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- HOW TO PORTRIAT SHOTS IN A PERCUSSION STUDIO HOW TO
- HOW TO PORTRIAT SHOTS IN A PERCUSSION STUDIO FULL
Everyone wants to wear black in a black studio, against a black wall. I photograph primarily heavy metal and rock music, so this is something I deal with daily. Killin’ Candace Everyone is wearing the same color clothing You can achieve a similar effect by posing on stairs, walls, rocks, or anything that allows one person to sit while the rest are crouched or standing. The frontman or frontwoman sits in the chair. The taller members can crouch on the ground at the corners of the chair while the shorter members can stand around the chair. My go-to – which tends to receive favorable reviews – is to place one member sitting on a chair and pose the rest of the band around the chair. Thirdly, get creative with levels and props. A reverse V or U shape is an excellent idea!
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Place the taller members further in the back and the shorter members closer to the front.
HOW TO PORTRIAT SHOTS IN A PERCUSSION STUDIO FULL
If the band does want full body shots, play with perspective. Luckily, there are some clever solutions!įirstly, if your band promotional image doesn’t include full body shots, simply place the member(s) on boxes (often called ‘apples’ in studios) that even-out their height. This is a very common situation you’ll encounter. Not all of the band members are a similar height – someone might be very short or extremely tall The posing will be very loose, fun, and expressive – likely a popular choice would be to place the two lads back to back with them looking over their shoulders at one another laughing and the arms placed in very relaxed positions.Īs a photographer, much of our jobs revolve around bringing a static visual image to an ever-moving description. Likewise, say an all-male pop duo approaches you with a very light-hearted, summer, beach feel to their music, with a tagline revolving around living every day in the moment. Their chins will likely be a bit lower down with a very slight hunch and legs tightly placed together, and eyes are looking directly towards the camera (whilst the face is slightly lower down). With this in mind, the posing will likely be more rigid with the band members standing in a crescent formation due to the ritualistic nature. Say that a five-piece, all-female symphonic metal band approaches you, with a melancholy and dark sound, whose story revolves around pagan rituals. Here is an example of how these three questions can drive a photo shoot. What is the story the band wants to convey with their presence?.Music and imagery tie together, and whatever image is evoked by the sound is one that you should likely follow). What image does the music evoke? (I find that closing my eyes and listening to some of the key songs pointed out by the band can provide a lot of inspiration.
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What is the stereotypical image for that genre? (This being said, the image does not have to be stereotypical – but there are some specific poses to include if you want to really push on the fact that the band plays a specific type of music).
HOW TO PORTRIAT SHOTS IN A PERCUSSION STUDIO HOW TO
Much of how I figure out how to pose bands has to do with three key factors: For example, metal music has a much darker, harder, and tougher edge to it than, say, a girl pop band. Doubling back to the idea that a photograph of a band needs to sell their music, the genre portrayal can be a fundamental part of that goal. The genre of music can impact every facet of the image, but not necessarily. To make this even more complex, the audience members have to develop the right preconceived idea of what the music will sound like based on the picture! This is the same principle that is applied to album artwork. The poses, styling, arrangement, lighting, and everything in between is akin to the marketing of the music group itself. Though all types of photographs tell a story, band photography has to sell both the image and idea of the band. How does band photography differ from, say, a group portrait at a sports game or a family reunion? Well, the short answer is – the intent is different. I hear this question a lot in my line of work. So before you find yourself having a crisis – unsure of how to properly get bands set up for their epic promotional shoot – check out your guide to posing bands in photography! How is band photography different from other group photography? Getting your favorite band into your photo studio might sound like a dream come true – but could quickly turn into a disaster if you don’t know what you’re doing! Not all bands know how to pose or position themselves for photographs, and it’s your job as a photographer to direct them.
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