Taking Band Photos

Professional photography can make the difference between your band looking smooth and polished and looking like total amateurs. First impressions do matter in this business, and a pro can help make you look your best but you must balance that against the cost. Nowadays most of us have access to some decent photography equipment, so here are a few top tips

• If using a professional ensure you ask them for samples and see if their style is a match with yours. Basically, it comes down to -- do you like their stuff? Their "eye" will be reflected in the photos you see, so look closely. Give them a band bio and any information on you that they might find helpful as to staging the shoot.
  
  
• Overdo hair/makeup and costuming for the shoot.

• Choose cliché backgrounds or poses. If I see another band against a wall or propping up a bar I will go mad! Be original!
  
  
• Don’t wait until the day of the shoot to talk about what everyone thinks the photo should be like. Discussing this ahead of time can save time/money and make things less stressful.
  
  
• Don’t be afraid to voice your thoughts to the photographer -- sometimes it can help to have one person as the "spokesperson" for the group to avoid things getting too chaotic.
  
  
• Don’t hesitate to ask for a break if things are feeling stiff or if you want to talk to band members to see how they feel it is going.

• If you have problems keeping everyone's eyes open at the same time, have everyone close their eyes, count to 2 and open on 3. It helps.
  
  
• Try to make sure everyone gets a good night's rest so you can look your best.

• If the photographer doesn't object, music in the background can help relax you and make the shoot feel more natural. Especially if it's your music!

Hiring a professional photographer can be a great way to make sure your band looks their best but not always necessary when you are first starting out.