How much do real estate photographers charge for drone photos?

Sold alone, $200 to $300, because a pilot runs $100 an hour minimum. Sold as a $199 add-on, nothing, because agents skip it. Put aerials inside the package instead.

Should drone photography be included in a real estate package?

Yes, in the top two of three. The bottom package and the $149 basic stay photos only. Inside a package she never has to decide on drone.

Which listings need drone photos?

A lake lot, acreage, a great street: anything the ground cannot show. A third-floor condo does not. Say so, and she trusts you when a house does.

Answers › Pricing & packages

Ask the agent

How much extra should I charge for drone photos?

I’m adding drone. $100 extra? $200? Every time I quote the add-on the agent says just do the photos.Asked by a photographer on Reddit

The number is not the problem. "Extra" is a second decision, and second decisions get skipped. Quote drone as extra and she says "just the photos," and your drone stays in the case.

Know what drone is worth before you price it

Quote drone as extra and she says "just the photos." Every time. Your drone stays in the case and you start wondering if agents want aerials at all. They do. They just do not want to decide about them.

Hiring a pilot costs $100 an hour, minimum. That is the floor. If you are the pilot, that is what your hour is worth before you touch a camera.

Sold alone, drone is a $200 to $300 service. Editing five aerials at $0.50 each is $2.50. Your real cost is time on site, not the edit.

So the problem was never that $100 or $200 was the wrong number. The problem is that a number next to the word "extra" gets skipped.

Take drone off the menu. Put it inside the package.

The right number for "extra" is zero. Agents will not pay a $199 drone add-on. They will pay for a package with aerials in it.

Three packages: aerials inside the top two, photos only in the bottom one. The $149 basic 20-photo shoot stays photos only. It is a volume play.

She is not choosing between photos and photos-plus-drone anymore. She is choosing between three packages, and two of them happen to come with aerials. The decision she is making is which tier. The aerials come along without a second thought.

I booked photographers for ten years as an agent. A $199 add-on was a decision at 10 p.m. with a seller waiting. A package was a yes.

Agents won’t pay a $199 drone add-on. They’ll pay for the package that has it.

Let the house decide, not the upsell

One more thing, and it is why she will trust your drone advice. The house decides, not you.

A lake lot, acreage, a great street: the aerial shows what the ground cannot. A third-floor condo does not need five aerials. Say so.

Tell her when a house does not need drone, and she believes you when one does. Agents remember the photographer who told them not to spend money.

Ask it every booking: "Does this property make sense for drone?" The question takes "extra" out of her mouth, because you asked before she could, and it makes you the one who knows which houses need it. Then quote the package. She never sees "extra."

The line

Does this property make sense for drone?

The big lesson

"Extra" is a decision she can skip. A package is a decision she already made.

Do this

This week: delete the drone add-on, put aerials inside your top two packages, and quote the package on your next three inquiries.

The three-package sheet I send agents

Put your numbers in it before your next booking. Free. Then take the sixty-second roadmap quiz and I tell you what to fix first.

Get the sheet Get my roadmap

Straight answers

How much do real estate photographers charge for drone photos?: Sold alone, $200 to $300, because a pilot runs $100 an hour minimum. Sold as a $199 add-on, nothing, because agents skip it. Put aerials inside the package instead.
Should drone photography be included in a real estate package?: Yes, in the top two of three. The bottom package and the $149 basic stay photos only. Inside a package she never has to decide on drone.
Which listings need drone photos?: A lake lot, acreage, a great street: anything the ground cannot show. A third-floor condo does not. Say so, and she trusts you when a house does.