Advertising photography : a straightforward guide to a complex industry / by Lou Lesko ; with Bobbi Lane.

Includes index.

Introduction -- 1. Getting started -- Getting an education and finding your genre -- I'm just working here to pay my bills -- Where to work until you're really working -- Working as a photographer -- Working in a rental house -- Working in a lab -- Assisting -- Getting into the zone -- It's okay if they don't like you, as long as they don't hate you -- Getting noticed -- How I got started -- So how do you get started? -- Start locally, think globally -- Traps to avoid -- Spotlight shooter : Michele Clement -- 2. The players -- Wackadoo -- The client -- The agency -- The creative director -- The art directors -- The art buyers -- The writers -- The account executive -- The ad campaign -- Looking for the messenger -- I dunno, what do you think? -- Don't count your chickens -- Okay, now what do you really think? -- Celebrate immediately -- Are your ears burning? -- The bottom line -- Celebrate immediately, part II -- Spotlight shooter : Brie Childers -- 3. The structure of a bid -- Bid versus estimate -- Bid/estimate terms -- Usage licenses -- Usage licenses adapted for the Web -- Get the balance right -- Invoice terms -- Terms and conditions -- Structure of a bid -- Fees -- School of thought A : combine the creative fees and usage fees -- School of thought B : separate your creative fee from your usage fees -- Other fees to consider -- Expenses -- Bidding below the belt -- Anthony's digital solution (DSF) -- Talent fees -- The paper trail -- Spotlight shooter : John Lund -- 4. Bid psychology -- The comparative versus competitive bid -- Determining a fair bid -- How much am I worth? -- Money, money, everywhere -- The most amazing thing of all, I get paid for doing this -- Six steps of self-worth -- Help with pricing -- Don't ask me about the numbers -- Bidding consultants -- It's bound to happen -- Spotlight Shooter : Bill Sumner.

5. The bid revision -- Listen to the client -- Try to leave your money alone -- Working the numbers and eating well -- How Much is that gear really going to cost me? -- Hard to soft -- Shop around -- Don't get caught -- A la carte -- Last resort tactics -- Killing line items -- Make sure the client is educated -- Touching your fees -- A word about padding your bid -- Walk away! -- Spotlight shooter : Gil Smith -- 6. When the job awards -- Bureaucracy and paperwork -- Terms and conditions -- Getting your advance -- Issues to settle before pre-production -- Have a credit card (with room) -- You need insurance to rent equipment, studios, cars, and get location permits -- You need petty cash -- A good head on your shoulders -- Spotlight shooter : Cig Harvey -- 7. Pre-production -- Casting -- Casting from cards -- Taking it to the street -- That's gonna cost extra -- The go see -- Talent availability -- Location, location, location -- No insurance, no permit -- Crewing up -- Prep and wrap -- You'll have to talk to my agency --Locking things up -- 24 hours before the shoot -- Spotlight shooter : Mark Leet -- 8. The shoot -- Shoot, day 1 -- Shoot, day 2 -- Calling the wrap -- Running a set -- Let me give that a try -- Wanna talk about it? -- Let me tell you why I've asked you all here today -- Hire good captains -- Hire good lieutenants -- One voice to rule them all -- Sometimes you have to be a jerk -- I want to be alone -- Style breeds success -- Spotlight shooter : Caren Alpert -- 9. Post-production and delivery -- Are you a post-production photographer or not? -- Delivery methods -- FTP -- Hard drives -- Online storage services -- It absolutely positively has to be there -- Invoicing -- Check your work -- Include all the required information only -- Late fees and collecting your money -- Be nice, it's not their fault -- When the money's not there -- Spotlight shooter : Mark Leibowitz.

10. Cash flow and good business practices -- Waste not, want not -- I'll pay you back on the second Tuesday of next week -- Creative financing or financing for creatives -- Everything is negotiable, vendors --Everything is negotiable, clients -- Know where you stand -- Six tips for optimizing cash flow -- Managing your money -- Good business practices -- Checks and balances -- Test your people -- Be cool, there's a solution -- Take care of your people -- Pay quickly -- Be bold, then follow through -- Setting up shop--basic advice for starting your business -- Spotlight shooter : Paul Elledge -- 11. Sex, money, and drama -- My first magazine cover shoot -- Blah, blah, blah -- What? -- Was I really that bad? -- Politics happen -- What they don't know can't come back and bite you -- Keep your mouth shut -- Be aware of how you are seen -- Be aware of your dramatic actions -- Money, money, money -- When do you fight, and when do you walk away? -- Occasionally, you get a bone -- Spotlight shooter : Anthony Nex -- 12. It's all in your head -- What do you do all day? -- Avoiding the freelance pitfalls -- Pitfall : shooting everything except what you need -- Pitfall : soon I'll be an expert -- Pitfall : well, now that it's Thursday -- Pitfall : the meetings -- Pitfall : your portfolio is still not done -- Time management for the Bohemian -- The dreaded to-do list -- So what do you put on the to-do list? -- Technology stress -- Any given Monday -- The sign of the times -- Give it to me straight, doc -- Walking and chewing gum, and printing pictures, and answering email, and buying plane tickets -- That sure is a big toolkit -- Hope on the horizon -- Your ego -- Open your mind -- Spotlight shooter : Ross Pelton -- 13. Brand identity -- Oh look, it's a brand -- Remember, it's still about the work -- Try it yourself first -- The primary element--the logo -- When are you done? -- The secondary element--the color palette -- Bringing it together -- Change is good? -- Change is bad? -- Complete makeover -- Staying relevant -- The art of reinvention -- 14. That's a wrap! -- War zone -- Dark, beautiful, and useless -- Brazil -- Could you repeat that? -- If you do this for me, the reward will be -- That's a wrap -- Index.

Written for both advertising photographers and those who are merely enthusiasts, Advertising Photography focuses on the advertising world, presenting the industry through real-world experience. To get ahead of the commercial advertising world, you need to be a master social networker, a savvy bid creator, a marketing guru, and a politician. This book includes key strategies to become skillful in each of these areas with advice from some of the top image-makers. Illustrated throughout with professional photographs, the book not only discusses various genres as a whole, but includes individual chapters for the most popular advertising genres, such as Fashion, Celebrity, Food, Car, and Travel. This book is the ideal read for anyone interested in in-depth coverage of the commercial photography and advertising industry.