Looks like The Band is on a full fledged tour next year! How do you feel about that?

[Dawn]

It's a publicity photo being used on a commercial website. Theirs. Pretty sure consumers buying tickets might have seen it. Just sayin.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I don't care for the styling at all in the publicity photo - not sure what image the brand is trying to project or who their target consumer is.

I disagree with some of the conclusions being made but I do agree that the styling is poor. The backdrop is odd and it seems it’s trying to appeal to a much younger group

[Dawn]

Yes I tend to share that opinion - between the two publicity photos with Gill and Deacon, I would probably say i liked the styling on the first one better but it's been awhile since I've seen that one I'd need to refresh my memory. Wonder if the styling on the two were done by the same person/persons?

[MaryCalifornia]

"Styling" refers to wardrobe. I think the wardrobe is right on point, natural, perfect, flattering for each guy and reflective of their individual styles. Timothy maybe a little too casual with that shirt. Grooming is also on point - excellent. Accessories Sunglasses, rings and bracelets give enough rock n' roll vibe without being too much. Age appropriate. Props - two guitars - meh, they're nice guitars but could do without. Hipster vintage sofa - meh, distracting. Backdrop/Location - industrial, seems fine and very much in line with location (vs. studio) backdrops of prior years and decades of outdoors Eagles publicity photos. Movement and spacing Don and Timothy in power poses, full body shot in manspread stance. The only full hands shown are those of the guitarists - interesting. Sweet semi-grin on Vince - he is happy to be there. If anyone in this photo looks dour its Don and Joe, but to me it reads more "straightforward" than dour. Deacon with poor posture like a true young-20 something, cradling his dad's instrument. There is a lot going on here and I think it's a really good photo, I'd like to know who took it.

[Dawn]

I don't care for the styling the sunglasses in particular and the posing just looks awkward. IMHO end result is an overall weird vibe.

[YoungEaglesFan]

I don’t like Don’s stance it’s weird with his hand in his pockets. I don’t like the room they are in with the different type of walls. I think Tim and Deacon look fine though having Deacon in the center is not the best choice imo. I think Vince looks pretty distant and separated from the others in the photo and joe is kinda the same.

[Dawn]

The photo of the band is very important - it is the collective "face" of the product (the brand) being marketed and ultimately sold through live concert ticket sales, records, apparel, other merch, etc). Not saying it's the "be all end all" but it is an integral part. Personally, I find it very interesting to look back over the years at the different styling approaches.

[Dawn]

I think Deacon is very photogenic and has a great smile just like his mom and dad. The serious, dour, near somber, straightforward expressions seem out of touch - distant and non engaging.

[sodascouts]

I haven't really commented on the photo because it seemed to be getting a bit tired but since people are treating it a bit more seriously...

As part of my composition course, the students learn how to analyze visual rhetoric - in other words, how visuals can "argue" just as effectively as a text in some ways. They write a visual rhetorical analysis deconstructing the strategies employed by ads to influence the audience through the use of visuals... ads like this one. You can bet a lot of thought goes into these things. That includes how people are posed and their facial expressions.

The fact that many of you are looking at it and saying "It's just a photo of guys hanging out - none of it means anything" simply means that they did their job well because in advertising, visual rhetoric is designed to work without you consciously registering it. If we were looking at a candid photo, I can see giving people a hard time for analyzing it, but an ad? That's fair game.

We should consider that they might have been told where to sit and where to stand, as opposed to choosing it themselves. The same is true of the setting. Even the looks on their faces and their postures could be influenced by suggestions from the photographer. A good photographer will still allow their personalities to shine through, though.

Regardless, there is a reason they paid good money for the photo to be taken and used in their marketing instead of the original, more formally posed photo. One does not have to attribute nefarious motives to them to recognize that.

That chapter in the textbook is actually coming up pretty soon. I might slip this photo in there for a practice analysis and see what my students come up with.

[maryc2130]

I haven't really commented on the photo because it seemed to be getting a bit tired but since people are treating it a bit more seriously...

As part of my composition course, the students learn how to analyze visual rhetoric - in other words, how visuals can "argue" just as effectively as a text in some ways. They write a visual rhetorical analysis deconstructing the strategies employed by ads to influence the audience through the use of visuals... ads like this one. You can bet a lot of thought goes into these things. That includes how people are posed and their facial expressions.

The fact that many of you are looking at it and saying "It's just a photo of guys hanging out - none of it means anything" simply means that they did their job well because in advertising, visual rhetoric is designed to work without you consciously registering it. If we were looking at a candid photo, I can see giving people a hard time for analyzing it, but an ad? That's fair game.

We should consider that they might have been told where to sit and where to stand, as opposed to choosing it themselves. The same is true of the setting. Even the looks on their faces and their postures could be influenced by suggestions from the photographer. A good photographer will still allow their personalities to shine through, though.

Regardless, there is a reason they paid good money for to be taken and used in their marketing instead of the original, more formally posed one. One does not have to attribute nefarious motives to them to recognize that.

That chapter in the textbook is actually coming up pretty soon. I might slip this photo in there for a practice analysis and see what my students come up with.

That would be an interesting exercise. I'd be curious to know what they come up with!