DJ Musican promo shot ideas

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jimmy83

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Good friend of mine is after a couple of portrait shot for his DJ'ing work. As a keen fan myself I've seen quite a mixture from other DJ's/bands.

I quite like the half shadow/half in light face shots but everyone seems to have that nowadays. Does anyone have/take any DJ/band shots? Just after ideas and setup producer really.
 
Just a thought, and don't take this the wrong way im just being straight.
If you find yourself having to ask for ideas that are not your own then do you really think you should be doing the shoot?
The whole idea is to inspire yourself, break the mold and make your own images, go with what you feel is right and not what people tell you.
 
James - pinch ideas, it's the easiest way to give yourself an in-road into getting the shot. Things don't have to be totally original, it's just that you can put your own spin on something that's been done before.

Have a butchers at DJ shots that exist already and go for something that he likes and what you feel you can achieve.

Does he want studio-type portraits or one of him actually DJing?

There's no shame in using what exists as inspiration - not every shot has to be a trailblazer....
 
Inspiration from shots that have been done is always good, but need to try and put your own slant on them, is difficult to get something new when you think not only how long photos have been getting taken for, but how long paintings have been around, so most things have been tried would say :)

Have done some in that style with a model, link to show you below, was on location in a local Night Club, set up one Studio Head for main light from front, speedlite (was no room for second studio head) as hair light/rim light.

Linky...........

Have also done some band stuff at a gig, search my posts for Contraband.
 
Good example there although I'd try to include more of the decks in the shot as it looks like she is caressing a scaffolding pole wrapped with some cables whilst wearing headphones.
 
Ok so i said i to myself i wouldn't suggest anything but here goes lol
What tunes does your mate play? I used to play out techno, hard trance, breaks and d&b and obviously as genres go some are worlds apart in terms of style, the kind of people who go to whatever nights and the whole scene that goes with whatever genre. That's important for you to consider as its no good creating a dark and gritty feel for a Latin house dj likewise you don't want a warm and cosy feel for a drum n bass dj.
So suit the mood and light accordingly.
 
Simon photo said:
Ok so i said i to myself i wouldn't suggest anything but here goes lol
What tunes does your mate play? I used to play out techno, hard trance, breaks and d&b and obviously as genres go some are worlds apart in terms of style, the kind of people who go to whatever nights and the whole scene that goes with whatever genre. That's important for you to consider as its no good creating a dark and gritty feel for a Latin house dj likewise you don't want a warm and cosy feel for a drum n bass dj.
So suit the mood and light accordingly.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone house/tech house/techno
 
A Quick "tech up" is to obviously get the dj behind some cdj mk iii's they light up like Christmas trees and the newer pioneer mixers if they hook up i pads all the better. If they run exclusively from laptops then that's always a let down and doesn't give the potential raver much faith in who they are going to see.
It also depends on what the image is for... flyers, websites. and what sort of venues they play at. A simple head and shoulders shot of some guy behind decks won't cut it these days, look around and its all composites and vectors.
 
Simon photo said:
A Quick "tech up" is to obviously get the dj behind some cdj mk iii's they light up like Christmas trees and the newer pioneer mixers if they hook up i pads all the better. If they run exclusively from laptops then that's always a let down and doesn't give the potential raver much faith in who they are going to see.
It also depends on what the image is for... flyers, websites. and what sort of venues they play at. A simple head and shoulders shot of some guy behind decks won't cut it these days, look around and its all composites and vectors.
Click to expand...

Cheers, although I think iam going to start with a basic head/shoulders shot with no decks/laptop to start with and see how I get on.
 
This may come as harsh but google is your friend. TP will not have a huge number of people into what you are looking for. If you know the scene then you should have an idea of what's out there. MixMag et al are great and google for lots of ideas.

You will always mimic someone's idea whether intentional or not, there is no crime in it but as said try to put a spin on it. Get a scrap book of ideas and try to work out the technical, then if stuck link to the image and ask for help.

My final point is try not to be contrived. What the average person will shoot for a dj promo is usually v different than what a person in and around that scene will produce and while many will say it looks great those in the know will shun it as unoriginal and trite. Mags and sites dedicated to the genre are your friend here.

While I don't shoot house music, there are some musician portraits on my site link below.
 
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A dj friend recently asked me why EVERY SINGLE dj promo shot that he'd seen had the dj looking grumpy dead on towards the camera. Try to avoid the cliches :p
 
If someone turns up to one of my shoots with any 'props' like headphones or CDjs I threaten to throw them into the nearest river.

For a good 'promo' shot all the cliche crap like that makes someone look really low end.

You need to make the shot easy to cut out for flyers, generally with my press shoots then this will be something cleaner than the rest of the shoot. As said by someone in the thread, the shot also needs to reflect their style and how they are being marketed.

Also it doesn't need to be simply studio based, a recent shoot with oakenfold was done simply taking over the hotel he was staying in.
 
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fastworldimages said:
Also it doesn't need to be simply studio based, a recent shoot with oakenfold was done simply taking over the hotel he was staying in.
Click to expand...
Simple as taking over a hotel? Simple if your oaki :lol: i guess he doesn't really need props for people to twig onto who he is or what he does but for the up and coming, a visual reference always helps.
Props don't have to be cheese though.
I remember a promo poster for Alex kid going round a while back where he is smashing up a 1210 ala Pete townshend
 
Marketing a dj of any standard is important. Market to look high end and not some noob wearing hd-25s infront of a brick wall for no reason.

Visual references look crap when putting them on flyers etc. Hence the no to cdj/headphones. Same as putting a girl lying on her back and then surrounding her by vinyl or CDs. Sorry but I don't agree having a visual reference helps here. Just because someone isn't established you should still be marketing them
Correctly. I work closely with a lot of djs and their management companies and see exactly how they push artists.

Using hotels/etc isn't massive task most people will have a friend who has some interesting space whether it be their own home or somewhere they work. We recently had use of the picidilly intitute for a few hours because of a contact. Not only does it give you a different work space but can also help keep costs down.
 
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