Another inspiring artist that I’ve listened to while editing and coming up with shoots is Lana Del Rey. Her deep, sultry sounds tends to move me into the dark vintage/erotic noire aesthetic. Although her her voice is somewhat haunting, I still get this vulnerable and tender vibe from her music. For this segment, I’m using pictures that I took backstage for SAC Fashion Week (2016). I was actually listening to Lana’s new album “Honeymoon” while shooting the show, which made me focus on dynamic framing and “B-Roll” kind of photos. I did half of the photos in a high contrast black and white format (not that surprised). During the show, I was more attracted to vintage designs, darker corners of the room, and things that were very sparkly (shined with flash). Throughout the show, I switched back and forth from her “Honeymoon” album, her older work, and her remixed songs on youtube, yielding very different results.
When listening to Lana Del Rey while shooting and/or editing, I usually mix her up with different artists such as: The Weeknd, Marilyn Manson, Miguel, Garbage, Massive Attack, Deftones (of course), Drake, Roy Woods, Portishead, and PARTYNEXTDOOR. Shuffling these artists around tend to have a crazy effect when I’m shooting (more so than editing). I suggest you try to put together a playlist of these and more artists (depending on your musical taste), listen to it while shooting, and see what happens. Narrate the story as you’re shooting it. At some point you may discover a certain theme or similarities between your bracketing.
Photos such as these have a similar theme (not just because I photographed them in the same area). The softness of Lana Del Rey’s voice had me messing with the aperture settings quite a bit. I went from shooting at a 5.6-7.1, to 4.5 instantly. I wanted that blur in the shot, where ever it was, I needed it in the shot. Even the bottom photo that’s completely blurred out makes me think of Lana’s “High By The Beach” song instantly. The song feels as hazy as that photograph looks. I wanted that “easy-going”/ “wind-swept” kind of vibe with these pictures (lucky for me it was naturally windy that day).
This last photograph I edited while listening to Lana Del Rey’s REMIXED music on youtube (which I later downloaded). The Synth remix of “Gods And Monsters” was one of my favorites; I also listened to “Ultraviolence” and “Body Electric”. These songs helped me stay within the gloomy, eroticism that is Lana Del Rey, but it forced me to experiment with changing the colors and vibrance level.
Below is a list of songs that inspire me while editing or shooting photos. Not in any particular order, but all worth looking into.
Top Songs For Lana Del Rey:
“Body Electric”
“Gods And Monsters”
“Art Deco”
“Blue Jeans”
“Burning Desire”
“Honeymoon”
“Oh Say Can You See”
“Pretty When I Cry”
“Sad Girl”
“Shades Of Cool”
“The Other Woman”
“Ultraviolence”
“West Coast”
“Young and Beautiful”
“Yayo”
“Trash”
“High By The Beach”
“Cola (Pussy)”
Have fun with these songs! If you have any artists that inspire you, let me know here! I’d love to hear about what makes your synesthesia work 🙂
