominal fee for my time and opinion of the property from the elevated view, including pictures to illustrate my opinions of course.

The article below has been posted to my Facebook page more than a few times. It does address some of the gray areas that have been mentioned already, but would most likely be more of a deterrent for agents to employ you since they could get caught up in a residual action by the government and would have no desire to challenge the authority without the same basis of empowerment we have gained as hobbyist discussing the matter.

Just some food for thought before considering investing more money or advertising yourself to the real estate community.

http://www.inman.com/2014/06/25/faa...40625&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsflash
 
triggins said:
I am a real estate agent and I do take aerials of my listings. Most of the agents in my office know about my "hobby" and if they have a property that interests me enough I'll take a look a their listing from a higher perspective than I might otherwise be able to see from the ground. I charge a very nominal fee for my time and opinion of the property from the elevated view, including pictures to illustrate my opinions of course.

The article below has been posted to my Facebook page more than a few times. It does address some of the gray areas that have been mentioned already, but would most likely be more of a deterrent for agents to employ you since they could get caught up in a residual action by the government and would have no desire to challenge the authority without the same basis of empowerment we have gained as hobbyist discussing the matter.

Just some food for thought before considering investing more money or advertising yourself to the real estate community.

http://www.inman.com/2014/06/25/faa...40625&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsflash

A lot of farmers around where I live and this rule that that they cannot check the big field just the family garden is not going to work around here. I bet this has something to do with crop dusters cause it is the only issue I can think of. I think the owner of the field and the crop duster can work out issues without the govt costing everyone more money. These farmers do amazing things with the ground and rather then making it harder for them, the govt should make ways for this to work. not later, but NOW!
 
So what else do you all charge for your drone services?

And are you including them in your tax returns? (you should!)
 
Opwan said:
No fines have been collected to this day. Nuff said.

^
This


I wish I could make money off of my drone.
It's tough in NYC. Even reaching out to Long Island, Staten Island and Jersey...I just dont think anyone is overly interested in drone photography for real estate or parties. I even have been contacting DJ's.

Maybe I should try a different advertising method besides craigslist lol
(it would also help if I had an advertisement reel)
 
No law currently exist, you can charge. As others have said don't be fraudulent about it, you'll have another issue on your hands. Take. Look at the ruling that just came down from judge in TX against the FAA.
 
Interesting to see the variation in rates. We are a full service video production company and purchased the drone to supplement our existing filming services, so being that we have a solid reputation and are also one of the only companies doing this legit in the province, we can make some decent money from that little thing. For a simple aerial video 2-5 minutes with music, gfx etc. we will spend a day on location and a couple more in the edit suite, usually ranges from $3,000 to 6,000 depending on scale.
 
You guys are lucky. It's about $10k (Australian Dollars) here if you want to do an aerial photography business yourself. No fly bys for real estate websites at all!

The commercial agreements is not just for paid work. It also includes donation of time to do aerial photography for a company etc... Youtube is also considered payment if you get enough hits. I was thinking of doing some 'volunteer' work to see if the paid work is out there but I can't even dabble into this due to the strict laws.
 
dragonash said:
Opwan said:
No fines have been collected to this day. Nuff said.

^
This


I wish I could make money off of my drone.
It's tough in NYC. Even reaching out to Long Island, Staten Island and Jersey...I just dont think anyone is overly interested in drone photography for real estate or parties. I even have been contacting DJ's.

Maybe I should try a different advertising method besides craigslist lol
(it would also help if I had an advertisement reel)

Put out an ad on craigslist, promote yourself, etc. I've gotten several bites from just a craigslist ad (granted I'm in a totally different place than you!).

The need is out there--you just gotta find them.
 
clearskystudios.ca ( Canada )

My Fees for Now.
$100 for 1 battery 12-15 Min Flight Time W/Lightbridge
$200 For 2- 24 min
$250 for 3- Batt 36 min = 1 hour actual time with setup
$400 for 4 - Batt 48 min
$500 for 5 - Batt 60 min
$550 for 6 Batt - 72 min = 2 hour actual time with setup

Remember 12 min flight time is maybe like 6-7 usable mins of footage and the rest is turns take off and landing and mess ups. 12 min =6 Usable 24=12 36=18 48=24 60=30 72=36
(P2 w/lightbridge Flight Time 12 - 15 min)

Deliver RAW Footage in .mov file.
Editing a Piece is More on the grounds of $250 -550 or more depending on length.
Music Is extra for License.
Graphic work is Extra
Ground Shooting is more and About
$50-500 Contingency charge (hidden) to Make Money and Pay for any damage to quad if happens (it does).(depending on size and scale of shoot.

And im newer at this but its paying. 2 big jobs paid for the p2...
 
I heard that a high concern is paparazzi photos, like flying over Bev Hills and filming or taking photos of celebrities.
I know this was done by helicopter in the past. I don't know what laws are in place for this kind of violation of privacy in the US.
But if noone misuses these copters for tabloid assbaggery, I think we should be fine.

I hope to do some realty work soon myself, praparing a presentation video currently. I plan to have a contract for each job that will include things like the consent of the property owner, possibly consent of people who can be recognized in the footage. Just to cover my butt down the line. I think we have to remember that much of the footage may end up online and laws and regulations for publicizing people/things online could apply, depending on your footage.
 
I fly almost exclusively over golf courses. I work in golf and have easy access to the golf course superintendents. My flyovers have been primarily to help them spot agronomic problems although they do occasionally use the video in their blogs. I am doing a hole-by-hole video for my son (who is also a golf course superintendent) at his course that the club will likely use on their web site.

I started out like many others, P1 with a GoPro and no gimbal. I have since gone to the P2 and added FPV, the ZenMuse 3D, iOS display and Ground Station. Ground Station has been outstanding for golf course use in my experience. My only problem with GS has been dealing with significant elevation changes. I ran my P2 into a stand of trees the other day and had to replace the gimbal as a result of the crash.

I have not charged nor do I plan on doing so given the confusion with the FAA regulations (at least I'm confused). I just can 't take the chance of jeopardizing my real job.
 
I was thinking something along these lines (thanks, TodayTrader):

Video:
Par 3 hole package - $1000
Birdie 9 hole package $2000
Eagle 18 hole package - $3750

Video + stills:
Par - add $300
Birdie - add $450
Eagle - add $750

This would include a compilation video of the holes OR single videos for each hole (depending on how they wanted to highlight it). There would be a pre-shoot meeting to determine must-have's/dont have's along with post-shoot meeting to review raw footage prior to finalization of project.

What do you guys think? Guess I could also add in a still-only aerial package, if it came up.
 
ianwood said:
I am happy to publicly sell aerial video. I welcome a cease and desist letter from the the FAA to which I will reply with:

Dear FAA,

Thank you for your kind letter dated ______ __, 2014. I have read and considered your suggestions in full. After much thought, my offer is this:

Nothing. I will continue to charge for filming services with my remote controlled RC model aircraft observing current National Airspace restrictions and regulations and applying common sense measures to maximize safety. In turn, the FAA will not make any issue of it until they have proposed, revised and enacted reasonable and enforceable regulations for the commercial use of small RC model aircraft. I trust you will find this approach reasonable.


Kind Regards,

Ian Wood

WOW! Not only do you acknowledge receipt of the letter you confess to their accusations. Don't even bother calling a lawyer when you get the notice of fine letter. FAA enforcements do not follow the rules of criminal law where 'beyond a reasonable doubt' rules, but rather 'guilty until you prove otherwise'. The FAA will assess a fine and then if you don't like it, you can appeal to an Administrative Law Judge at the NTSB. The Pirker decision is an outlier because the FAA rarely, very rarely loses a case where the charge is 91.13 - reckless use of an aircraft.

The first thing an aviation lawyer will tell you is SHUT UP. Do not respond - that's what you pay the lawyer for. Every response you make to the FAA can and will be used against you.
 
I can understand peoples concerns here, but if the FAA has No legal right to enforce this, then why do they even try and send out letters to anybody?
 
harvey said:
So is it illegal or not? Trying to slide between the lines would make me nervous. If it does not bother others then go for it.
It is just a personal decision I guess. I am a licensed pilot through the FAA so I want no bad interaction with them.
It depends on whom you ask.
According to the FAA, any flight for compensation is an illegal commercial flight.
According to two court cases, most notably FAA v Pirker, there are no statutory rules regarding light UAS operations, so there's no law to break.

I believe that the FAA is fishing for a win, which is why they recently directed their field inspectors to threaten licensed pilots with certificate action for drone violations. Ask any pilot, a threatened certificate action is a guaranteed win for the FAA.
 
Mere hypothetical provocation on my part.

But, I really really want an FAA cease and desist letter! I have a spot on my wall picked out where it will hang in a picture frame serving as a lasting reminder of how badly the FAA cocked up civilian UAV regulation.
 
I have done some real estate, but it seems in my area there is more of a demand for other things. Local towns want video of their landmarks for their websites, Local bands want video or outdoor concerts. Restaurants want video of outside of building and surrounding areas. Car dealerships. I even did some footage for a hockey team to use on promotions. I am slated to do some work for a travel documentary for CBS in 2 weeks. You need to think outside the box, the work is there. :)
 
ddublu said:
I was thinking something along these lines (thanks, TodayTrader):

Video:
Par 3 hole package - $1000
Birdie 9 hole package $2000
Eagle 18 hole package - $3750

Video + stills:
Par - add $300
Birdie - add $450
Eagle - add $750

This would include a compilation video of the holes OR single videos for each hole (depending on how they wanted to highlight it). There would be a pre-shoot meeting to determine must-have's/dont have's along with post-shoot meeting to review raw footage prior to finalization of project.

What do you guys think? Guess I could also add in a still-only aerial package, if it came up.

Any feedback on the above?
 
ddublu said:
ddublu said:
I was thinking something along these lines (thanks, TodayTrader):

Video:
Par 3 hole package - $1000
Birdie 9 hole package $2000
Eagle 18 hole package - $3750

Video + stills:
Par - add $300
Birdie - add $450
Eagle - add $750

This would include a compilation video of the holes OR single videos for each hole (depending on how they wanted to highlight it). There would be a pre-shoot meeting to determine must-have's/dont have's along with post-shoot meeting to review raw footage prior to finalization of project.

What do you guys think? Guess I could also add in a still-only aerial package, if it came up.

Any feedback on the above?

I don't think you would get that kind of money in my area. In my area in SC, it is more like $50 to $100 an hour for flight time or editing time. I could do a PAR 3 with 3 batteries and about 4-8 hours of editing. So probably half of your quote.
 

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