View Full Version : who here gets paid for their aerial photog??
corvette321
03-22-2008, 01:02 PM
just wondering how many of you have turned this hobby into a businuess, or just an ocassional gig..???
i would like to do the same thing...
i know the market is probably saturated and yes FAA, and FCC rules are choking UAV platforms.....
but i still feel it will be alot of fun to do...
and what better way to work than having fun at it??
thanks for your input!!
-drex
The problem is insurance... It's expensive enough that you can't really dabble in it, as you're probably not covered if you're flying for ££ unless you've taken out commercial insurance.
K
Efliernz
03-22-2008, 05:23 PM
Part-time gig.
We have 3rd party liability/business indemnity and fire/theft only. We couldn't get the equip insured when flying. We need one job per month to pay for the insurance. We are getting work... enough to have "spare" equipment built and ready if one set decides not to work... If you have a problem, you need to finish the job before worrying about the heli - do that when you get home...
Hawk18052
03-22-2008, 06:43 PM
Just take a pic of her with it and U can buy 20 helis.
Hawk\
Pippin554
03-22-2008, 06:44 PM
Do you really have to have insurance? Sorry, just wondering, I've been considering the same thing, seems to be abit of a niche market around here, searched and theres nothing like it in the area.
Phil
Do you really have to have insurance?
Depends entirely what you're considering doing.
If I was doing photos in built up areas, I wouldn't consider flying without it (I don't do pro photography); If I was doing rural photos and was absolutely certain there was nothing of value to hit, then I probably wouldn't bother.
K
corvette321
03-22-2008, 09:40 PM
Just take a pic of her with it and U can buy 20 helis.
Hawk\
hahaha okay this one hovered over my head..????
:clappp:clappp:confused::confused:
corvette321
03-22-2008, 09:44 PM
well my plan is to offer the usual stuff...
1) 360 pano's...
2) photos for real estate etc...
3) video
4) video with GPS, time, date overlay for inspection, insurance claim verification etc.
i often see how many people are doing photos and video
but how much businuess is derived from inspection?
trackhead
03-22-2008, 09:51 PM
I've been making double my salary of my 'real job' for the past 4-6 months. But I'm still working my 'real job' for stability and piece of mind.
corvette321
03-22-2008, 10:34 PM
I've been making double my salary of my 'real job' for the past 4-6 months. But I'm still working my 'real job' for stability and piece of mind.
wow thats impressive!!
have any tips for others not doing so well, or new people to the biz??
trackhead
03-22-2008, 11:27 PM
wow thats impressive!!
have any tips for others not doing so well, or new people to the biz??
Keep at it, seems like things fall into place eventually.
jwk72
04-04-2008, 03:08 PM
I also am getting ready to purchase an AP bird in the next week or two to get into this market. I have been a professional photographer for several years now and the Chiacgo area is absolutely saturated with chump photographers who went out, bought themselves a digital camera and called themselves photographers :arggg:. I have the budget to buy a dedicated AP bird like a JR GSR 260, Century Predator Condor or something similar, but my question is this, do you need it??? If it is truly beneficial I have no problem getting one, but want to make sure it is a worthwhile investment. Also, after hearing all the chatter recently about DJ and the "un-named" mount company, I'm a little leary of the whole thing. Any input would be great! Also, how much insurance is necessary for a populated area and can someone point me (and all newcomers) to the appropriate rules and regulations pertaining to RC heli AP work?
-Jay
www.discovervisionquest.com
corvette321
04-04-2008, 04:19 PM
i think a gasser would definately be worth it!!!
i mean is 10 minutes really enough time!!!
i read somewhere that someone was getting like 20 min with a logo.. hmmmmm
also with a gasser and the extra time you could do panoramas etc.... video.. add alot more products...
yah the JR is a great bird!!!
wish i could afford one.
:DOH:DOH
corvette321
04-04-2008, 04:21 PM
wow!! your photography is amazing!!!
http://www.discovervisionquest.com/?goto=naturalworld
the pier shots are really amazing!!!
AirFoil Aviation Inc
04-05-2008, 01:32 PM
The basic market is here now and not hard to find. Panos and Spheres. These can't be gotten any other way. It's now a market that is exploding for the guys taking advantage of it. This is just one side of what you can do but yes we are over booked in 2008 and booking 2009 now. Hit any place that needs to market themselves from Resorts to Breaking news to accident photo's there’s really no limit as to what you can do.
On the heli side we only fly GSR's and have the last 10 years from the Z230 to the GS then 6 years ago the GSR and in all the day and night flights we have had only one auto about 7 years ago with a stripped main gear in a Z230. I think a dedicated ship is very important along with how you present your business to future clients. A 1 million dollar policy is a basic policy that will cover most anything you might do.
On the DJ and mount manufacturer question. I'm not hiding. You put a page on your site or a post about someone or their company that is a flat false statement they may not sue you that day or the next but most smart business people will have their attorney start building a case. He's not the only one there are two others on here we are pursuing. A lie or false statement or PS photo that shows the company in a negative way is slander. If you do this I would expect to have some type of loss from it. You can’t just post something because you want to harm a business. It’s not a kids game we do this full time and there is no way I would let anyone make a false claim against any of us or AirFoil.
We do business with lots of large companies and actually it was another business in Arizona that gave us the rest of the info we needed along with personal PM's you can acquire with a court order if one is show to be damaging or misleading about you or your company.
Hope some of this helps. Just remember it may be you one day someone is making a false claim about. What are you going to do taking it or fight back?
John Ohnemus
corvette321
04-05-2008, 07:28 PM
thanks for your post :)
i do agree that slander from businuess to businuess is a problem.
however i know lots of people have been talking about this particular topic for a while now....
so lets leave that old dog to rest and leave legal matters between the 2 parties that they involve.
yah i wish i could afford a gasser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the ones you guys use are awesome!!!
how much time do you get on the engines? do you rebuild them yourself?? how hard is that to do?
one again thanks for your valuable input.
AirFoil Aviation Inc
04-06-2008, 09:35 AM
We log all of our flights so it's easy to follow the time to replace parts. The biggest trick I have found over the years is buy a prop hub for a G26 and run a gallon of fuel through the motor using a 16X8 prop. This saves the heli from the vibration of running rich for breakin on the motor. I'm told the time life on the motor is 500 hours if taken care of. Really not sure the highest time we have on one is 321 hours with not a hint of problems. We run the needles at L1 1/8 H1 1/2 and 40-1 echo oil. At 400 hours I'm going to replace the motor and keep this up as the other heli's hit the 400 mark. The motor is about $300.00 which I will just replace it for that cost.
John