Insurance is always an issue, but risk can be managed. When the coach says, "I want aerial photos of the football game" the answer is NO. If you do work duing the day carefully and outside of crowds, the risks are to property which is is insignificant compared to human beings.

A co-pilot is only going to save you about 1/2 a second when it comes to recovery, and maybe not even that. The main point here is that they will never be like giving control over to a person who can save you (instructor) or a real copilot to fly while you take the pics. Do not take your eyes off of the thing, they get crazy in a heartbeat. P.S. I have seen the joker you are talking about and it's a good one so one thing at a time.