maybe i was naive but i kind of thought getting certified would open some doors and so far its been pretty quiet. i've applied to a few of those drone service marketplaces and done a couple jobs through one of them but the pay was honestly not even worth the drive after you factor in gas and time. i have a mini 3 pro which i know isnt the most professional looking setup but the footage is genuinely really good.

i dont really know what im doing wrong. my instagram has some decent clips on it and i sent my reel to a few local real estate agents but nobody really responded. is this just how it is at the start or am i missing something obvious

the marketplace platforms are kind of a race to the bottom honestly, most of the serious work doesn't come from there. real estate agents are a decent target but you usually have to get in front of them in person or through a referral — a cold email reel just gets ignored most of the time. do you know any photographers who do real estate work? a lot of them dont want to deal with the drone side and will happily pass it off or refer you if they trust your work. thats how i got my first few consistent clients, just teamed up with a ground photographer and we packaged it together.

also the mini 3 is totally fine for real estate, dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

yeah six months isnt that long tbh, it took me closer to a year before i had anything resembling regular work coming in. the instagram thing rarely converts directly in my expereince — it's more of a credibility thing when someone looks you up after a referral. the actual work comes from just knowing people and being persistent about it. kind of annoying answer but thats just how it seems to go