Dada Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

Q: What shots should I get for a Dada photo shoot?

For a Dada shoot, capture: Overhead shot of a paste-up in progress on a battered table: torn newspaper, halftone photographs cut mid-face, letters snipped from headlines, a pot of glue and a rubber stamp, the composition half-assembled and deliberately misaligned; Frontal shot of a wall pasted with layered photomontage posters where figures wear the wrong heads and objects sit at the wrong scale, edges torn, one stamped red mark on each; Medium shot of a person holding a cut-out photograph over their own face at a slight angle, so the join is visible, against a plain newsprint-toned wall; Close detail of typewriter text overprinted with a rubber stamp and a ticket stub, glue ridges catching the light, paper yellowed; Wide shot of a small room full of cardboard signs, cut-up portraits and mismatched wood type arranged as if for an absurd public announcement, nobody present.

Q: Where should I shoot Dada photography?

Good locations for Dada photography include: A studio table with the tools of paste-up visible, A wall or hoarding that can be fly-posted and torn, A plain interior with one bare bulb, A print room or archive with stacks of old newspapers.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[dada          ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(dada________.BRF)
✎Dada
01 LightFlat, honest daylight or a single bare bulb. Nothing that flatters. The paper, the glue and the scissors marks should all be legible, so light across the surface rather than into it.
02 WardrobeOrdinary clothes made strange by one addition: a paper collar, a cut-out mask, a number pinned to a coat. Black, grey and newsprint tones, nothing bright except a single red element.
03 LocationA studio table with the tools of paste-up visible
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Deadpan is the whole tone. The image must be absurd and the treatment must be serious, because Dada laughing at itself is just a joke. Keep the cuts rough and the joins visible; a seamless composite is the enemy. Never reproduce a real Dadaist work or a real slogan; invent nonsense and commit to it.

All 151 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs, $8 →

Viewfinder

Live

Four controls on the brief's own plate · the meter is real, so you can blow a frame

Standby50mmf/5.6 · 1/125 · ISO 400

Aperturef/5.6Shutter1/125ISO400White balance5200K

Use your own photo

Running the list sets the camera for every shot in turn. Load your own photo to light and expose a frame you actually shot.

LGT

Light the set

3 lamps

Drag a lamp and watch the frame above change. The brief's own note is the preset

KeyThe light that makes the pictureMediumEye level

FillHow far into shadow you can seeHard, closeEye level

BackRound at the front, where it is just another fillOffEye level

On the brief

Contact sheet

00 / 12

Nothing on the sheet yet. Set the camera, then take a frame.

SEQ

Shot list

00 / 05

Tap a pad to mark the frame shot · saved on this device

Overhead shot of a paste-up in progress on a battered table: torn newspaper, halftone photographs cut mid-face, letters snipped from headlines, a pot of glue and a rubber stamp, the composition half-assembled and deliberately misalignedoverhead50mm

Frontal shot of a wall pasted with layered photomontage posters where figures wear the wrong heads and objects sit at the wrong scale, edges torn, one stamped red mark on eachsetup50mm

Medium shot of a person holding a cut-out photograph over their own face at a slight angle, so the join is visible, against a plain newsprint-toned wallsetup50mm

Close detail of typewriter text overprinted with a rubber stamp and a ticket stub, glue ridges catching the light, paper yelloweddetail100mm

Wide shot of a small room full of cardboard signs, cut-up portraits and mismatched wood type arranged as if for an absurd public announcement, nobody presentportrait85mm

Rolling

Take it to set: all 151 briefs as one PDF · $8

LOC

Locations

A studio table with the tools of paste-up visibleA wall or hoarding that can be fly-posted and tornA plain interior with one bare bulbA print room or archive with stacks of old newspapers

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Dada aesthetic?

Cut everything apart and paste it back wrong, then photograph the mess as if it were a monument.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Dada photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Overhead shot of a paste-up in progress on a battered table: torn newspaper, halftone photographs cut mid-face, letters snipped from headlines, a pot of glue and a rubber stamp, the composition half-assembled and deliberately misaligned
Frontal shot of a wall pasted with layered photomontage posters where figures wear the wrong heads and objects sit at the wrong scale, edges torn, one stamped red mark on each
Medium shot of a person holding a cut-out photograph over their own face at a slight angle, so the join is visible, against a plain newsprint-toned wall
Close detail of typewriter text overprinted with a rubber stamp and a ticket stub, glue ridges catching the light, paper yellowed
Wide shot of a small room full of cardboard signs, cut-up portraits and mismatched wood type arranged as if for an absurd public announcement, nobody present

What lighting works for Dada photography?

Flat, honest daylight or a single bare bulb. Nothing that flatters. The paper, the glue and the scissors marks should all be legible, so light across the surface rather than into it.

Light

Where should I shoot Dada photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

A studio table with the tools of paste-up visible
A wall or hoarding that can be fly-posted and torn
A plain interior with one bare bulb
A print room or archive with stacks of old newspapers

What wardrobe works for Dada photography?

Ordinary clothes made strange by one addition: a paper collar, a cut-out mask, a number pinned to a coat. Black, grey and newsprint tones, nothing bright except a single red element.

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Dada style

Omoro reads your visual references and generates images in your exact aesthetic. Build a mood board before the shoot or create composite references for your client.

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