MUSIC & PHOTOGRAPHY - How music changes portrait photography
„The soundtrack behind the portrait.“ There is always music when I photograph or edit my photos. Not because I need background noise. Because music can change what happens in front of the camera. It can change the energy in a room. It can make someone move differently. It can bring back a memory. It can make someone smile. It can slow everything down. For me, music has become one of the most underestimated tools in portrait photography.
01 – Music carries memories
Ask someone: „What’s your favourite song?“ Or: „What song reminds you of your wedding?“ „What did you listen to after your last breakup?“ Usually, there is an answer. Because music is connected to memories in a very direct way. A song can suddenly take you back to a person. A place, the summer of your life, a relationship or just a moment you thought you had forgotten. And that is incredibly powerful when you photograph people. Because suddenly, you are not only working with a person in front of your camera. You are working with everything that a song can bring with them.
02 – I ask for their playlist
Before a shoot, I often ask people to send me their favourite tracks or a playlist. It gives me an anchor. I listen to it before we meet. I get a feeling for what they like, what inspires them and what kind of energy they connect with. And then I choose. Not every song. The ones that feel right for the person. The ones that might fit the moodboard. The ones that might fit the clothes. The ones that might fit the story we want to create. If we’re shooting a cool street look with denim, maybe something more energetic or rock-oriented makes sense. If someone is sitting in a white blazer for a more sophisticated portrait, maybe the soundtrack needs to feel completely different. There is no formula. I listen. I watch. And then I see where the shoot wants to go.
03 – Music creates the mood
For me, music isn’t decoration. It creates the room. Imagine photographing someone while something quiet and melancholic is playing. The energy changes. Now put on something like Linkin Park. Completely different world. Suddenly there is movement. Energy. Power. You want to go somewhere. You want to do something. That’s what I use. Sometimes I want to bring someone down. Sometimes I want to lift them up. Sometimes I want them to become quiet. Sometimes I want them to go completely crazy. The music helps me get there.
04 – The set can become a different place
I remember doing a demo shoot at a workshop. I turned the music up. Really up. And I went for it. Full energy. The people watching were almost perplexed. They were looking at me like: „Is this what a portrait shoot looks like?” Yes. For me, it can be exactly that. I don’t stand there saying: “Look a little left. Now a little right. Perfect.” I know what I want. I know where we’re going. And I bring the energy to get us there. Sometimes the entire shooting process takes only a couple of minutes. Because the music, the energy and the direction create something that would take hours if everyone was standing around waiting for the perfect pose.
05 – Energy is contagious
Someone once told me: „You have to walk into a room with 400% energy so that 100% reaches the other person.“ I think about that a lot. It isn’t only true when you’re standing on a stage. It’s true when you’re photographing someone. If I am not excited about what I’m doing, why should the person in front of my camera be excited? If I don’t believe that what we’re creating is great, why should they believe it? My energy becomes part of the experience. And music helps me create that energy. But it isn’t about being loud all the time. Sometimes 400% energy means creating complete calm. Sometimes it means slowing everything down. The important thing is that the energy is intentional.
06 – The music belongs to them, too
That’s why I don’t simply arrive with my own playlist. I want to know what they listen to. Because the strongest songs are often already connected to something inside them. Maybe it’s their favourite song. Maybe it reminds them of someone. Maybe they listened to it every morning for a year. Maybe it was the soundtrack to a particular time in their life. And suddenly I don’t have to explain how they should feel. The music does some of the work for me. I just have to notice what happens.
07 – I use music after the shoot, too
The relationship with music doesn’t end when we put the camera down. I also use it during post-production. I tell people: „Send me the tracks that inspire you.“ Because I want to understand their vibe while I’m working on their photographs. Sometimes a song influences the way I approach the colour grading. Sometimes it’s the energy. Sometimes it’s simply the feeling I have while looking at the images. The photograph and the music don’t have to literally match. But they can live in the same emotional world and that matters to me.
08 – Music is a tool
Photographers think a lot about equipment. Which camera? Which lens? Which light? Which modifier? Which flash? But I think there are other tools that we sometimes forget. Music is one of them. It doesn’t cost much. It doesn’t need a technical setup. But it can completely change the atmosphere of a shoot. It can motivate someone. Relax someone. Inspire someone. Bring back a memory Or simply make them feel good. And when someone feels good, something changes in front of the camera.
09 – The photograph starts before the shutter
That’s what I love about portrait photography. The photograph isn’t created only by the camera. It is created by everything happening around it. The conversation. The light. The direction. The energy. The music. The person. And the moment when all of these things suddenly come together. Maybe that’s why I don’t see music as something playing in the background.
10 – For me, music is part of the photograph.
It helps create the experience that eventually becomes the image. And sometimes, the right song can do something that another light modifier never could. It can make someone feel something. And that’s when the photograph starts to live. And sometimes, turn the music up.
