Good design is hard to come by. Interesting composition can be hindered by the lack of interesting elements. Interesting elements can be hindered by lack of interesting composition. Design is in everything we see, ads, packaging, articles, movies and photos. This issue to take a look at a classic design, a simple design that has a lasting and varying effect depending on the band and subtle details.
Whether it’s a group or an individual the effect of their faces as a focus can have a tremendous impact. Treated correctly the image can have as much to say as an entire album.
We’ve collected examples of famous artists albums that are well thought out and those that are less so. The biggest part of creating an album like this is lighting. Lighting design is one of the most things a photographer/designer needs to consider when approaching a project. Proper lighting design can make more of a difference to a photo than any camera. Your basic lighting set up is 3 point lighting. You have one direct light, a fill light and a back light. However in some instances it’s important to have more, though in this case less.
QUEEN II - Spot light splashes down from above on to Queen who we can all agree were always a bit cheeky. There’s a touch of that cheekiness here but theres a solumness as well. That’s reflected in the lighting design. There is also a fill light to bring out some of the details in the hair and features in order to keep the band from looking like true floating heads.
PIANO MAN - Here we have a well known name and a well known album that is nothing if not terrifying. Sadly, while this is very similar to the Queen album, they’ve over exposed the face lighting it from the top giving Billy Joel a sort of dog nose and by having the fill light to low. There aren’t enough highlights in the hair nor filling out his face. It’s caused him to become a weird floating man, doll, head, thing.
AIN’T NOBODY SMILING - Common has always been a serious artist, political and community aware. Of all of our examples of this particular ...troupe. The lighting is perfection. The highlights are spot on, not blown out, the gradient of light is evenly distributed across his face, with a hint of his neck touched in there keeping him from feeling disembodied. Built with a soft spot and a medium fill, all artwork should aspire to this level.
THE SCORE - The Fugees are arguably the first in the movement of serious R&B artists that tried to tackle social issues affecting their community. Unfortunately for this album art, the lighting wasn’t quite on par. In this case the fill light was either too strong and it caused a lot of the would be highlights to flatten out in what is otherwise a very strong composition, or it was artificially "enhanced" poorly.
It’s true that every year photography becomes more accessible, that does not however mean it becomes better. Photographers are not created equal, but with practice, patience and love anyone can be amazing.
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