My girlfriend worked for an aerial imaging company for a while, and most of their imaging came from general aviation (small planes).
A commercial pilot's license requires 1500 hours of flight time under one's belt. The company paid them a small sum to strap a camera to their planes and fly certain routes. New pilots make some extra cash and the company gets cheap shots.
Pretty sure the pilot can't get paid until after they get their commercial license.
It's possible the company can however rent hours in the plane at below market costs (a friend did something like this years ago while getting his helicopter license)
