Own a plane?

PhotoPilot

PhotoPilot

New Member
This is a shameless call for help to all JCers:

I'm trying to built a portfolio of aerial photographs (air-to-air, air-to-ground, ground-to-air, and anything else you can come up with) as I push my photography business in a new direction. My photographic resume is long and distinguished and I have extensive experience in natural history, commercial, studio, portrait, and fine art photography. Unfortunately, before I can demand fair pay for services as an aerial photographer, I need to have a high-quality and varied set of in-genre examples with which to prove my worth to potential clients. As such, I'm looking for aircraft owners and operators who need or want professional images of their aircraft.

If you or someone you know falls into this category, perhaps you could get in touch with me. Details probably aren't appropriately discussed here, so I'll just say that it would be well worth it for all involved. Warbirds, homebuilts, classics, restoration projects, corporate aircraft, instructional fleets, and pretty much anything else with wings are fair game. Possible applications include personal use, insurance, advertising, publication, gift-giving, and plenty more.

Thanks in advance to any and all who make an effort to give me a boost. And happy Halloween!

- PhotoPilot
 
Well I'm just up the road in GRR and have a fair number contacts. Maybe I can get you hooked up with some people. Do you have any brochures to hand out or, maybe better, a website that I can direct people too?
 
Steve -

I'd be infintely appreciative of any help you might be able to provide. I can fire some brochures your way in the next few days. If you could send a PM my way with your address, I'll get them in the mail Monday. As for the website, I'm working on it as we speak. Hopefully it'll be up and running by the end of the month.

I'm in the GR neck of the woods a couple of times per month. We should get together sometime.

- Jeremy
 
I'm in the same situation as you. I've sold a couple pics to aircraft owners (mostly take off/landing shots, with a couple formation shots). What I've been doing is getting one "sample" picture of them landing. I then print it up, and approch them the next time I see them (I keep the pictures in my camera bag) and show them a 5x4 of the picture and ask them if they're interested in me getting a few more shots of them the next time they go out.

I normally only go up to the guys that look friendly and seem to be relativley wealthy. Of course I legally can't charge money for these shots, so I "sell" them for a ride or lunch at the airport restuarant.

Another idea my friend and I have been toying with is air to ground photography. An aquantence of mine (I havn't talked to him in a long time) has made a killing off of taking pictures of rich people's house and construction sites for large company/developments. The friend (not the aquantence) I'm talking about owns an Aeronca Champ, which has a huge window in the back that opens and allows me to hang my head out the window and snap all the pictures I want.
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What we've decided we'll do is start talking to contractors and have the contractors offer his customer's aerial pictures of thier new house. It seems like a good idea.

Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

EDIT: Damn I just read the original post over and realized my post is basically irrelavent and didn't answer any of your question
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... If you could send a PM my way with your address, I'll get them in the mail Monday....

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Done.
 
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Of course I legally can't charge money for these shots, so I "sell" them for a ride or lunch at the airport restuarant.

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Sure you can charge money for such shots. Why couldn't you?
 
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Of course I legally can't charge money for these shots, so I "sell" them for a ride or lunch at the airport restuarant.

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Sure you can charge money for such shots. Why couldn't you?

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I don't need to get any permits or license for that?
 
Thanks for the info, CKid. It sounds like you're on your way to becoming a young pilot AND a young entrepreneur!
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Keep that spirit alive and the world will have no boundaries.

I actually used to do a lot of aerial work for contractors and developers, much like what you're talking about. However, I charged a bit more than what you do!
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Why in the world do you think you can't legally charge for the images that you sell to pilots? I'd think you could ask for $10 or $15 if you had a descent 8x10 for sale - more if your photo skills are up to snuff and people are willing to pay. Capitalism is a great thing if you've got a product to push!

I'll turn your last sentence around and tell you the same thing. If you have any questions about equipment, technique, legality of sales, or photography as a business, please feel free to ask. I'll respond to PMs as fast as I can! And if your Mom's company needs any air to air photography . . .
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- Jeremy
 
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Why in the world do you think you can't legally charge for the images that you sell to pilots?

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Like I said above I figured I would need some sort of permit or lisence to do that. But hey, an hour in a 182 or a 210 is a lot better then $10
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I guess that's what I get for starting a post, getting dinner, and then finishing the post . . . the conversation moves on without me!
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In answer to your thoughts, CKid, no permit is needed. You're underage and, unless you start pulling in a sizeable amount of income, you don't need to worry about the tax man. You also don't need to worry about DBA's, employer ID's, etc. You're a young guy selling some photos - don't underprice yourself!

And, as Steve pointed out in a PM, I meant the end of November for the website, not October . . . I'm a few days ahead of myself, I guess!
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That, Brian, is a million dollar question. Kind of like "What's the best airplane to start training in?"
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I'd suggest a good digital or 35mm that allows some creative control. Exposure compensation, aperture control, and some semblence of manual focus would all be good qualities. If you can score an old 35mm (Pentax K1000, Nikon F1, F2, or F3, something from Minolta or Olympus, Canon AE2, etc.) with a couple of lenses, you'd be golden. Your images won't be as good as if you'd bought a point and shoot at first, but 6 months or a year down the road when you actually understand how to manage the camera you'll be in much better shape. For something like that, expect to spend $300 for a camera, wide angle, normal, short telephoto, and a case. There's also a kickin' 6.3 MP digital SLR from Canon called the Digital Rebel, but it runs around $1000 with a wide-normal zoom. Probably out of your price range!
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If you want suggestions of where to look for a good deal on a used camera, shoot me a PM and I'll give you a few reputable places. Don't go into it blind - you could get a piece of junk . . .
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[ QUOTE ]
I'd suggest a good digital or 35mm that allows some creative control. Exposure compensation, aperture control, and some semblence of manual focus would all be good qualities. If you can score an old 35mm (Pentax K1000, Nikon F1, F2, or F3, something from Minolta or Olympus, Canon AE2, etc.) with a couple of lenses, you'd be golden. Your images won't be as good as if you'd bought a point and shoot at first, but 6 months or a year down the road when you actually understand how to manage the camera you'll be in much better shape. For something like that, expect to spend $300 for a camera, wide angle, normal, short telephoto, and a case. There's also a kickin' 6.3 MP digital SLR from Canon called the Digital Rebel, but it runs around $1000 with a wide-normal zoom. Probably out of your price range!

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How about a used D30?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43454&item=3848848651&rd=1
 
Thanks Photopilot and Citationkid! I'm not really looking towards Ebay. I prefer to buy a camera locally. I'll shoot you guys some PMs.
 
Someone's going to get a good camera . . . The D30 is a bit low on resolution for a working professional, but would be a GREAT learning camera for a very serious non-pro shooter.
 
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