Organise Your Thoughts And Create Your Image
Before you let loose, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. What makes you and your music stand out from the rest? Gather your ideas and create a mood board using different photos and videos that represent your music and image. It is useful to keep your target group in mind when doing this. Think about how the band photo should look beforehand, create an art direction and discuss it with the photographer. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have achieved the first milestone! And remember to be clear about your image and stay authentic.
Find A Good Photographer
This step really depends on your budget. The higher, the better. But even if you can’t afford much, there’s no need to panic. It doesn’t really matter how professional your photographer is, but they need to have a real feeling for phototography. The quality of the final product has to be excellent. Have a look around local art schools, write ads on notice boards and online portals like rec-orders or dasauge. Ask around you if someone might know someone and post in Facebook groups and social media channels.
Check out potential photographers’ portfolios and decide which of them matches best your style and are the most likely to achieve what you want? Once you’ve found the perfect candidate, ask him/her what’s important for them and tell them what you need. For example, what will the final cost be? What locations and outfits will be used? What conditions are there for publishing the photos? And how many photos can be published? The list goes on…
Take Action
Keep your schedule in mind and plan enough time for the shoot. You should reserve about four hours – more if you want to shoot at several locations (which can easily take a whole day) – and need to include a few breaks along the way. It’s really important that you work as a team and not against one another. Your band photo should embody the spirit of your music. Does the photographer have any comments or tips? If yes, take them on board and try to put them into practice. Don’t be shy, but don’t pose too much either – it can often come across as unnatural. Believe in yourselves and give everything you’ve got. At the end of the day, it should be fun for everyone involved.
Make Your Selection
If everything went according to plan, it should be time for you to select 3 to 5 of the coolest and most convincing band photos. Usually you’ll be offered a large selection to choose from. Everyone has to be happy with the final choice, so make sure that you all agree.
Publish Your Band Photo
Try to use the same band photos on all communication channels. The aim is to be clear and consistent. Your band photos should be easy to find and must catch people’s attention. So be careful how you label them and make sure that the format and resolution are correct.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? So shoot some cool pics and don’t forget to add them to your EPK!
