The Musician’s Guide to Promo Shots

As a musician, it’s important that you invest in professional headshots in New York City for promotional purposes. Whether you’re in a band, or work as a solo musician, a professional photographer can capture the true essence of your talent. Here is the musician’s guide to getting professional promotional shots from a photography studio.

professional headshots Determine What Types of Photographs You’ll Need

Musicians often need a variety of commercial photographs for use in different scenarios. Your portrait photographer will need to know exactly what types of photographs you will need during your session at the portrait studio. You should plan on getting a few professional headshots for use on posters, press releases, and news articles. You may also want candid photos for use on social media sites or for promotional artwork. Your professional photographer may need to prepare different settings or backdrops in his or her portrait studio depending upon the style of photographs that you want.

Clarify the Rights Your Professional Photographer Will Retain

You will need to speak with your portrait photographer ahead of time about what rights he or she will retain to your photographs. The photography studio may require that you purchase the rights to the photographs if you want to use them on social media, in a press kit, in print, or for other promotional purposes. You may only be able to purchase the rights to a subset of the photography portfolio. You will also need to know what attribution you will need to give the professional photographer when the photographs are published.

Consider Bringing Your Instrument to the Photo Shoot

Your portrait photographer will want to take professional headshots and modeling portraits of you in a variety of scenes and poses. Variety is crucial in promotional and commercial photography. You should consider bringing your instrument to the photography studio with you, in case you decide that you want to pose with it in photographs. You might also want to bring a change of clothes in case you want further variety.