Hope you are all doing well and not melting in this heat!
I have had a job enquiry via Instagram (rare as I’ve just started a few months ago).
So it is an old vintage building converted into a beautiful holiday home surrounded by nature and nearby has some scenic areas. It is around 2.5 hours away that’s the only downside.
He wants me to take inside footage as well as out and the surrounding areas.
I have a mini 4 pro and was hoping to see if anyone here has taken some indoor footage with mini 4.
Also we haven’t spoken about pricing as it most likely will be over a day or more depending on the requirements. I don’t want to overcharge as this could be a way to more jobs so want to be reasonable.
Don’t sell yourself short. You are taking a couple of days to do this plus there is the time you will spend editing photos and video.
If you start off at a low rate you will always get low paid jobs. And people don’t value things that are cheap.
It is very difficult to bargain upward and try to raise your price from a low quote, very simple to be magnanimous and offer ten per cent off an overly high price for “prompt payment”
And other photographers will not thank you for undercutting them and bringing rates for the whole market downward.
What is two to three days of your time worth? What about insurance, travel, car costs, costs of drone and PC and editing software? (And insurance is something you are strongly advised to take out!)
As for a price - I will leave that to people who make a living at this who may well be along later. But remember rule number one:
Not sure I would feel comfortable flying a drone indoors, especially if the venue is furnished - too much risk of the drone clipping something, and incurring insurance issues.
I would use a video camera on a long decorators pole if I wanted to get high up shots (say 3m above the floor), and would even consider sticking my drone on the end of the pole to ensure a consistent look and feel with drone footage taken outside.
Plus, you get the added advantage of the gimbal for stability etc.
Just had a thought re the drone on a stick - keep an eye on the drone’s temperature, they tend to get hot if not actually flying.
Remember, you aren’t just charging them for the time you’re flying on the day.
You’re going to have a couple of hours (at least) planning and prepping. You need to pay for your insurance. You’ve had to buy and maintain the equipment. You’ve had countless flying hours to build the skills and experience which, at the end of the day, is what they’re really paying you for.
On the “flying indoors” question… it’s not easy. You’ll have no GPS so it won’t hold its position very well and will be prone to buffering from its own wash bouncing off walls and furniture.
Have a practice in your own house, see how you get on.
Also, drones designed for indoor use tend to have prop guards to protect from damaging things. If you’re going ahead with this, might be worth shelling out for a set. Flying indoors you don’t have to worry about the weight limit… just remember to take them off before flying outdoors again.
I thought this initially, but actually you need to go high due to inexperience. This may seem unintuitive, but at height you will be well clear of obstacles such as trees, power lines, masts, or buildings, and have more room to make mistakes in and recover from them without getting into trouble. Ground is bad, m’kay, stay away from it. About 100 or 150feet should be enough to be safe and maintain VLOS.
If it was me I’d consider using a DJI Osmo Pocket 2/3 or another vlogging type camera, on a long pole indoors. I would worry that the risk of damaging the drone, and/or the property would outweigh the advantages. Just my 2p
Really appreciate all the gems of advice you guys have given and it’s been much appreciated. Really sorry for the late response as I’ve been swamped with life…
An update. I took photos and videos outside the property. I then took a few attempts to fly from above into the property while the owners open the doors. Took a good few attempts but still nowhere near perfect. Wondering if this is normal or is this poor skill level?
Also I tried flying indoors but had a lot of issues with GPS signal. Tried changing from 5ghz to 2.5 and that didn’t help either. Wondering if there is a way to improve it. This building is big and has many floors. They want drone footage inside but I’m really struggling with this.
I also want to invest in a camera for videoing/virtual tours as I feel like it would help having this piece of equipment too.
Any advice/suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated
