Laughed out of the office

[TheKestrel]

“you don't have everyone racing to go pick up a camera and become a photographer right now”. Quite right....that happened five+ years ago when every schmoe who could afford a DSLR, and knew (sort of) how to use PS Elements, was all of a sudden a “professional photographer”. Those folks have been mostly weeded-out and rationality has returned to that market. Same thing will happen here, Ask your typical 107 drone photographer to explain the circle of confusion; watch the dancing begin. (admittedly, with the generally-small lenses on Phantom-level drones makes CoC mostly a non-issue. Will still separate experienced photographers from those.....not).

 

[Steven Spencer]

Thanks for the replies. My time is worth something. Maybe more than others are willing to pay but that doesn't change anything. I made my pitch to the realty office today. Fingers crossed this turns into something great. Either way, I'll continue building my skills flying and post processing and continue valuing my time.

I have friends in other businesses (plumbing, decorating) and sometimes if they don’t want a job they’ll ‘price themselves’ out if it (ie go much higher than any other competitor expecting to be declined). They are surprised how many higher quoted jobs they get. Guess some people see higher price equals quality and lower not. Don’t drop your prices but point out what a better job they’ll get. I’d also itemize on a quote what they get so it doesn’t seem you’ve just plucked a figure out if the air. Stick with it

 

[grtday]

Big Al is right on the mark.
What we see on Droners.io for real estate is a lot of jobs awarded in the ~$200 range. Usually unedited (or minimal touchup) - quick flyby video and a handful of photos. This includes experienced pilots that are focusing on building their brand and want to get a solid set of reviews under their belt - so they have lowered their pricing a bit, and also newer pilots pilots - but still descent quality. Usually this sub set of pilots leaves the client happy. Work in the $500+ range usually includes edited video - so your pricing is realistic.

Frequently though - we'll get new pilots that will low ball, the agent will bite, and they'll end up with unusable footage. Almost every time this happens - it could have been avoided if the agent looked at existing work of the pilot. If the pilot doesn't have anything worth while, then it's likely that is what they are going to get in return. My advise to the agent is that unless the pilot has sample work they can show that meets the quality standards that the agent would like - I would not hire them. Like everything, you usually get what you pay for.

Since Part 107 being released - for every experienced pilot, there are 10x (or more) inexperience pilots that have just recently decided to jump on the bandwagon.

So how do you earn business in such a competitive market? Here are my suggestions:
1) This is pretty obvious - but still worth mentioning - build an in-depth portfolio so that you are able to directly/personally relate to the exact shot they are needing - "Oh you need your dealership shot? Take a look at this", etc.. even though the experience from one type of shot is easily transferable to another - clients still frequently ask for footage of the exact shot they are needing. And make sure you have the basics covered in your reels - i.e. don't have the shadow of the drone in the footage or show yourself standing in it. Try and shoot during optimal times of day for lighting, etc. If you can't edit - those few simple things will go a long way. (I'm not a professional photographer - but I've watched thousands of videos on our platform and there is nothing that stands out more than that and it can be easily avoidable). When a client is unhappy about footage delivered to them - if those 2 things are in it (your drone shadow or yourself) - you can bet they are going to point it out.

2) Get good at editing - and make sure your portfolio shows that - even if your client isn't wanting edited footage - it is going to set you apart from the thousands of pilots out there. This is the #1 thing I would recommend investing your time in. If a client on our platform receives 10 bids - and 1 of those pilots has a beautiful edited reel - even if the client doesn't need that type/quality of footage - they are going to get the job likely. And this is going to become even more so true when agents start to realize how important experience is after getting burnt by someone who showed up with their drone but no photography experience.

3) Define what the client is getting. A lot of clients are new to this - paint a full picture for them.. i.e. don't just tell them "Yea I'll come shoot your place" - instead tell them exactly what they are going to get (i.e. number of photos they should expect to receive, how much video footage, edited/unedited, etc.) - and like mentioned in #1 - try to back it up with existing work they can relate to. Also - take the time to ask questions of what they want - don't assume. For example - we had an agent ask for some photos of an empty lot. Pilot shot the lot and delivered the footage. They then found out the client actually wanted top down views so they could show property lines, etc.

4) The industry is very competitive and only become more so for the time being, and yes while it's unfortunate that it's going to drive down pricing - that is reality. After a while - the buzz will wear off and people will realize it's no different than operating any other service oriented business - you have to be good at what you do and just because it's the hottest tech out there right now - doesn't mean your going to make a killing at it. Pilots who aren't in it for the long haul will get tired of chasing clients and not making money and the market will stabilize - but - you have to remember this is the first warm season since Part 107 - so things are going to be gnarly for a while. You shouldn't participate in a race to the bottom if you can - but do what you can to edge yourself above the competition (i.e. perhaps instead of saying your going to deliver 10 photos for a one hour shoot - instead tell the client your going to focus on taking 10 good shots from X angles - and they are more than welcome to have any other photos you take while on site. Your still getting paid the same amount.). Pilots frequently compare drone photography to standard photography pricing... while this is a good starting point - you don't have everyone racing to go pick up a camera and become a photographer right now.

I hope the info above helps - I'm more than happy to share additional insight from what we've seen on our marketplace.

Spot on!

 

[captainstubbie]

Here's what I've done for realestate agents in my area. I charge $25 for travel time $25 for about a 1/2 hour of minimal editing the actual cost of my insurance for the flight using Vera fly which is between $10 and $25 and $200 an hour based on flight time the last gig I did was 7 minutes of flight time 18 minutes of flight time and 19 minutes of flight time plus the $10 insurance $25 travel and $25 for the minimum editing and the agent was tickled pink

 

[BigAl07]

Here's what I've done for realestate agents in my area. I charge $25 for travel time $25 for about a 1/2 hour of minimal editing the actual cost of my insurance for the flight using Vera fly which is between $10 and $25 and $200 an hour based on flight time

So a 10 minute flight gig that's 1/2 hour away would charge (1 hr total travel, 30 min edit, 10 min flight or 1hr 40min of time not including setting up, composition, tear down, etc) :

$25 travel
$25 edit
$25 insurance
$33.3333 flight time ($200/hr is $3.33/min)

$108.33 total

When you run the #'s you're not putting much $$ in the bank and leaving a LOT on the table IMHO.

Allen

the last gig I did was 7 minutes of flight time 18 minutes of flight time and 19 minutes of flight time plus the $10 insurance $25 travel and $25 for the minimum editing and the agent was tickled pink

7 min - $23.33
18 min - $59.99
19 min - $63.33
$146.65 + $10 + $25 = $181.66

If you drove only 30 min (there and back) you consumed 104 min (1 1/2hr)

I'm sure he/she was tickled pink. They got one heck of a deal. Even if you provided only "average" pictures they got a huge bargain.... at least 1/2 price IMHO. That's 3 different shoots for half what a single shoot could fetch if your product is high enough.

This morning we shot a few minutes of video/pics (15 min or 1 battery), spent 30 min editing pics and drive time was 40min (total). The finished product was uploaded to our cloud server and emailed with an invoice of $395 and the owner gave me 9 free rounds of golf. The golf is $38ea.

Not every job is priced like this one (some are even better) but I can't help but think you're leaving a good amount of $$ on the table which is devaluing the market and your own time/services.

As always YMMV.
Allen

 

[elent1]

I recently shot a property for a local agent with a national agency in my area. I discounted the shoot significantly under the premise that I'm getting my work out there and this was fully understood. The realtor was kind enough to show the office the video I shot and next thing I knew I was invited into their office to meet with their president.

Pretty laid back guy but he had a lot of questions which I thought I did a fairly good job answering. I explained my certification and insurance. I explained I did not have a pricing list yet and would put one together. I was invited back this Tuesday to go over my services and lay out my prices.

Another realtor in the office contacted me for a quick quote on a property for exterior and interior photo and video. I shot her an email with what I though was reasonable pricing. No response. I called and she basically laughed me off the phone stating she couldn't afford it. Now, this was for a $499,000 home with 30 acres in NW Missouri. I quoted her $400 for the whole deal, photo, video, edited and all. Is this that unreasonable? Judging from droners.io, it's a bargain and honestly, any lower seems like an insult.

 

[Gottfried009]

$400 is absolutely reasonable for that size property. Video is usually where it really raises the price. If you can put together a nice video, I can see you charging $400 just for the video (assuming 60 second video). All in all, $400 is a great deal for the client.