There's no question that music and photography go together like peanut butter and jelly. Making a creative statement with either medium often requires a series of steps that help develop and clarify what the end result is expected to achieve. When I initially got together with Jordan to discuss the photo shoot we were planning, we had a discussion about how to visually illustrate his style and his music. It went a bit like this: Me: So let's talk about your style, both musical and personal. What I want to accomplish with this conversation is to create a look for your marketing that is authentic to you and your music. First, I always like to ask if you have any ideas or direction for the shoot that we can start with. JO: Not really, just need some good photos for the web and maybe posters for shows. Me: Ok, no problem. One way I like to get down to the essential info is to ask you a series of what will seem like silly questions. Based on your answers I can get a pretty good idea of how to illustrate what you are about in a visual format.
(Side note: Artists tend to think in terms of the way that their art affects the five senses. Musicians tend to think with their ears, Chefs with their palette, and photographers with their eyes. Asking lots of questions can bridge the gaps in communication when artists of different mediums work to collaborate.)
Me: Would you describe your musical style as more Beastie Boys or Tom Petty?
JO: (laughing) Definitely not Beastie Boys.
Me: Ok, good, when you play a show, are you wearing leather pants and chains, or jeans and a t-shirt?
JO: Jeans
Me: Which of these locations fits more with your image of yourself and your music; open field, carnival, urban decay, theater.
JO: Hmm, I'd say between the urban and the field.
Me: Great, I think that's all I need for now. I'll email a few location options and let me know which you like best.
And a few weeks later we were shooting in downtown Raleigh. The only prop we used was Jordan's guitar and made use of some unlikely back alley backgrounds. It was a fun shoot and I tried to give some variety by showing both the urban and the more organic environments. I recently walked by that location to discover that the window featured on Jordan's disc is totally busted out, never to be photographed again.
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Awesome. I love the shadow play. Great work as usual, dude.
I just got sucked in to your 'recent wedding' shots on your professional site and WOW - AMAZING SHOTS!!! I felt like I attended the wedding and I have no idea who they are. Almost made me cry to see some of the candid expressions you got!
My fav is the monochrome shot. Has the feel of a record cover- must be very pleased with it. Grant