Photography Meets Music. Visual Meaning and Melody.

We asked photographers to give life to their pictures through songs.

Music and photography share similarities in many ways. Both are forms of artistic expression that appeal to the large audience but leave enough room for everyone to make sense of it in their own way.  Although we’re free to interpret a track or a picture on our own, it’s equally intriguing to find out what are the creators’ thoughts or moods toward the pieces they created. This adds an extra layer of experience that can make looking at a photo or listening to a song more interesting!

So, we gave some of our favorite photographers on Cherrydeck a small challenge. We asked them to match their photos with a song they think best describes or fits with the mood or story of the selected picture. It was truly fun to hear the photographers’ choices and get to know their interpretations while looking at their stunning images.

If you’re curious about this experience we’re talking about, turn the sound on and scroll down for the selection below!

Photography Meets Music

Bing Putney

Bing calls this photo “Sugar Crash”, which in his opinion matches best with “Lose Your Smile“ by Beach House. In the picture, he aimed to capture the feeling of a lazy summer day— highlighting the fatigue from the heat and random thoughts that come after a late afternoon nap. According to him, both the picture and song are predominantly peaceful, but with a hint of introspective melancholy.

Victoria Will

In Victoria’s opinion, her picture matches with “She Lit a Fire” by Lord Huron. She sees this photograph as empowering and envisions the woman in it as a strength source. She would strike anyone she met with her spirit and the connection to the landscape along with her horse. This resonates with the song’s lyrics which is about a truly mesmerizing woman and the man singing it can’t think of anything else but her.

Jeffrey Goritz

When Jeffrey looks to this picture he took of Jake Choi, the bubble bath and the tattoos remind him of “Stay” by Rihanna feat Mikky Ekko. 

Steve Glashier

For this picture, Steve chose Gene Pitney’s “Town Without Pity”.  The song won the first very first Golden Globe award for the best original song from a movie of the same name. The song talks about run-away lovers and the fact that they can’t be together.

Will Milne

This photo Will’s son running on a snow day was described by Will himself with the song “Go Do“ by Jónsi.  He explained, “the song has a youthful sense of energy and enthusiasm, throughout, and encourages the listener to go outside, see the world, and actively participate in it. Plus, Jónsi lives in Iceland which, even though I know they counter-intuitively don’t have that much snow, exists in my Texan brain as a winter wonderland.”

Sunny Strader

For Sunny, her photo reminds her of her childhood, and the song that came to her mind is “When Doves Cry” by Prince. She used to listen to it when was the same age as the kids in the picture.

Sara Essex Bradley

Sara admits she is not really a boat person, and this photo doesn’t have anything to do with anything aquatic. The focal points here, for her, are the old pumps. They take her back to the time before her career started, “when road trips were the point and not the destination.” That is why she chooses a great road trip song of “Passenger Side” by Wilco. Although these gas pumps sit at the end of the land, they don’t symbolize global warming, rising sea levels, or the likes. For Sara, this image signifies a kind of happiness.

Michelle Cho

Michelle picks “Flight From The City” by Jóhan Jóhansson to accompany this picture she took below.  This one is actually a collaboration between her and a good friend, June Kim. It belongs to a series of images they did together as a way to record some of their shared feelings in the period where they were both struggling to find their identities as artists. In her opinion, the song feels akin to their collective feelings of that particular time.

Daniel Prakopcyk

When Daniel took this picture he was listening to the Beatles in his car.  “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” was the only song that came to his mind while editing this image of beautiful blue sky lighten up by a pink sunset.

We hope you enjoy the selections like we did! To see more of amazing photography talents worldwide, check out our search here. ?

---