I can’t comment on that LOL. In the wind test that I did for my own channel, the mini 2 flew away!
I’ve never given photos away. Some mags/ organisations will offer to credit you. Wow, how generous of them!
As I’m not into commercial drone photography (yet) my only example was last year when I was taking some vertical shots of small buildings and fishing gear at a docks entrance. (Nice colours and patterns. A guy watching said if they were ‘any good’ they may be useful to him to work out how best to store his stuff. I showed him what I had taken and he wanted them. End result I got paid with 2kg of fresh mussels!
As I was not specifically commissioned or originally intending the shots to be sold I understand that this would fall outside a commercial operation?
Not in 2021.
There is no difference between a commercial and recreational flight.
The only caveat is that you must have proper insurances in place for commercial work.
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Hmm. So if you take pictures recreationally which we all do as part of the enjoyment of the hobby then someone subsequently sees them and offers to pay you for their use I thought I had read somewhere that this was not classed as commercial use as there was no intention to sell the product when the flight took place.
That was and still is now the case.
However anyone now can do commercial work (where before you needed to have PFCO), but as I said before insurance must be in place for any commercial work you undertake.
And just to add my two penneth worth. Surely pro and to a certain extent semi pro photographers are going to produce much better examples of photos than a recreational drone flyer like myself that takes the occasional image and with that being the case surely I’m no real threat to his/her business. A client willing to pay what a pro photographer is going to charge is going to know exactly what he’s looking for and will be able to decide based on quality of the image, not whether it’s a give away or not. What I mean is if I was looking for a good quality image for promotional purposes I’d know what I wanted and be prepared to pay for the right one.
Deffo not true in the digital age.
Many so called pros nowadays charging a daily rate close to what I’d charge an hour. (I’m a classically trained PJ, who started out on weddings/studio work)
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Whereabouts and when?
Me - Manchester Poly 72-76
The problem (certainly one I’ve heard from several professional photographers) is that they aren’t willing to pay for it, no.
Ever-advancing digital technology (now including advanced AI ‘touchups’) has blurred the line between the professionals and the hobbyists with a bit of cash to spend on some good kit. Much as ‘everybody has one novel in them’, there’s a general belief that everybody can point a camera (or worse, their phone) at something and get a reasonably good photograph. Joe Public isn’t willing to pay for something they think their cousin/nephew/neighbour/mate with a DSLR or Mini2 can do for free.
I think if we took a quick poll of how many people here have been asked if they can take some pictures with their drone at a friend’s/relative’s wedding the results would be surprising (or not).
Fair do’s but that is just the way in which the industry has gone. As an analogy, for years my brother worked from home as the sole graphic artist for Airfix models, hand drawing the instructions you and I used as kids to put them together. He did this for years and made a damn good living out of it because he was damn good at what he did and could charge accordingly. Then along came the digital age of the computer and early design software which in the space of just five years caused all of his work to dry up with Airfix as they went with the much quicker and much cheaper student working out of a basement on the outskirts of London for a ‘Design Studio’ with 20 plus designers on their books. Unfortunately he didn’t adapt to the times and ended up drawing pencil pet portraits without a real income.
I’ve had a few stills taken from video shared and used recently which I haven’t charged for as I’m quite happy to get recognition for my recreational YouTube channel. If that upsets some pro or semi pro photographers then I’m sorry but it’s not going to change. In fact I dare say the situation is only going to get worse the more people there are out there flying their drones.
Initially Leeds poly 85/87
Then onto Sheffield for the NCTJ
Then local shite, before getting a job as a runner for the Mirror, those were the days when cops were cops and hacks were hacks (but used the same boozers)
Small world - I went to Manchester Poly 71-74 doing my teacher training.
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'78 UMIST, Fallowfield Green House 
Unfortunately you could be taking work away from someone who makes their living from photography (drone or other types). The saving aspect is that you weren’t soliciting the “job” it was simply a request because of a chance encounter!
Me? Drank lots of Newcastle Brown in the Students Union, spent a lot of Friday and Saturday nights in The Conti in the city centre, should have transferred course as I ended up being a not very good teacher, overall had a bloody good time! 
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All a bit of a blur. I worked the student union bar, smoked a lot of weed, took the occasional photo and scored with a comfortable number of women.
One thing I remember clearly was the work pattern I established - in by 0800 to get a decent place to park, into the showers at the bottom of the Arts tower and wake up with 3ight hefty jets of hot water blasting at me - pressure from the tank 6 floors up was great!. Upstairs to meet the technician and get some equipment and studio space before the unwashed hordes sauntered in. Once or twice a week I did a dhobi in the darkroom sink and hung the wet clothes in the film drying cabinet. Did a leisurely morning’s work and then went across the road to do the lunchtime shift behind the union bar.
If I had to do it all again I could produce the volume of work in about three weeks!
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I think I was in one of those situations where no decision was the right one: Give the pics for free and I’m taking away business from someone; charge a fee and I’m diluting the pool.
I stand by my decision though 
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