Synthwave Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

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

For a Synthwave shoot, capture: Close portrait lit entirely by a magenta and cyan split the two gels creating a hard dividing line down the nose; Silhouette of a subject against a purple-to-black gradient sky with a grid pattern projected on the ground; Low-angle shot of a car on a wet road at night, neon reflections streaking the tarmac; Subject in profile, chrome helmet or visor reflecting the neon-lit environment; Wide retro-futuristic landscape: figure small against a horizon where the sun is always setting in purple-pink.

Q: Where should I shoot Synthwave photography?

Good locations for Synthwave photography include: Wet urban street at night with neon signage, Parking structure with colored LED lighting, Empty highway at night with colored light rigs, Rooftop with city grid visible below.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[synthwave     ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(synthwave___.BRF)
✎Synthwave
01 LightHard gels only magenta, cyan, and deep purple fluorescent or LED panels creating competing colored shadows; no white light in the frame
02 WardrobeChrome visors, mirrored sunglasses, leather jackets, fingerless gloves, high-contrast geometric clothing
03 LocationWet urban street at night with neon signage
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Use a fog machine at low concentration and backlight with a cyan source the haze carries the beam and creates the volumetric light shafts that define the aesthetic without requiring any compositing

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

Standby50mmMeteredf/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 seeSoft, farEye 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

Close portrait lit entirely by a magenta and cyan split the two gels creating a hard dividing line down the noseportrait85mm

Silhouette of a subject against a purple-to-black gradient sky with a grid pattern projected on the groundsetup50mm

Low-angle shot of a car on a wet road at night, neon reflections streaking the tarmacsetup50mmlow lightthru glass

Subject in profile, chrome helmet or visor reflecting the neon-lit environmentsetup50mm

Wide retro-futuristic landscape: figure small against a horizon where the sun is always setting in purple-pinkwide24mm

Rolling

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

LOC

Locations

Wet urban street at night with neon signageParking structure with colored LED lightingEmpty highway at night with colored light rigsRooftop with city grid visible below

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Part of the Energy & Excitement mood, alongside Neubrutalism and Pop Art. Began in the 2000s, on the style timeline.

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Synthwave aesthetic?

Riding a neon grid into a sunset that only exists in the digital past.

Use a fog machine at low concentration and backlight with a cyan source the haze carries the beam and creates the volumetric light shafts that define the aesthetic without requiring any compositing

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Synthwave photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Close portrait lit entirely by a magenta and cyan split the two gels creating a hard dividing line down the nose
Silhouette of a subject against a purple-to-black gradient sky with a grid pattern projected on the ground
Low-angle shot of a car on a wet road at night, neon reflections streaking the tarmac
Subject in profile, chrome helmet or visor reflecting the neon-lit environment
Wide retro-futuristic landscape: figure small against a horizon where the sun is always setting in purple-pink

What lighting works for Synthwave photography?

Hard gels only magenta, cyan, and deep purple fluorescent or LED panels creating competing colored shadows; no white light in the frame

Light

Where should I shoot Synthwave photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

Wet urban street at night with neon signage
Parking structure with colored LED lighting
Empty highway at night with colored light rigs
Rooftop with city grid visible below

What wardrobe works for Synthwave photography?

Chrome visors, mirrored sunglasses, leather jackets, fingerless gloves, high-contrast geometric clothing

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Synthwave 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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