Welcome Inspire Pilots!
Join our free DJI Inspire community today!
Sign up

107 Certification and hobbyists

Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
181
Reaction score
32
Age
77
I'm finishing up my 107 Certification and have been checking around town on pricing for real estate photos etc (Tucson). It seems that hobbyists still get employed to do a great deal of the work.
Here's how it goes. The agent has the homeowner charged for the photos with other interior shots. The aerial stuff is all lumped into the bill, the homeowner then pays the agent who then pays the photographer. Rather circuitous but it works.
Of course, no one is going to police this and it's easy to get insurance on Verifly as a hobbyist, which it should be. Tough market.
 
Yup, not a lot of RE agents know, or care to know, that performing commercial photography (without 333 exemptions if still valid) requires more vetting. Some people decide to perform work on a commission basis, and that's their choice. In AZ, perhaps you can gather some business clients with more industrial or energy backgrounds, depending on your business model/desire.

But, since the aerial market is exploding, some parts are still like the wild west, no pun intended.
 
The realtors I've spoken with have laughed at me when I told them their photographers have to be licensed to take drone photos.

I have a friend who is a professional videographer and he laughs at me when I say he should be licensed if he's going to fly a drone. Up until last week I thought he was a lawless rebel. Now I realize he's just not a schmuck.
 
I've done some RE work but, it's very difficult to find a real estate agent willing to part with some of their profit to pay for the services. There is a guy in CA that does some amazing stuff with houses that are multimillion dollar listings:
Zaw Studios
I don't seek out the RE jobs anymore for the very reason you mention.
 
Eventually these companies will be required to have a copy of the credentials that we carry to list anything considered commercial. There will always be cheaters. Upsets me after the hoops, money and stress we have gone through to get we're we are at, which isn't far because of these cheaters..:)
 
I have been doing real estate photography now for a number of years. My observation in this field is that agent will pay for photography if the photography is something they cannot do. Plus you have to have equipment that they cannot get. So, if you are using a cheap drone that you can get from Best Buy to do your real estate photography, then the agent will reason, “Why pay this person, my husband has a drone like that and I will get him to do my photography!”

Another thing to consider, is your photoshop skills. If you are just snapping in JPG mode and then delivering those images to the agents, then you are not delivering a high quality product.

Again, you have to do stuff that the agents cannot do. The images have to pop!!! They have to be spectacular!!

Just some advice.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
22,273
Messages
210,620
Members
34,250
Latest member
Nickolas74