Make money with drone footage

Current technology has progressed to a point that small unmanned aerial systems SUASessentially hobby sized remote controlled airplanes and helicopters, are more accessible now than ever before, both in terms of their make money with drone footage low prices and ease of flight control for new RC pilots. Quadcopters like the DJI consumer and prosumer Phantom and Mavic lines seem almost ubiquitous now — they are. Cameras, too, have come along way; they are smaller, lighter, shoot in much higher resolutions and have better lenses. It was only a matter of time before the two would be paired using relatively sophisticated, but also inexpensive, electronic image stabilization gimbals making a video and photographic aerial imagery easy, affordable and fun! Here are twenty ways, ideas, and applications that footxge drone-video combination can foptage used by video entrepreneurs vtreps to disrupt and dominate virtually untapped markets booming with potential:. Long the domain of commercially piloted helicopters and airplanes, aerial surveys are used in cartography, topography, feature recognition, archaeology and GIS xrone providing wihh on terrestrial sites that are often difficult, or even impossible, to see or measure from the ground. Small UAV operators are quickly finding a foothold in digital photogrammetric mapping and orthophotography services due to the enormous cost savings realized using small unmanned systems capable of carrying a variety of visual imagery payloads that can go slower and lower than much larger traditional aircraft. Drone video is hot right now among UAV enthusiasts and many YouTubers, like Team BlackSheep, are gaining a HUGE number of subscribers by simply posting daredevil videos captured by their remote-controlled aircraft from interesting and unique places around the world. Making money on Youtube is not difficult; leverage your channel followers and video views in a variety of ways: Promote your products, drive traffic to an online store or website, sell in-video advertising and product placement, enroll in the YouTube advertising partner program or become a YT celebrity! Aerial photo reconnaissance has long been used to gather information on competitors. Information about the size and capacity of manufacturing facilities, numbers of employees, business expansion and the development of on-site infrastructure, as well as many other bits of practical intelligence, can now be derived using small and very low cost UAVs as compared to the otherwise enormous expense of using piloted commercial aircraft like helicopters and airplanes.

Drone Training

Flying drones was a hot trend a few years ago. Some people think amke, make money with drone footage known as unmanned aerial vehicles UAVare just toys. That statement is true to some extent because you can do a lot of fun things with it. For instance, you can create beautiful pictures with your family and friends during your mnoey or getaways. You also can create stunning videos and capture events from unique angles. And if you look at drones, they can wit more than a plaything that you fly with remote control. When used correctly, you can generate a steady stream of income from operating a commercial drone. In this post, dorne will learn how to make money with a drone. Most of the ways listed below will require you to make money by taking photos or drone footage. The beauty of drones is that you can take pictures from unique angles and get nearer to your subject without being physically there to capture the shot. If you can master drome a drone and getting comfortable with its features, then the suggestions below will be right up your alley.

#1. Earn money selling aerial photos and footage

Also, some of the suggestions below will require you to possess specific and highly-developed skills to help add value to your existing services. Mone, you can still make money as long as you know how to capture good photos using a drone. As mentioned, taking photos using a drone is your best bet for making money with it. Before considering drone photography, you need to be mindful of who you plan your services in. Two industries that need aerial photos as part of their job are real estate agents and architects. The former could use the photos to help give their potential buyers a better view of the property from different angles. The latter can use drones to take pictures of buildings, inspect the quality of construction, and survey sites, to name a. Mapping out a piece of land or property is common with a drone. Some agents and architects are already ahead of the curve as they use drones as part of their line of work droe do the things mentioned. However, for those who are in need of high-quality photographs to show their prospects, you must offer your photo- footags video footage-capturing skills to .

What Equipment You Need to Make Money with Your Drone

UAV technology is quite developed these days, and as a result of this, there is a broad range of great drones on the market. Most people usually use these drones just to have fun, to enjoy flying and to take photos or make aerial videos. However, although most people use drones just recreationally, there are various ways that drones could also be used to make a profit. Are you curious to find out how to make money with a drone? We believe you are! The possibilities to make money with drones are quite numerous if you are creative enough.

What’s next?

Perhaps you want to make a few extra bucks or possibly build a thriving business out of your aerial photography. Drones have become so accessible and inexpensive that just about anyone can afford to do aerial photography today. Something that was once limited to the professionals is now available for photo amateurs, enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs. Aerial photographs are quite impressive and are sought out by event planners, art collectors, and by a variety of industries and businesses. It has become easy to sell your aerial images and make money with your drone. The first thing you need to know before you want to start selling photos or videos taken with your drone is that the images have to be top quality. Nobody will purchase blurred images that look like they were taken with a cheap drone or by an inexperienced photographer. As you take on more contracts and start making money, you can buy more gear and gadgets for your drone like a gimbal and other items that will give you the opportunity to take better photos. Now that you have the proper equipment and are ready to take on that first gig, you have to do some groundwork before getting started. First, research the regulations regarding operating drones in your country and in the areas you predict that you will be flying your drone. Different laws are in place and they are adapting to this new activity regularly. Some countries, like the USA, now require you to register your drone before taking it to the skies.

Drone Training

It worked for Andrew Dean, who had been working as a waiter after leaving his job with the U. Air Force. Four years ago, he invested in drone equipment, as well as a thermography certification course to boost his skill set. For a drone pilot, no day is ever the same. Most drone pilots work as freelance contractors, flying drones for major companies and small businesses. Tampa, Fla. Willingness to travel is an important job requirement. Moss just returned from New Mexico after finishing a job for a fire investigator who wanted aerial images to find ignition points. For many drone pilots, flying drones augments their existing work. That first year also came with his biggest investment, including buying gear, a laptop, thermal cameras and a thermography certification. See also: FAA expects huge increase in commercial drones in next 5 years. Dean said that he lands most of his highest-paying gigs because of his thermography certification. INTC,

I’d love to learn about…

Current technology has progressed to a point that small unmanned aerial systems SUASessentially hobby sized remote controlled airplanes and helicopters, are more accessible now than ever before, both in terms of their relatively low prices and ease of flight control for new RC pilots.

Quadcopters like the DJI consumer and prosumer Phantom and Mavic lines seem almost ubiquitous now — they are. Cameras, too, have come along way; they are smaller, lighter, shoot in much higher resolutions and have better lenses.

It was only a matter of time before the two would be paired using relatively sophisticated, but also inexpensive, electronic image stabilization gimbals making a video and photographic aerial imagery easy, affordable and fun!

Here are twenty ways, ideas, and applications that this drone-video combination can be used by video entrepreneurs vtreps to disrupt and dominate virtually untapped markets booming with potential:.

Long the domain of commercially piloted helicopters and airplanes, aerial surveys are used in cartography, topography, feature recognition, archaeology and GIS applications providing information on terrestrial sites that are often difficult, or even impossible, to see or measure from the ground.

Small UAV operators are quickly finding a foothold in digital photogrammetric mapping and orthophotography services due to the enormous cost savings realized using small unmanned systems capable of carrying a variety of visual imagery payloads that can go slower and lower than much larger traditional aircraft.

Drone video is hot right now among UAV enthusiasts and many YouTubers, like Team BlackSheep, are gaining a HUGE number of subscribers by simply posting daredevil videos captured by their remote-controlled aircraft from interesting and unique places around the world.

Making money on Youtube is not difficult; leverage your channel followers and video views in a variety of ways: Promote your products, drive traffic to an online store or website, sell in-video advertising and product placement, enroll in the YouTube advertising partner program or become a YT celebrity!

Aerial photo reconnaissance has long been used to gather information on competitors. Information about the size and capacity of manufacturing facilities, numbers of employees, business expansion and the development of on-site infrastructure, as well as many other bits of practical intelligence, can now be derived using small and very low cost UAVs as compared to the otherwise enormous expense of using piloted commercial aircraft like helicopters and airplanes.

In June, the Wildlife Conservation Society began training operators from the Belize Fisheries Department to use two drones to help track illegal fishing activities.

The drones went into use just at the start of lobster season. Other examples of drones being used in the field include biologists and researchers using UAV video and aerial imagery to count everything from birds to polar bears while those in charge of enforcing environmental laws are looking for hard to detect activities like illegal logging and the dumping of harmful substances. Amazon made popular and sensational the idea of commercial product delivery via unmanned aerial vehicles but their idea never took flight and Lakemaid Beer drone delivery services to ice fishermen in Wisconsin and Minnesota were grounded by the FAA in the United States.

Drone delivery services nonetheless are taking flight in other corners of the world where flight is faster, safer and more economical than shipping via overland routes. Drones are delivering emergency medicine, small but critical mechanical parts and time-sensitive documents among other things. Drones can provide public safety officials real-time video footage in areas hard hit by natural disasters like flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes that often make huge inhabited areas almost impossible and too dangerous to travel by land.

Recently, in the wake of several very powerful earthquakes, disaster management and emergency response officials in Central America engaged freelance several UAV pilots to provide video services in support of their relief and repair efforts. Drones are currently being used in Fukushima, Japan where Daiichi nuclear power plant melted down over 3 years ago but radiation remains a serious health threat to visitors and scientists studying the area.

As noted above, larger unmanned aerial systems can also be used by NGOs and humanitarian services to safely deliver medicine, food, and water to otherwise unreachable victims. Filmmakers are finding that a well-operated multirotor aircraft capable of carrying cinema quality video cameras can be a less expensive and more versatile option than jibs, cranes, dollies, and cameras mounted on helicopters in order to get the perfect camera movement or tracking shot.

Hollywood is champing at the bit to get in on aerial cinematography with drones and the U. OK, not exactly a video-based commercial opportunity, while I was writing an earlier article for Vtrep. The pilot was flying FPV first person view using a GoPro video camera mounted below the aircraft and sending the video feedback to a monitor attached to his controller. They run the gamut of offering creative and personalized videos that are used by consumers to send special messages to family, friends, and clients to marketing and promotion.

Drones are increasingly being used by journalists and citizens alike to report the news. There have been several high profile instances in which small unmanned aerial systems have been used to document and provide video footage from areas of conflict, war, civil upheaval, accidents, and disaster.

UAVs offer journalists a safe working distance from otherwise dangerous situations and can often be carried to the scene of a report and deployed by a camera operator far more quickly and at less expense than a commercially piloted new helicopter. Yes, celebrity photographers paparazzi are also using small unmanned aerial systems. Utility companies have used commercially piloted aircraft, like airplanes and helicopters, to inspect hundreds of miles of electrical lines, towers and remote substations as well as oil and gas pipelines and pumping stations.

Small unmanned systems equipped with cameras and video transmitters are now replacing much of the routine inspection that was very expensive and often dangerous to the pilots and inspectors. Using drones in precision agriculture and crop surveillance can drastically reduce the time required for walking the fields and the high cost of using commercially piloted aircraft. Armed with specialized cameras that are capable of capturing specific wavelengths of infrared video, small unmanned aerial system operators are able to see contrasting colors that indicate the overall health of crops in the field.

Areas of concern can be inspected much closer using the same UAV for verification, problem diagnosis and even delivering localized spot treatment. Farmers using unmanned aerial vehicles to surveil crops are reporting higher yield, reduced plant damage and lower costs, which is good for.

This is perhaps the hottest opportunity for entrepreneurial filmmakers who have experience using drones and aerial imagery. Real estate agents are very quickly realizing that very low altitude aerial video footage captured by drones sell large pieces of property and homes with unique features more quickly. Additionally, agents who hire UAV video companies report that they are attracting more listings as. Similar to real estate videos above, what better way to show off a spectacular hotel situated on the perfect piece of property than to provide potential visitors the kind of video footage and aerial imagery only a small drone can provide?

In a time when hotels and resorts are fighting tooth and nail for advertising impressions and to stand out from the crowd on hotel booking applications and a glut of travel websites marketing agencies understand that unique video perspectives offer an edge in an otherwise tired marketing mix. Why not travel with your video camera and get paid? They searched for three days using hundreds of volunteers, search dogs, and a helicopter in heavily wooded areas and fields to no avail. Concerned for his safety as the search dragged on, Fitchburg police issued a news alert to all residents to be on the lookout for the missing man.

It took David Lesh about 20 minutes to find DeVenecia with his drone. Video from unmanned aerial systems is being used to secure sensitive locations and areas from unwanted trespassers to detecting and documenting theft.

A friend of mine was hired by a large aquaculture captive commercial fishery that covers some acres to fly his thermal imaging camera-equipped quadcopter over the grounds at night after several break-ins caused both the theft of fish but also the contamination of a grow out pond that caused much larger economic losses. The company came to the obvious conclusion that, in their specific situation, it was more cost effective to employ one security officer with an unmanned aerial surveillance system that could quickly cover a large area of difficult terrain than it is to hire five or six security officers that would be required to man posts properly distributed throughout the property.

He thinks he has the best job in the world. This is an exciting application of drones being used to capture sporting events from the air.

Not long ago my hometown was absolutely devastated by a flooding of historical levels. Consequently, at least one of these pilots now regularly sells video footage to the local news outlet and contracts with a utility company. Construction companies and architects handling large building projects are deploying drone operators to capture video in a way that allows them to measure and report progress. Insurance companies are employing drones to inspect and quantify things like hail damage claims to roofs rather than put adjustors at risk of falling as.

Very recently I read an article online in which various private investigators around New York in the United States were claiming to use drones to obtain surveillance footage of cheating spouses and claimants faking injuries to bilk insurance companies. While I think it is highly unlikely that PIs are actually using drones in this manner due to the loud rotor noise and the focal limitations of the cameras that fit on the hobby-sized aircraftit is possible and there certainly are practical applications for using UAVs in private investigation.

Capturing unique aerial video footage from vantage points that only small unmanned aerial systems can provide to augment traditional wedding video is becoming a popular request by brides-to-be. And why not? Many do not. While safety issues are outside of the overall scope of this article, UAVs are definitely a cause for concern in some situations.

They can cause potential injury to bystanders or collide with controlled aircraft operating in the same airspace. There is no substitute for knowing and strictly adhering to applicable laws and regulations as they apply to you and your situation. Do you have an interesting idea or some experience using a camera-equipped unmanned aerial system to make money? Scott Harrell is the Executive Editor of Vtrep. He is also a serial entrepreneur and top tier business development professional who speaks leadership, startups and digital media masterfully.

Scott can be reached via email: editor vtrep. This website may contain affiliate links to products we think are awesome. This means that if you make a purchase using an affiliate link here, we might make a small commission from your purchase, but this DOES NOT impact your price at all. Powered by WordPress. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email.

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How to Make $130,000 flying a $1,300 DJI Mavic Pro DRONE

After a few months with your drone, you probably know the ropes. Or your friend hires you to take an establishing shot for his short film. But before you can make money with your drone, you have to become a certified remote pilot.

About the author

The number must be displayed somewhere on the aircraft. Registration is valid for three years, after which you must renew it. Getting certified means you can start making money as a drone pilot, but it also means you have to follow more guidelines than a recreational flyer. Most requests are addressed within 90 days. With your certification, you can do:. Like any job, some positions require more experience than. Some may require additional certifications or equipment, like a Light Detection and Ranging camera ofotage certain kinds of crop imaging. What’s next? Want to take action? Manage your drone income Want to dive deeper? Make money on your footage Want to explore related? Turn your drone work into a business. At NerdWallet, we strive to help you make financial decisions with moey.