Making Real Money

Are you a photographer who has an amazing portfolio but still struggles to land the jobs you want? Maybe you’ve been a professional photographer for years but you still haven’t connected with advertising agencies or international brands. Perhaps your business feels stagnant and you don’t know what to do next. In Monte Isom’s new tutorial, Making Real Money: The Business of Commercial PhotographyYou will learn how to get work at advertising agencies, world-famous magazines, and international campaigns. This tutorial will give you an inside look at photography at its highest levels. You will find answers to all your questions.

Monte Isom is who?

Monte Isom is a commercial and advertising photographer based in New York City. Over the course of his career, he has photographed everything from Hollywood movie posters to massive global advertising campaigns for many of the worlds most prominent brands. Adidas, Nike. Gatorade. Visa. Allstate. New Balance. BodyArmor. Marvel. Spike TV. National Geographic. Among many other prominent brands and networks, Monte is a client. Before Monte started photographing for himself, he assisted many of the most successful photographers including Sandro Miller, Gregory Heisler, Albert Watson, Peter Lindbergh, Timothy White, and Martin Schoeller to name a few.

We have been wanting to make the ultimate tutorial about commercial photography for years. But we needed the right instructor. We wanted to team up with someone who was not only a well-accomplished photographer but someone who understood the industry’s best-kept secrets. Monte Isom is a true master at marketing and he has a complete understanding of how the industry works from all sides. Monte has made connections across all areas of the advertising industry over the last 20 years and has used these contacts year after year to secure large-budget jobs. For the first time in his career, Monte is finally sharing everything he has learned that has taken him from being a photography assistant to one of the most sought-after photographers in the world.

This tutorial covers a variety of topics

• What should you put on your website?
• Marketing to the Right People
• Mailers, emails, cold calls, and non-traditional marketing
• How to Stand Out in a Conference Call
• When to work for free versus when to demand payment
• Designing Impressive Decks and Treatments
• SEO wins
• Understanding the Different Points Of Contact
• Drafting Competitive Estimates 
• Understanding License Usages
• Making Money Copyright Infringements
• Avoiding the IRS and Tax Audits
• Budgeting and paying your assistants
• Working directly with a brand vs. through an advertising agency
• How photography agents work
• Celebrities working with us
• Additional Information Money In Editorial Work
• Carnets and Working Overseas

Interviews with industry insiders

Monte is an expert in the advertising industry and has a lot of knowledge. However, it was important that other professionals were included. This tutorial will provide you with inside information as well as nine creative professionals from other areas. These interviews often involve art buyers or other creative professionals. “gatekeepers” Advertising is a big industry. These are the people you must win over in order to secure the top clients and high-paying positions. Each interview offers a valuable insight into a specific aspect of the industry.

Monte interviewed creative professionals in this tutorial. They are not only industry experts, but have many years of experience working alongside some of the most high-paid clients and highest-paid photographers in the world. Collectively these interviews should give you a great understanding of how each aspect of the industry works and what types of photography budgets each industry has for a campaign.

Jim Surber – Deputy Editor at ESPN Magazine Jim shares some of the best tips and tricks for editorial photography. Jim is a veteran sports editor and shares his knowledge about the editorial publication fee structure as well as the best ways for you to get in the door. This interview is an excellent resource for anyone looking to enter commercial or advertising photography, but who has not explored the benefits of shooting editorial work to enhance their portfolio and branding.

Download immediately Making Real Money

Adrien Bindi – Creative Strategist at Facebook Adrien works as a Creative Director for Facebook’s Creative Shop. Facebook has evolved to be a hybrid agency, allowing brands to communicate their ideas and photographers to execute them. Adrien explains in detail how he helps clients find photographers as well as tips that can be used to help you win the job and not just bid on it.

Nicole Dieterichs – Executive Vice President, Cold Open – Nicole is one of the highest officers at Cold Open, a massive movie poster house based out in Los Angeles. Nicole manages the account directors beneath her but is ultimately responsible to present every movie poster composite she has received from her agency to the networks and movie studios. Nicole talks about the costs and day rates that photographers in the entertainment business charge and how to make big-budget posters.

Sarah Manna – SVP Director of Art and Print Production, Deutsch – Deutsch is a big league traditional advertising agency based out of New York. Sarah discusses the best ways for photographers to get their work noticed and accepted by art buyers at an agency. She also explains everything involved in billing, creating budgets, estimates, understanding purchase orders and creating licenses that are appropriate for a specific advertising campaign.

Peter Stark, Partner and Creative director at Bond – Peter is the lead creative director at one of the hottest media producers in Hollywood. Peter oversees all print, digital, and other media for TV, film, and online. Peter talks about how to present your work and create striking images. He also discusses how to improve the production of your own shoots.

Andrea Johnson – Lion’s Gate Photo Producer You will need to work with many producers when you are working in advertising or commercial photography. Andrea is a photo production manager for a movie company. This means that she acts as the liaison between Lion’s Gate film sets (and any other photographers hired to produce images and assets). Andrea is an expert on photography budgets and production and shares her knowledge to give a great insight into the experience of working with a photographer, from the initial pre-light through to the final campaign.

Perry Fair – Vice President Brand Creative at Beats By Dre Today’s market is seeing more brands bypass traditional advertising agencies and hire photographers directly. Instead of relying upon an agency to facilitate communication between brand execution and execution, this means that you can hire photographers directly. “direct to brand” Campaigns are created and brainstormed directly with the brand. It is common to work directly with brands in large markets, but it is more common to do so in smaller markets where companies rely less on agencies and hire photographers directly. Perry Fair, a highly skilled brand creative at Beats by Dre is undoubtedly a great example of what he looks for in a photographer to shoot brand campaigns.

Finding Success in Smaller Markets

We interviewed creatives from some of the most successful and well-respected companies in the industry throughout this tutorial. However, it was important to hear other perspectives from smaller markets. While most of the content is focused on Los Angeles and New York City markets, there are also interviews from Charleston, South Carolina, to aid those photographers who want to rise to the top in their small emerging market.

David Wood, Creative Director at Blue Ion. This tutorial will focus on business practices for commercial photography at its highest levels. But, we felt it was important that we also highlight business practices common in smaller and emerging markets. David is responsible to hire photographers and produce commercial campaigns for small brands from Charleston, South Carolina. David’s unique perspective will help you leverage your market and apply the information you find in larger markets to work you might produce in smaller markets.

Download immediately Making Real Money 

Brennan Wesley, Lifestyle and Medical Photographer Throughout the tutorial, we interviewed many people who are employed as photographers in the commercial sector. We thought it would interesting to hear about the success stories of local photographers in smaller markets. Brennan Wesley is a photographer who works in both the commercial and editorial worlds. His perspective helps us understand some of the difficulties that photographers face when trying to make it in emerging markets. You can find success in any market, regardless of where you live in Atlanta, GA, or Breckenridge CO.

Story Time with Monte

This tutorial is a major departure from other Fstoppers tutorials in that it is built around a lecture style format. We wanted to focus 100% on the business of commercial and editorial photography, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun as well. This tutorial includes a funny series called Story Time with Monte. Story Time with Monte is a hilarious series that Monte creates in a living room inspired by Irish pubs. Here, Monte recounts his memorable stories about how he got into commercial photography, assisted some of the most respected photographers in the industry, and learned life lessons about making photography a profitable career. These candid bar room narratives are filled with outrageous photography story after outrageous story only capable of being told by Mr. Isom himself.

What’s included in the Digital Download:

• 14 1/2 Hours of Video Content (1080p, 23.9fps, H.264 mpg4, 20GB of material)
• Monte’s 20+ Real Job Estimates, Invoices, Emails, Carnets, Lawyer Letters, and Treatments
• 9 Interviews with Art Buyers. Creative Directors. Art Editors. Producers.
• 7 Episodes with Monte Story Time

• Facebook Group Access to Monte’s Private Business of Photographing