Career Advice
If you’re like a lot of artists, deciding what your image should be is enough to cause that nauseous feeling to creep up the back of your throat. I mean, how fun is it to decide on things that will cause someone to make an opinion about? If this sounds like you, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Image control is one of the most misunderstood parts of a music career.
One thing that’s for sure is having the right image for your style of music is key in connecting to the fan-base your going after. One of the most visible areas of artist imagery is always their pictures.
Band/Artist pictures should be one area that all developing acts should focus time on and creative energy towards. It’s sad to say, but great images are almost always associated with great acts. Think about it; When you see a band/artist that has great creative images of themselves, you assume that their music is just better then those who don’t. It’s sad to say, but it’s true.
Great pictures have many benefits other then a positive perception about your music. An artist is much more likely to get press mentions, album reviews and lots of other promotional opportunities just because of great image they can use for the story.
Don’t feel that you need to go out and spend thousands of dollars getting the best photographer to shoot you or your band. A quick search on Google or Craigslist will probably net you hundreds of great photographers you can shop around and compare prices with.
If you’re confused on how the pictures should look, just research bands within your style of music that, in your opinion, get in right with the pictures they have and use that as a starting point for creating ideas for yourself.
Also, it’s a good rule of thumb to get new pictures before each album or, in some cases, EP release. Usually, you would want some basic theme connecting your album artwork and the images of you or your band. Don’t be afraid of being creative and taking risk, however just don’t go overboard. To be safe, make sure your pictures are a part of some sort of realistic setting.
So take a look at your image, pictures and all thing visual related to your music and start making changes that will have a long lasting positive impact to your career.