Publicity Photos

[Carl]

Back when there were only about 16 sites on the World Wide Web, the one I used to visit for instant amusement was the Hall of Douchebags. It's a gallery of publicity photos from bands that we can logically assume suck. Somehow, this site stayed under the radar and hasn't been updated in years, but it's still there for us to enjoy.

These days, I spend a fair amount of time dealing with publicity photos, and I'm amazed how many of them - from bands that don't suck - would fit in with their gallery. Apparently, budget is not an obstacle when creating unappealing publicity photos, as bands that actually sell albums continue to use old standbys: the brick wall background, the scowl, the disinterested look, the ratty clothes that only sort of match.

There are some new trends developing, and they're not good. Let's take this photo of My Morning Jacket (a perfectly legitimate band) as an example:

A big thing I'm seeing lately is the vignette/fisheye look with the border to give it a photo album feel. This doesn't help. And we realize that Rock Stars have to give off this aura of not trying too hard, but if you went to the trouble to commission a shoot in a junkyard with a pro photographer, you can at least ALL look interested (guy in red shirt with ponytail). The vintage/ironic T-shirts don't help either.

A little planning would do wonders for these things. Think: what do you want to convey? What image do you want to create? In this case, it's mild disinterest with a hint of arrogance.

Any publicity photos catch your eye lately?

[MindCrime]

I like the caption under each band's photo that pokes fun at them.

[Farin]