so ive been part 107 certified for about 8 months now and i keep going back and forth on whether to actually try to make this a side income or just keep flying for fun. i do real estate photography already with my mirrorless camera and a few agents have asked me about adding drone shots to the packages. the thing is every time i look at what people are charging locally it seems all over the place — some guys are doing full property shoots for like $150 which seems insane to me considering the gear, insurance, the cert itself cost money, editing time etc.

i guess my question is whether its actually worth getting into the real estate side of things or if the market is just flooded with people willing to race to the bottom on price. i live in a mid size city not like a major metro so maybe thats different? would appreciate hearing from anyone whos actually doing this not just theoretically

real estate drone work is definitely saturated in a lot of places but i think it depends a lot on how you position yourself. the guys doing $150 shoots are usually cutting corners somewhere — no proper insurance, maybe not even 107 certified, editing is garbage. if youre already doing stills photography and have relationships with agents that is honestly your biggest advantage right there because most drone-only guys are cold calling and sending emails that never get opened.

i started doing it about 3 years ago as a side thing and gradually built it up. the real estate work alone isnt going to make you rich but if you bundle it with interior stills, twilight shoots, maybe floor plan stuff you can put together packages that are actually worth your time. i charge $275-350 for a combo package and i stay pretty busy spring through fall. winter is brutal though, at least where i am in the midwest.

honestly same situation here and i just decided to try it and see. been doing it about 4 months, got 3 regular agents who call me pretty consistently now. not quitting my day job anytime soon but its covering my gear costs and then some which feels good. i think if you already know agents from your photo work just ask them, worst they say is no