Hey folks
Here’s a first for me.
I particularly enjoy taking sunrise and sunset photo’s and took some recently in the countryside. Anyway, I posted a few on the local Facebook page ( as I often do ) and a lady messaged me today asking if she could buy two high res images, because her farmhouse is in the shot in the background ( about 445m away from where I was stood - and 290m away from the subject of my photo ) which was a tree in front of the sunset.
So, my question is how much is a reasonable amount to charge her - I’m not after making commercial rates, because I fly as a hobby.
Any constructive thoughts welcome folks.
Thank You.
Bear in mind what it took to get that shot. You have equipment cost, fuel/travel, parking etc then If she wants a print, take the print cost and add shipping, then you add your markup. Then find out if she needs It framed and add that in too.
There is no rule or regulation it’s about what you want from your work. What is it worth to you? For some it’s about just having the knowledge that someone likes your work enough to want to display it. For others it’s purely a commercial enterprise.
If you feel you want a guide price I would double your costs as a starting point so:
£5.00 fuel and parking for shooting
£25.00 editing image
£5.00 fuel and parking for printing lab
£7.00 shipping
£30.00 framing
Total £72.00
Markup 100%
Grand total £145 rounded up
(Numbers are of course hypothetical but it’s just a starting point)
Many people who sell prints will mark up 2-300% and more.
…and I think you’ll probably kill it dead
This is a woman on FB wanting a nice pic of her house, hitting her with £145 / £450 charge I suspect will leave her gobsmacked.
I hope I’m wrong, 'cos it would be good for you to make some money
I wouldn’t charge that, you could do no worse than a nominal fee in my opinion. If they own a farm and land maybe ask if you might fly there if it’s suitable. One thing leads to another etc. Such an approach might go some way to a positive view of your drone flights in the area. Better to sell lots more to others at a cheaper price by recommendations perhaps.
I would give her the pic for free if you could use her land now and again, and sweeten the deal telling her you could get better shots of her farm house for a nominal fee
Hi.
No, I’m not a PfCO holder, but as I understand the rules I wouldn’t need to be to sell a pic I took with no intention of selling at the time.
However, I am probably inclined to agree with you in giving it away for free.
I’m hoping to sell some pics in November when the rules change and word of mouth is more important than a few quid to me to be honest.
Please bear in mind that as a ‘hobbyist’, images you obtain should be for your own use. Once you start charging money, or obtaining any other benefit, then that is a commercial operation, for which you need a PfCO from the CAA.
Legally, if you want to pass any photos on, then it should be free of charge and not as a result of being ‘commissioned’ to obtain them.
I’m sure that’s not quite right with regards the photos taken with no intention of selling. The focal point of this image is a tree.
The house is almost 300m in the background.
The second picture she wants the house is 490m in the distance from the drone - its a landscape / sunset shot.
I have never been paid in any way for my photo’s before - I upload them to Facebook all for free for locals to enjoy a new aerial perspective.
Only if you fly with the purpose of selling the photos you take. It’s not a problem to sell photos taken on a recreational flight if commercial gain wasn’t your original plan - the CAA has confirmed this previously.
From the CAA website:
The term ‘available to the public’ should be interpreted as being a service or commodity that any member of the public can make use of, or actively choose to use, (e.g. because it has been advertised or offered to someone).
The essential question that needs to be asked is “what is the purpose of the (specific) flight?” i.e.“If I were not receiving payment/valuable consideration, would I still be looking to fly?”
of her property