Vaporwave Photography Brief: Shot List, Lighting and Locations

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

For a Vaporwave shoot, capture: Deadpan portrait of a classical plaster bust in a neon-lit pink and purple environment; Subject in sunglasses sitting at a pink-lit table with an old computer and a Roman bust beside them; VHS-tracked shot of an 80s mall food court at night, everything slightly out of focus and color-shifted; Environmental shot of a pool or fountain at night with magenta and cyan lighting on the water; Flat-lay of vaporwave signifiers: palm tree plush, grids printed on paper, retro packaging, and a cassette.

Q: Where should I shoot Vaporwave photography?

Good locations for Vaporwave photography include: Abandoned indoor shopping mall, Neon-lit pool at night, Japanese arcade (Game Center) at night, Hotel lobby with marble floor and retro furniture.

SET

The setup

Shoot briefHD[vaporwave     ]00:00:00:00Stop ■
Brief Int(vaporwave___.BRF)
✎Vaporwave
01 LightMagenta from above, cyan from the side the two-color split is foundational; do not blend them too gently, let the competing colors fight and create a pink/blue divide on the subject
02 WardrobePastel windbreakers, sunglasses at all times, retro sportswear in salmon and teal, minimal jewelry
03 LocationAbandoned indoor shopping mall
04 Palette
SetupNoteFinderShotsLightSave

DIR

Director's note

Shoot on a prosumer video camera from around 2000 and photograph directly from the screen playback the interlacing artifacts, color bleed, and NTSC color space shift are authentic in a way that digital simulation cannot replicate

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 pictureSoft, farHung high

FillHow far into shadow you can seeMediumEye 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

Deadpan portrait of a classical plaster bust in a neon-lit pink and purple environmentportrait85mm

Subject in sunglasses sitting at a pink-lit table with an old computer and a Roman bust beside themsetup50mmthru glass

VHS-tracked shot of an 80s mall food court at night, everything slightly out of focus and color-shiftedsetup50mmvhs texturelow light

Environmental shot of a pool or fountain at night with magenta and cyan lighting on the waterenvironment35mmlow light

Flat-lay of vaporwave signifiers: palm tree plush, grids printed on paper, retro packaging, and a cassetteoverhead50mm

Rolling

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LOC

Locations

Abandoned indoor shopping mallNeon-lit pool at nightJapanese arcade (Game Center) at nightHotel lobby with marble floor and retro furniture

REF

Explore the aesthetic

Part of the Nostalgia & Memory mood, alongside Y2K and Retrofuturism. Began in the 2010s, on the style timeline.

Style guide Color palette

DOC

About this brief

How do I photograph the Vaporwave aesthetic?

Nostalgia for a past that never existed, distorted through a pink gradient and a marble statue.

Director's note

What shots should I get for a Vaporwave photo shoot?

Leave with every frame on this list.

Shot list

Deadpan portrait of a classical plaster bust in a neon-lit pink and purple environment
Subject in sunglasses sitting at a pink-lit table with an old computer and a Roman bust beside them
VHS-tracked shot of an 80s mall food court at night, everything slightly out of focus and color-shifted
Environmental shot of a pool or fountain at night with magenta and cyan lighting on the water
Flat-lay of vaporwave signifiers: palm tree plush, grids printed on paper, retro packaging, and a cassette

What lighting works for Vaporwave photography?

Magenta from above, cyan from the side the two-color split is foundational; do not blend them too gently, let the competing colors fight and create a pink/blue divide on the subject

Light

Where should I shoot Vaporwave photography?

Scout these before anything else.

Locations

Abandoned indoor shopping mall
Neon-lit pool at night
Japanese arcade (Game Center) at night
Hotel lobby with marble floor and retro furniture

What wardrobe works for Vaporwave photography?

Pastel windbreakers, sunglasses at all times, retro sportswear in salmon and teal, minimal jewelry

Wardrobe

Omoro Studio · Creative System

Generate shoot references in the Vaporwave 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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