Regardless of the genre, format or type of music that you release or perform, your success is much more than great music. You need to create a strong brand. As with every other product on the planet, you need to promote your brand with images that captivate attention and engagement.
Thanks to Social Media and the emergence of the Influencer cycle, the traditional way of photographing a musician is long gone. Audiences and buyers are bored. They are looking for something new to grab their attention. And strong brand images – not one – but at least 25 – will capture their imagination and hopefully their wallets.
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And the hardest thing to do is to come up with ideas for unique and new images right?
Draft Mood Board to get you started
Consider these points while planning your photoshoot:
1. Create a Mood Board to get an idea of locations, shots, palettes and the story and message that you are conveying through your shots
2. What is the story you are telling? What is the message?
3. What locations would compliment your story and message? Or alternatively completely contrast?
4. What props and instruments could you use to create interest?
5. When dressing for a shoot, make sure you wear plain colours – no patterns or logos – clean lines, specific style, cohesive look in a group shot, colour schemes – that align with your story, message and brand.
6. Look at angles and perspectives that are creative and outside the square. Offer your audience a whole new experience.
7. Identify your on stage character and persona. Identify your on stage energy. Incorporate this into every shot.
8. To showcase your story, message, brand and on stage characters, consider themes and different settings like an urban setting with an edge or a natural landscape with a twist.
9. Capture candid moments – super naturally happy (very attractive and engaging for an audience) or a collection of bloopers and behind the scenes fun shots.
10. Lighting is crucial. Keep the faces well lit. Shadows behind the objects. Use afternoon light with the sun behind you for a beautiful natural hue.
11. Keep backgrounds plain if indoors. Makes it easier later to remove the background if needed
Here are some shots featuring different design elements to inspire you:
Looking directly into the camera owning your on stage persona. Holding an instrument or prop. Moving part of your body like pointing at the camera. Wear a single colour no patterned shirt so that it doesn’t conflict with the background. Use a well lit single colour background so that you can later remove the background if you want to create a greater impact.
Create a strong shape with your body and your instrument by looking backwards. Keep your clothes and the seat plain – either complimentary or in contrast. Hold steady to create clean lines around your body and the instrument.
If you are a DJ, tell your story in a different way from the standard nightclub shot. Using a prop like a record, or a pizza, or a tyre rim – make it the same shape – and then add movement by throwing or spinning it. Keep the face well lit. Sit down so that only one thing is moving. Light background. Plain colours clean lined clothes to keep the attention focused on the item moving.
Strike a pose like this as part of the ongoing story you are telling. In this one – going on the road. Clean lines in your stance. Colours of your clothes (including hat and shoes) plain and contrasting with the environment around you. Make sure the background lines up around the subject. Use the light of the end of the day, with the sun behind you, to leverage off the light.
Movement photos always work. Clothes and shoes plain and clean lines. Use a background that isn’t busy so the subject can easily be seen. Make sure the background lines up around the subject. Use the light of the end of the day, with the sun behind you, to leverage off the light.
Use the law of contrast – in background, clothes (once again plain and clean lines – make sure if cotton or linen that the clothes are ironed and without creases), activity and facial expression to create interest in your story.
Law of Contrast – same background – but using space in the photo so that you can add details about your release or upcoming show in the middle.
Set up a cartoon story IRL in an activity that has nothing to do with music. Keep it within your brand palette and use toys, household items and whatever you can find to create a shot that is clearly fake. Make sure you have decent lighting to minimise shadows and highlight your faces.
Create a character that has nothing to do with your on stage persona. Dress accordingly but in strong plain colours. Hold one prop. Move your body into an unusual position as if you are going to throw or interact with the prop. Use a single colour background or a green screen so that you can add the background later in the design process. Use lighting to highlight the face and throw the shadow behind the body. Create a facial expression that compliments the activity and character.
This photo creates interest with its strong coloured background and very simple use of two bodies filling in the space of the photo with legs to the top and legs to the bottom providing a balance. Dress similarly. If you use a chair or similar prop to get into position ensure it is complimentary to the background or very plain and bland in colour. Do not look directly at the camera and hold facial expressions that counteract the physical position.
Looking happy – creating an infectious feeling when people look at your photo – this attracts attention and engagement. Using ordinary every day items in a cartoonish way
Not everyone can pull this off. But if you can, poking fun at something that otherwise may embarrass you – but in a graceful inoffensive fashion - helps an audience to relate and connect. Not for the faint hearted. Use colours that contrast. A theme – like this one – offers congruency. Have fun with it. Use lighting on the face. No shadows. Single background.
These are just some ideas that you can play around with to create your unique branded look. Enjoy. :-)
Written by Nichola Burton. I work in partnership with Agents, Artist Managers and Event Producers, who juggle a diverse range of relationships in the Musoverse, to curate, manage and measure data in systems, experience, creative and content to support the entire Musoverse operation in my enterprise A Little Pitchy Copyright 2024
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