JohnGV,
I can't help regarding Canadian licenses, which is what you'll need to work there.
In Europe, you could do aerial photo work in VFR conditions with just a CPL. It's probably the same in Canada and definitely so in the US.
I guess the main reason everyone writes about taking it further is because they probably think most people won't be satisfied with that sort of flying job for very long.
To get accurate advice, you probably need to be very specific about the sort of jobs you seek and where you plan to work as well as where you have the right to live and work. Maybe you've done that piecemeal, but not everyone reads the thread from start to finish. How about a brief recap?