Wildlife Photography, Brand Marketing, and Shooting Billie Eilish’s Album Cover with William Drumm

Send us Fan Mail William Drumm: Wildlife Photography, Brand Marketing, and Shooting Billie Eilish’s Album Cover In this episode of the Underwater Podcast, host Brett Stanley talks with underwater photographer, filmmaker, and content creator William Drumm about building a career between wildlife photography and brand marketing, and the story behind directing Billie Eilish’s *Hit Me Hard and Soft* album cover shoot. William shares how a childhood obsession with holding his breath turned into a marine biology degree, a stint as a cell biologist in Seattle, and a string of press trips that convinced him to go all in on photography. They discuss working in Monterey Bay, shooting for PBS’s *Big Pacific* documentary, and moving from stills into video as the licensing math changed underneath him. William walks through how a set of whale images from Tonga led to Billie Eilish’s team reaching out, what it took to recreate the open ocean inside a Hollywood studio tank, and how that one shoot reshaped his business toward brand marketing through Drumm Media. They close out talking about AI’s growing presence in wildlife and commercial photography, and what it means for authentic work going forward. 00:00 Meet William Drumm 00:58 Hot Tub Breath Holds 01:36 Jellyfish Bucket in Australia 02:47 Scuba Certified at Twelve 04:51 Discounted Gear and First Strobe Shot 06:48 Marine Biology and a Day Job in Science 08:36 First Press Trips: Puffins and Polar Bears 10:58 Carhartt Sponsorship and Early Paydays 13:36 Lighthouse Keeper on Puffin Island 16:48 Choosing Photography Over Science 18:14 Monterey Bay and Shooting Big Pacific 20:36 Shift from Stills to Video 23:36 Stock Footage and Licensing 25:14 Moving Back to Denver, Pivoting Into Brand Marketing 30:58 How Billie Eilish’s Team Found Him 32:47 Recreating the Ocean in a Studio Tank 36:14 Directing a Hollywood Crew 37:36 The Flooded Monitor Housing 41:58 Working With Billie in the Water 45:21 The Album’s Most Challenging Shot 48:36 Instagram Growth After the Shoot 51:36 Founding Drumm Media 55:14 Social Media, SEO, and AI Search 1:02:47 The Ethics of AI Images and Wildlife 1:06:00 Underwater Portraiture as Art 1:07:36 Influences and Closing Thanks Discuss the episode in our facebook group. Read Waterproof Magazine. Support the podcast. Support the show Discuss the episode in our facebook group. Read Waterproof Magazine. Support the podcast.