Sally Montana

Pro Type: Photographer

Hi, I'm a photographer based in Los Angeles and New York City.

Most people wonder how a German-Swiss ends up with a name like mine. Sometimes I reference relatives in the UK or just shrug; sometimes I say Joe Montana is my godfather. Which is ... somewhat true.
My beloved 49ers jacket - bought on eBay in the early 2000s and previously owned by a woman named Sally - dropped into my lap at the perfect time. Starting off only half serious as Sally Montana in art school, it soon became apparent how much value this name and persona hold. Fast forward 20-odd years, and here I am, making photographs, solving problems, and generally loving life.

Born and raised along dirt roads surrounding cornfields in Germany, I studied photography at Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland. After climbing every mountain for over a decade, I relocated to New York and later LA to further my career; some of my personal highlights include three minutes with Jimmy Carter, being rescued by cowboy Larry in the Idaho wilderness, witnessing Scott Kelly get into his spacesuit, and being serenaded by Jeff Goldblum.

My work has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, CNN, Die Zeit, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Harvard Business Review, Village Voice, Rhapsody Magazine, Sunday Times Style, Money Magazine, SWISS Magazine, Lufthansa Woman’s World, FIFA 1904, Der Spiegel, Handelszeitung, Bilanz, among others.

My clients include Amazon Studios+Prime Video, AMC Network, The CW Network, Hulu, Marvel Studios, Paramount+, Starz, Universal Pictures, the United Nations, The Walt Disney Studios, etc.

Oh, hey, and if you know Joe Montana - let him know!