How can you make money with your drone?

Do you want to turn drone flying into a profession? See some of the best ways to do that.

If you are a fan of drones, you have probably wondered if there is а way to turn your hobby into a profession or start an activity that may become a source of additional income. Probably another question you asked yourself is whether you have to be a pilot with many years of experience or you can make money with your drone even if you started your hobby recently.

How can you actually make money by piloting a drone?

The truth is that you can turn your hobby into a business in many ways. Some of them you may already know, and for others, you may not have guessed. But to get started, there are a few steps you need to take. First, you will need to invest in the appropriate equipment. You also need to undergo professional training and obtain a drone piloting license.

We have prepared a list of activities that you can perform and actually earn while doing your favourite activity - pilot a drone. The list does not limit your possibilities for realization. You can look for other methods or think of your own creative ways because drones can be very useful in a lot of ways. Let's look at some of the most common ways to earn through flying drones.

You can sell photos and videos you take with your drone

If you are a person who loves photography and videography and want to catch breathtaking shots to share with others, this is a great opportunity for you. Photographers who want to expand their capabilities and understand this type of art will definitely take their work to another level with a drone.

In this case, you can put your photos up publicly for sale or announce that you are offering photographic services that include drone photography.

If your goal is to sell your photos separately, you need to prepare a perfect portfolio with your best work. If you are an experienced photographer, you probably already have one, so just add the most impressive photos and videos you have taken with your drone.

We recommend that you select a drone that has a good camera. If you want to enjoy the incredible capabilities of a new generation drone, combined with a reasonable price tag, we recommend DJI Mavic Air 2, which has a 48MP camera and the ability to record 8K video.

You can sell drone images such as stock photos and videos

If you already have experience with aerial photography and know how to take stunning shots, you can sell them on websites for stock photos and videos. For this to happen, you need to create an account on such a platform, that offers quality images for sale. Before your account is approved, you will need to provide them with several of your creations for review. Once approved, you can upload your work to these sites and earn money whenever someone decides to purchase your photo. You should make good research first because each site has its own requirements and offers a different percentage of the profit. Recommended stock imaging sites that offer good agreements are, for example, Shutterstock, iStock / Getty, Alamy or Adobe Stock.

Just so you’re not disappointed from the beginning, we would like to warn you that this can hardly be a main and satisfactory income for you. But at the same time, it can be an excellent means of additional passive profit. You need to have a significant stockpile of photos and/or videos to make sense of this endeavor.

For achieving quality images for stock image sites, we recommend Autel EVO II Rugged Bundle or DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

Shooting weddings and events with a drone

If you specialize in filming weddings and family or other types of events, doing it with a drone will bring you success and a good income. Capturing such exciting moments from the air is becoming more sought after and popular as a service so you might as well take advantage of this trend.

Initially, you can work with a wedding agency or event agency to build your reputation and gain experience. You can also partner with other wedding and event pros to help you learn how to do well in this field.

This is a good reason to develop your air photography abilities, as it is a very well-paid service that perfectly complements a wedding photography package. This requires more effort and time, but we assure you, it is worth it.

In this field, DJI Mavic 2 Pro and DJI Phantom 4 Pro v2 will help, which are perfect for event photography and videography of all kinds.

Recording real estate with a drone

People in the construction and real estate business are becoming increasingly committed to paying for quality photography and videography. A drone’s perspective may be a key to a better property presentation in the eyes of the customers.

Capturing real estate with a drone will be increasingly popular as a practice, so you can consider this field. With camera drones, you can capture the best angles of a building and help for its successful sale. Owners and investors are increasingly likely to hire professionals to provide them with the perfect images.

Tips on how to prepare:

If you don’t want to go shooting unprepared, we advise you to practice flying and taking pictures around your house or the property of your neighbor or friend (with his permission, of course). Try to make the best shots possible to emphasize the good characteristics of the property. In addition to gaining experience, you can also use these images for your portfolio later.

You can present your portfolio to local real estate agencies that would like to photograph their more luxurious rental or sale sites. Of course, to achieve professional photos, you will also need to work with software such as Photoshop or Premiere Pro. This will help you upgrade and refine your skills.

The best drone for this is probably DJI Mavic 2 Zoom.

Using drones for roof and building inspections

Industrial drones are of interest to many pilots who want to do building and roof inspections professionally. If you work in that field, your most likely customers will be various insurance companies, utilities, and construction companies.

For this to work, you will need to make a slightly larger investment, as industrial drones have additional capabilities and sensors needed to inspect different objects in detail. You will need to be able to fly well, but you will also need to have good technical knowledge in order to provide the needed quality service.

It is important to choose which industry you would like to work in and explore as many of its specifics as possible, its inspection needs, and how best to do them.

For this, you will need an industrial drone. Our recommendation, in this case, is DJI Matrice 210 V2.

Drone usage in precise agriculture

Agriculture implements various high-tech processes, and in this industry, more and more experienced professional drone pilots are being hired to do such precise jobs from the air. Specialists are needed who have experience and can focus on drone operations, as farmers are busy with their other responsibilities.

Drones can cover large areas and provide detailed imaging for each part of the land. This helps monitor harvest development, pest management, checking if all available systems are working, and the characteristics of the soil, as well. For this purpose, drones have various sensors to collect data and provide up-to-date information to farmers.

To read more on the topic, see the article: Drones in agriculture.

To be successful as an agricultural drone pilot, you must be able to control the device precisely and know and understand NDVI sensors and related software systems.

We recommend DJI Agras T20, which will be able to meet all agricultural needs.

You can find many other ways to make money by piloting a drone. These are just some of the most preferred and popular methods. If you have not yet chosen your drone, welcome to our page, you can find the perfect device for you here!