ASSIGNMENT: CD Music Cover Art
THE BRIEF:
A regional music producer for Indy bands and musical groups has a new artist they would like to feature. The artist is young, but blends the styles of country, pop, and jazz with a special sound all his own. He/She plays _____, and I would include it into the image if you need a prop. The idea is that this is a creative look all the way around. They want to feature the artist, but also communicate a level of sophistication and aesthetically free that is the hallmark of the music. The artist may or may not be very comfortable with you so you can be sure that there will be some very creative compositions.
Cover:
Should show musician – with or without instrument. They can be morose or happy – self-indulged angst, or unfettered joy. That is your call. What they cannot be is static. This is not a headshot, although from some inexplicable reason they included Taylor Swift and her head into the mix of likes.
Go figure.
Foldout:
Musician in an environment whether it be rolling hills or an urban warehouse… something to feature them in a space. The space should be lonely (or at least the artist alone) because the songs are about being a bit alone, although not melancholy or tragic. Think contemplatively alone. Think artsy. Think unusual… think CONTEXT!!!. Context is your friend.
The CD’s will be sold online and will be marketed through Amazon and iTunes. This means the cover MUST look great as a small thumbnail so keep tiny detail at a minimum, or at least do not make it mission critical.
CD’s are very close to square in shape, but they can fold out as well, and here is where it can get real dicey for us photographers. Shooting square can be a challenge if you do not watch your frame closely. Remember you will be cropping out the extraneous image parts from the horizontal imaShootingotig to the frame will cause immeasurable headaches.
For the fold out, think horizontal to the max. this is an image twice as wide as it is tall.
This must be two separate images, not a crop of a single image.
I would highly suggest you start plannng this one soon. Time can work against you.
Good luck!
PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
You can choose anyone to be your artist. Age doesn’t matter – it’s a new artist. Same with the instrument. Just keep you demographics in mind.
THEY LIKE THESE:
ASSIGNMENT INFO:
PEOPLE
Artists come in all shapes, ethnicities, and ages. Anyone can be your faux musician star. Friends, relatives, family – anyone can be that up and coming YouTube sensation that is embarking on a fledgling recording career.
The most important thing is to remember they have to make a connection to the viewer through YOUR photograph. Cover art has sold millions of albums – it’s that important.
Wardrobe can be a great prop on its own. Work with your talent to present something unique in the way of expression, or gesture, or location… whatever you can to create a mystique about them.
STILL LIFE
While this is not technically a ‘still life’ shot, you can see from the examples that you can indeed build a great CD cover without the artist in it. Think about the instrument, the demographic, the artist’s music, the artist’s statement and bio. So many things that are not people related that you can do to create an interesting photograph.
Do a lot of exploring and research on your own to see what others have done in different genres.
It is also important to think of narrative. Is there a story you can tell with this musician, or the music that is chosen?
LIGHTING
Be ready for anything with the lighting. You can use natural light, or strobes, or a mix if you want. Just keep in mind that light is also an emotional aspect of the image. Keep your lighting deliberate and appropriate to convey the message of contemplative aloneness (whatever that is).
For the wide shot, most likely it would be natural light unless there was the use of special lights in the shot. Specials could include snooted light, hidden sources etc…
PHOTOSHOP IDEAS:
LIGHTING TUTORIAL
IMAGES FOR REVIEW
