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Music on shoots
I like having music while working -- anything that ... ... Sets the mood, and/or ... Encourages the model to move. I have a whole house audio setup & can create a new Pandora/Spotify radio station in less than a minute. I usually have something playing when the model arrives, and I let her make changes. The last session -- I was playing a large Spotify playlist containing acoustic instrumental covers for very familiar songs (like old Beatles songs). She liked it, so we listened while we worked. My only caveat -- it is supposed to be background music; it should not be so loud that it inhibits conversation & communication. >>>>> Tangent Alert >>>>> I have felt, for a long time, that there is an unnamed & under-appreciated art form where the artist matches music to a dramatic situation (as in movies & TV shows, but also during photo sessions). Sometimes, when you find the "perfect" song, it becomes something special. Jul 04 14 01:03 pm Link Eliza C new portfolio wrote: What are all those names you are throwing about? Jul 04 14 01:32 pm Link Random Image wrote: Yeah... why would you want a model to be comfortable and in a good mood when you're shooting. Screw them kids and their bleep bloop wub wub wub computer noise! Jul 04 14 01:51 pm Link Looknsee Photography wrote: Elevator music? Oh God, that is my personal Hell. Nothing but that playing 24/7. Jul 04 14 04:12 pm Link Ask the model prior, some love music, some hate it. Ask if there's any kind of genre that's an absolute turn off (or particular artists/songs they really don't like). I love music though <3 Jul 06 14 09:03 pm Link I really like to focus on what I'm doing when I shoot, and I mean that mentally as well as with the lens. Music hinders that. I've never quite understood people who work and listen to music at the same time because it helps them concentrate because to me, if you have attention focused on the music that necessarily detracts from attention focused on the work. However, just because I don't understand it or grasp the dynamics doesn't mean that such a view isn't valid. It may well be that some do work better to music. I'm simply not one of them, for the reason above. So if the model says it'll help her, she can play what she wants as long as I have a say with the volume, to keep it from distracting me. And indeed that's happened a few times, although the vast majority of my shoots have been music-less. Jul 11 14 08:28 am Link Good Egg Productions wrote: I love music playing on shoots too. Jul 11 14 06:41 pm Link If you want to get lucky on a shoot, play some Barry White in the background.... rumor has it that it does wonders.... im still working on this theory.... Jul 11 14 07:06 pm Link OP: Most of the time people will be cool with having music played. Bring a dock for an Iphone/pod..etc. and let them plug theirs in. Usually most folks react to their own choice of music better. Even on large scale sets, usually the team and models take turns playing whatever music they feel while we are working. Keeps the day going. On a side note, there was a point where a model brought some hard core metal into one of my old studio spaces. I think the band was called Messhuggah (I listen to anything from classical to death metal and everything in between personally, so I did not mind). We ended up having a mosh fest in the studio that included the MUA who also happened to like metal. It turned out to be one of my favorite shoots of all time because everyone loosened up and relaxed into the shoot while having fun more than if there was stiff awkward silence. Just my opinion though. good luck! Jul 11 14 08:05 pm Link I always play music and sometimes I share but not always! LOL Jul 11 14 08:18 pm Link Personally, I love music on while I shoot. Usually something to suit the mood of the shoot, but anything works! It depends on the model really, do not hesitate to ask "Hey would it be cool if I brought some music along? Do you have a preference?" Some models find it relaxes them more, while others find it distracting. That's about all there is to it. Jul 15 14 11:35 am Link Totally a great idea! Jul 15 14 11:54 am Link Definitely prefer music! Though every model with have a different preference on genre and style. Jul 15 14 03:30 pm Link The first thing I do with a new model as soon as I have her out on the studio floor, as I'm taking my initial exposure measurements, is point to my stereo and say, "I apologize if everything on that iPod is older than YOU are..." *Rimshot* Then I just smile, and my models are almost invariably polite and just deal with whatever music I've selected. I play reggae dubs. Or Hendrix. Or UK house music. Or interesting club mixes of old songs my models might have heard their parents play. Stuff that they may not necessarily LOVE (or listen to on their own), but stuff that's pretty hard to HATE -- and that clearly represents my attempt to create an easygoing, fun, relaxed work environment in which we can collaborate and create. (Frequently, playing a soundtrack with which a model is unfamiliar gives us something to talk about, and it becomes a nice icebreaker by which we begin to establish a deeper rapport.) The music invariably keeps our energy levels up (and, in some cases, since I have several playlists from which to choose, the music allows me to set the tone I want the model to evince). Regardless of style, my playlists are always timed out to be approximately one hour (+/- 2 minutes) -- since I pay by the hour -- and they allow me to keep track of the time and stay on pace during the photo session without watching the clock on the wall. Thus, the music has some practical utility as well as qualitative benefits. Jul 15 14 08:52 pm Link I build a playlist built on the model or my clients preferences. Jul 15 14 09:02 pm Link wow I really wish all shoots would play music, it can help set the mood and break the ice, less awkwardness, especially when there is complete silence and the photographer says a million times "yea! like that beautiful!...? I think I could go on a rant about the awkward things they say.. so I'll stop myself here  Jul 24 14 10:32 pm Link DPH Photos wrote: For me, bring in the music! Jul 25 14 11:36 pm Link it's amusing how many photographers answer questions posed to models, as this thread is. I guess most American shooters fancy themselves as models then. bahahahahahahahaha Jul 26 14 09:07 am Link i always have music..m Jul 26 14 09:17 am Link Thanks for all the feedback. I seriously thought this thread would b dead by now. I think I'm just going to go with this for my default music? https://timelife.com/products/the-best-of-soft-rock Jul 26 14 02:36 pm Link |
So I guess models are not bothering to respond. 
