Partnering with Non-Aerial Photographers

[Zhelfer0306]

I'm curious if anyone has worked as a partner, contractor, or employee with a traditional photographer instead of finding aerial-only clients yourself. What would stop me from, say, cold calling all of my local traditional photography studios and offering on-demand drone footage to enhance their wedding, real estate, commercial, etc. jobs on an as-needed basis. Doing 3-5 pro bono shoots with different people/studios to get your foot in the door and get drones on their radar, then waiting to get a piece of the pie as jobs require.

 

[John Locke]

Assuming you are Part 107 certified, yes this is viable. I have a friend that does this exact thing with a wedding photographer and in 2 short months he has 4 weddings booked after producing a very nice video on his first job with a high end photographer. You'll also need an OSMO+ to mix ground video in with aerial video.

 

[BigAl07]

A) Most people never get out of the "freebie" mode when doing "Pro Bono" work. Some do but most get nothing from it. If they are making $$ from a project so should you.

B) By all means contact local "land" photographers and let them know you're available. Some of my best work has come from such referrals.

 

[Zhelfer0306]

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback.

Side note: I saw a truck with drone photography business decals all over it on the way home from work yesterday. I think my market is already filling up/saturating, definitely lit a fire under me to get a move on before other people make these calls first.

 

[herein2014]

I personally don't do it because I do aerial and traditional photography. Also if you partner with traditional photographers it's a lot easier to pick up a drone and get a part 107 than to become a professional photographer so your 'partners' will probably just add aerial photography to their portfolio sometime in the near future. If you plan on doing this as more than a hobby you will need to do more than just aerial photography.

Even real estate agents who typically know nothing about photography or video are getting licensed and flying drones to film their listings; any professional photographer has already learned the hardest part of using an aerial camera.

 

[African wildlife]

If you're serious about turning professional or semi-professional, first put together a showreel. This will demonstrate your capability in aerial cinematography/photography.

It's a better way forward than offering to do something unpaid, which will be probably seen as amateurish. Actions speak louder than words - or offers.