Music Photographer Research: Cognito

 Cognito's photography is often monochromatic, placing emphasis on the artists posture, costume and paralanguage, as well as creating a darker mood. Cognito's work takes on an eerily atmospheric aesthetic which would likely appeal to a subversive audience when featured in a music magazine. Two of the artists which the photographer frequently associates with, and whom are featured in this post, are MF DOOM and Mos Def. These artists both produce music which diverges from the more commonly encountered mainstream Hip Hop, appealing to an audience which may focus their attention on

 underground production. I feel that Cognito's imagery effectively conveys a visual representation of this to his viewers, a technique I would like to include in my final piece to create a more subversive representation of my artist.

In order to achieve a similar effect to his work, I will include similar elements within my photography such as low key lighting and a shallow depth of field in order to remove the background and place emphasis on the artist. These two elements are key in creating the semi - silhouetted effect which is signature of his work and effective in creating the desired effect.