DAY 117

FASHION & BEAUTY

Setting the Mood of the Shoot

THE PERFECT MUSIC PLAYLIST

Music played during a photo shoot can greatly aid and inspire the photographer, talent, and crew. A carefully crafted playlist will help put the model at ease. While in a studio or on location, music is an essential part of the image-making process.

Make two 40-song playlists. The first consists of music for the time up to the shoot, with ambient and house music, and the second consisting of high-energy pop, techno, and rap music for the actual photo session. Order the songs in the first playlist so that the music starts mellow and chill. Increase the tempo of each song, and end it with an upbeat song that will transition into your second high-energy mix. The first mix is to be played while participants are arriving and the talent is receiving their makeup and hair is being styled.

The second list should start fast and end even faster! Have fun with this list. Songs from any genre will work as long as they share a pulsating beat and are up-tempo. Fashion and beauty photography is often about capturing movement and emotion, so explore songs with sensual base lines and rhythm that motivate people to move. This mix is meant to be played at a high volume as long as it does not drown out your direction to the model. Think of yourself as a club DJ that has to please a crowd of diverse people while enticing them to dance and keeping them moving. Stay with current music, and choose songs for your playlist as carefully as you choose your equipment. —MR