Rules for main photograph on Digipak

By Karl Gillings

The lead singer is always at the front!When advertising for an artist, the record label will design them to be portrayed in a particular way. For most bands the lead singer is seen as the leader and will usually be the most vocal in interviews and other types of promotional media. This can be seen in band photos as well. The lead singer is heavily light, centre of the frame and closer to the lens of the camera, giving them the most attention in comparison to the other band members. This could be based off of their importance to the band. For Example, not only is Dave Grohl the lead singer he is also the founder of the band who brought them all together after the end of nirvana in 1994. However, not only does the record labels know that people are attracted to band/music because of the singer and their talent they also know that the lead singer will mainly be the most attractive member of the band. Record labels can even go to extremes to make them more attractive by putting them on fitness regimes and styling them in a certain way. This can be seen majorly when aiming the artist at a younger audience EG: Justin Bieber

As we can see in many photos of band;

EXAMPLES!

Stylinglead singer (or leads) will all be styled to appeal to the target audience of the band. This can be seen most if the band play a particular genre of music like Heavy-Metal or Emo. This is done to ensure that the audience will like them people and perhaps attract people to their music for this reason.Example – Blood on the dance floor.

Another reason for this is to make an impact with their music and be remembered for what they wore rather than what they played/sang. An example of this is Lady Gaga. She is an artist who is known for her “character” more than the songs she makes. This effect has a lot to do with the media and how the artist is portrayed to the public. For example,she will always be known for

Mostly by their hair, you can tell that this band have put a lot of effort into their portrayal. This will appeal to their target audience but may have the opposite effect to a wider audience as their obscurity may lead to prejudices about their music.

“Photoshop”In the industry today, the majority of pictures taken are edited and “improved” with software that will enhance the end result of the picture. This is to make the band/artist look more attractive which will appeal to the fans. This could however be linked to making the band/artist seem like something that can be idolised by everyone. By making them seem flawless some may infer that the same can be said about their music. This will maybe gain more interest for the band especially from people who are obsessed with liking the latest popular band/artist.

The use of Photoshop is also becoming an industry standard with every major photographer, using it to give themselves a better reputation.