How can I get aerial photography work?

Questions & Answers
1

In summer 2019, I decided to quit my permanent role in media (nothing to do with photography or filming) and started freelancing instead. In parallel, I bought a Mavic 2 Zoom and obtained my PfCO with the view of having an aerial photography company offering photos and videos. Last year in Spring, I stopped freelancing for a bit to try and focus on the company solely but work has been thin on the ground to say the least. I am freelancing again now to pay the bills with a view of having to return to full time employment this year and giving up the “drone dream”.

Now I know last year we were in the middle of a pandemic but I was wondering if anyone is able to suggest any other services I could offer with my Mavic 2 Zoom. I don’t want to make the mistake a lot of people do by buying more expensive equipment as I won’t get the ROI. Therefore, is there any other software that works with the Zoom? I am thinking mapping or data collection software. I am based in the UK.

I knew it would always be a tough job to start out on my own which is why I have kept my toe in my previous industry. I appreciate there is an element of saturation for people just offering basic photo and video services so I am also seeing if there are any drone companies who are recruiting for staff as they grow (not pilots specifically). However, would be good if I could make some kind of living out of my Mavic 2 Zoom!

Thanks

1 Like
2

I guess my first question is, what does your business plan say?

I’d then suggest a few searches on here, this question is often asked every other month.

My own advice? I think you’ve left it far too late to get in to this industry @Hubster - the race to the bottom began long ago (as in, a couple of years ago).

And now with the new regs that went live at the start of this year, anyone with a DJI Mini 2 drone can offer drone inspections for as little as £29 quid a pop - without the need for a PfCO. I suspect you won’t be able to compete with that and still maintain a viable business.

Sure, you could do mapping and some more advanced / bespoke services, but again you’ll be competing in a heavily saturated market with a lot of very established companies that have been doing this for years already.

As for what types of other services could you offer? Well, what do your competitors offer? As I’m guessing it’s those service offerings you’d want to compete with?

But again, what does your the business plan say?

I’m sorry I don’t have anything positive to offer, but, well, we see this all the time - and for all of the above reasons above :confused:

4 Likes
3

No need to apologise, I think I was expecting this kind of response so thanks for your honesty. I knew I was getting into it late which is why I kept my toe in my previous industry as opposed to giving it up totally.

Luckily, I have only spent around ÂŁ2k in total across my drone, accessories and training so if I have to write that off so be it but I will probably continue doing it as a sideline.

My business plan was very basic to be honest because I wasn’t going into it full time. It was the usual - construction site progress, estate agents, commercial property etc. In terms of offering additional services, yes it was mapping I was thinking of but again you’re right, other companies are more established.

On your point re: the Mini 2 drone though, I thought you still needed a PfCo/new equivalent if you’re going to charge for your services?

Alternatively, would there be a market to add training services for hobbyists who would like tips on how to fly their drones or not?

1 Like
4

The only additional requirement for commercial flight operations since 01 Jan 2021 is suitable commercial insurance which satisfies EC785/2004 ~ ÂŁ750k

1 Like
5

Its not going to make you millions but why not start by creating your own “jobs” by capturing high quality imigary and selling it on stock image sites? Its not much but its a start. Then maybe do some commercial jobs for friends for a discount to build up your portfolio etc. Like the others say the market is saturated already but there is still money to be made, just not loads of it.

1 Like
6

Not with the new regs from Jan this year, no.

As @Jhdee said, the only requirement now is commercial insurance, which you can obtain per-job now too, so you don’t even need to drop c£750 on it.

An excellent suggestion :+1:t2:

And if not for a discount, do it for free :man_shrugging:

For example, offer a farmer some aerial photos of his crop in spring, for free - they’ll love it. And in return you get to spend three days on site allowing you all the time in the world to grab the best shots available to add to that portfolio :slight_smile:

2 Likes
7

As someone who commissions drone mapping and photography in the construction industry occasionally - I’d be expecting to see someone turn up with higher-end kit for the photography, and to be able to provide high quality ground and aerial photography together; and the last people I dealt with for scan/survey work were flying an Intel Falcon 8+. In either of those cases, they need a serious CV to get through the door, plus all the construction safety cards (CSCS etc). So I think the professional market is demanding and increasingly tough for any new entrant.

I do think that spec aerial photos could be worth a shot, especially for markets like property where there are fewer regulations and bureaucracy.

2 Likes
8

Ah I did not know that! I knew the PfCO was being replaced by the A2 C of C but I didn’t realise it allowed anyone to use a drone for money. I renewed my PfCO for another year a few months ago but probably won’t do it again in that case.

Good suggestions regarding offering jobs for free and I have done that a few times but nothing has come of it.

I’m also looking to see if emerging companies such as Skyports will begin hiring so I can bring my media/telco experience to help me on my career change.

Another aspect I’ve found is that it is difficult to know where I can go and use my drone to practice and also get some showreel footage/photos. I live in a small city but am walking distance to lots of countryside but seems a bit pointless just filming random fields for the sake of it!

2 Likes
9

Thats where dronescene comes in

3 Likes
10

That has to start ringing some alarm bells, surely?

If you can’t give your services away why would people pay hard cash for them? :scream:

1 Like
11

Well that was a slight exaggeration. I did a video for a vineyard and they wanted to get me back later last year and pay for it but due to COVID it didn’t happen.

The other one was a golf course but to be fair they don’t need to use me again.

1 Like
12

Free yes but copyright no. You also need to reserve the right to publish and sell any works you create. You could make some more flexible agreements to allow them to post on Social Media etc with credit to yourself. Nothing is completely free :smiley: You could exchange ability to use a farmers field for a year in order to photo thier land for free. But the image and video always belong to you and your freedom to post online or sell later

13

I don’t think the market is saturated to be honest - the number of use cases for drones is forever expanding and demand is growing.

What I do think is that there a lot of people, myself included, who start out with lofty ambitions of being able to make a decent living by offering “drone services” - i.e. offering everything from roof inspections to weddings.

In hindsight, I now realise that generalising isn’t the best approach.

I now run a drone operations management platform and have 100’s of operators managing their jobs on there. And what’s become obvious to me is that those operators who find a specialism are the ones who do best and are able to maintain a steady and profitable stream of work.

But, it takes hard work and determination.

So my advice would be pick drone use-case you’re interested in, study and learn about it, get relevant qualifications if appropriate, read everything you can about it, practise it, invest in the right software and hardware you need, network with known specialists in that area and get to be the best you can possibly be at it. That will elevate you to a level well above the generalist crowd.

Also ask questions and ask for advice and guidance about it on relevant social media drone groups. Once your knowledge is where it needs to be, start responding to questions about the specialism on social media - the whole idea being to get your name known and noticed by other operators.

If you’ve got a website/brand, pivot that so it focuses on your new specialism. Publish examples of your work in the specialism - this doesn’t have to be paid work initially, just shots or data from practise flights. Write blog articles about it, post on social media about it.

If it’s a B2B business, get on Linkedin and start networking and join local business networking groups. If it’s B2C get some advice from a pro on marketing to your target audience (don’t get lured into spending £100’s/mo on Google or Facebook ads unless you really know what you’re doing).

If you get all that right, you’ll be set. Your website traffic will grow organically because of the quantity and quality of the content you’ve created. Your name will spring to mind when other operators get requests for jobs requiring your specialism and your network of contacts will grow.

You’ll soon find yourself in a virtuous circle of work.

Stick at it, it’s an exciting and growing industry and there’s loads of opportunities for those willing to put the work in. Good luck.

6 Likes
14

Thank you for your detailed reply, appreciated.

The trouble is I don’t want to go down the route of buying more expensive hardware in case I don’t get any work from it. I own the Mavic 2 Zoom and the Smart Controller and would ideally like to do jobs just involving these. Does anyone know of any websites that show the potential use cases for a M2Z?

Your point about choosing a specialism is a good one but it’s hard to decide on which one to choose. I love animals so it would be good to offer drone services in a conservation setting but the trouble is I don’t know if there is a market for that where I live (Essex).

Another aspect I have an interest in is construction/property but the poster above said to get access to construction sites, I would need better equipment, years of experience and there are more established companies already doing it.

15

There’s only one way to do it and that is get of your bum and go out and make contacts. Go round your local estate agents, hotels (a lot do weddings), local tourist attractions, campsites, buidling sites, factories to see if they want roof surveys etc. Don’t just wander in and ask if they want any drone work doing because the answer will usually be no. Introduce your self and ask who you need to speak to and they may/may not see you there and then. Most likely not, get their details and leave a couple of business cards and follow up within a few days. Don’t pester people though because they will get pissed off but no harm in chasing every few months or so. Don’t undersell yourself either, clients worth having will pay for good work.
Incidentally the A2CofC doesn’t replace the PfCO, the GVC does. In theory the A2CofC allows you fly over congested areas but in practice it’s difficult because you have stay 50m (currently) horizontally away from uninvolved people and that’s difficult to do in a congested area.
Hope that helps and good luck.

2 Likes
16

I did do that before COVID. I put flyers through a lot of estate agents and residential properties. I also advertised in three local magazines with a full page feature in another. I am on the Drone Safe Register but haven’t received much from that.

Re: the A2CofC - I thought that meant people could still offer their services for money though?

17

It does, so long as you have the right insurance. But with a M2Z you still have to keep 50m horizontally from uninvolved people, which in practice may make a lot of jobs un-doable.

2 Likes
18

Nothing wrong with a M2Z, it’s relatively high end in terms of the image quality it produces. Plenty of established operators use them with great success. It’s not the drone that matters, it’s the quality of the data you produce that matters.

I mean all contractors will be different requirements but, when you hire a photographer, for example, would you specify the camera they should use? Or, would you trust that they were using the right kit for the job and judge them on the quality of the imagery they produce? (Obviously if a photographer turns up with iPhone 5 a starts snapping you’re going to have some concerns :grinning:) And you don’t technically need a CSCS card to access a site any more.

But if that’s something you’re definitely interested in, decide what you’re going to offer; progress shots for the builder, maybe homebuyer updates that the builder can offer to their clients (e.g. here’s a weekly shot of your new house being built). Maybe do a HS&E test, sort out a CSCS card perhaps as a labourer(?). Then build yourself a portfolio of housing and/or construction photography, along with some high quality business cards. Phone, or better still (pandemic permitting) get in the car and visit say four construction sites per day, and tout your services.

The point is, you have to set yourself up for success and then work very hard at it.

1 Like
19

A lot of the larger companies will still ask for it though as part of their RA’s.

1 Like
20

Working for your self and setting up a business is never ever EASY! But the rewards are GREAT! We run a media company that we started from scratch and as has been mentioned above you have to knock on doors there are no two ways about it… We were on the verge of giving up but finally we landed a large company and everything flew from there. The chief thing I learned is have your finger in as many different pies as you can, don’t just do Drone work. And if you cant yourself, partner with others who can, for example wedding photographers may not wish to fly drones them selves but would like to offer that service as an addon. Estate agents do a few house Ariel shots for free and so they understand the benefits. Events planners and so on the list is endless. Good Luck!

1 Like