Image Copyright Stylos Records 2009
I asked Anna Trent of Atkins Entertainment to give a little background information on the new album.
For Simply Sandi, we wanted listeners to experience Sandi in a different way. It's very intimate, very much what you would experience if you were at Sandi's home, singing around a piano. We wanted the cover to reflect that simplicity. The shot that WellerFoto took is in a very grande and beautiful setting, but at the center of that shot is the simpleness of Sandi on a piano. I think that those buying this new album will know exactly what they will be listening to just by looking at the cover. It's Simply Sandi and Kyle and Brad (Weller Foto) captured that beautifully!
So now you know our inspiration for the shot. We worked over the coloring of the image to give us a very high contrast look with "blue blacks" and a golden hightlights. You can see the difference from the original shot that I have posted below:
Photo Copyright Weller Fotography, LTD 2009
After editing on our end was finished, the photo was sent over to Brandswag Corp for the designing of the album art. Austin Wechter, designer at Brandswag, had this to say about his design decisions with the album artwork from front to back:
The image for the Simply Sandi CD was already chosen, I just had to choose which version of that image I liked the best. It was an easy choice since the client and I both liked the same image. It had some great colors and effects but still kept Sandi as the focus. For the image behind the lyrics I wanted something that would add a graphical element to the spread without taking away the readability of the lyrics. I chose the close-up of a flower carved in wood for behind the lyrics.And with that you have a short glimpse of what our process is like after we capture an image. As much planning and vision as it takes to set up the desired shot, a lot can be done after shooting to create exactly what the client is envisioning.
For the production and thank you pages of the CD Insert I needed images that didn't have a lot going on and had large amounts of dark or white space so I could place text over the image. I found the image of Sandi by the Window and the wooden chair perfect for these pages. As far as the back cover of the CD, I wanted to use an image that didn't neccesarily show Sandi since I had used her image on the front cover. The image of her hands on the piano keys was great. It put Sandi's presence on the back without showing her and allowing more room for the track listing and UPC code.
P.S. Sorry, you'll have to wait for the CD to see the rest of the artwork that Austin is describing! Check out sandipatty.com for more details.
That is a really awesome shot! You forgot to mention how unbelievably cold it was that day. It turned out beautiful, none-the-less
Oh, you're right. It was COLD! Under 10 F with wind chill. Amazing, what a little sunlight can do to change the look!
Great work guys! The cover looks amazing!
Beautiful picture and view, Great work Kyle... Sandi is wonderful artist...