okay so a small video production company in my area reached out after seeing some of my stuff on instagram and they want to bring me on as basically their go-to drone pilot. they said its contract work not full time employment which i expected but the rate they mentioned seems... low? they said $200 per shoot day which can be anywhere from 2 to 6 hours apparently.

i have my 107, my own Mavic 3 and a Mini 4 Pro, and ive been doing this as a hobby for about 3 years. i genuinely dont know if $200 is the going rate for this kind of thing or if theyre low balling me. i dont want to negotiate myself out of a job but i also dont want to just accept whatever they throw at me because i have no reference point. anyone dealt with something like this before

$200 for a shoot day is pretty low yeah, especially when you factor in your equipment wear, your liability, post processing time if thats included, and travel. a lot of people dont think about the fact that youre essentially running a small business and have real costs attached to every job. i usually see day rates for contract drone work ranging quite a bit depending on the market and what exactly is being shot but $200 on the low end of things for sure.

that said if youre trying to build a portfolio of commercial work and you genuinely have nothing else lined up, taking it and negotiating up after you prove yourself isnt the worst move. just dont let it become the permanent rate because it will if you let it.

200 bucks for potentially 6 hours plus whatever time you spend editing or delivering files? yeah thats not great lol. ask them if post is included in that or if its just the capture, that changes things a bit. and dont be afraid to just say you were expecting something closer to X — worst they can say is no and then you decide if the experience is worth it to you at the lower rate