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.

Dada aesthetic photography reference — Photography referencedada

Shoot Brief · Call Sheet● TC 00:00:00:00
AestheticDada
Roll023
Status0 / 5 Shot
LightFlat, honest daylight or a single bare bulb. Nothing that…
WardrobeOrdinary clothes made strange by one addition: a paper collar,…
Location / first setupA studio table with the tools of paste-up…
Palette
Director’s note“Deadpan is the whole tone. The image must be absurd and the treatment must be serious, because Dada laughing…”

Shot list

Tap a frame to mark it shot · grease pencil, saved on this device

FR·01A

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

FR·02A

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

FR·03A

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

FR·04A

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

FR·05A

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

Take it to set: all 176 briefs as one printable PDF

Roll
00 / 05

⌁ LightingFlat, honest daylight or a single bare bulb. Nothing that… full brief ↓

flat, honest daylight or a… ✦

⌁ WardrobeOrdinary clothes made strange by one addition: a paper collar,… full brief ↓

ordinary clothes made strange…

Director 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 79 director’s notes, printable: Director’s Briefs →

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

Omoro Director’s BriefsAll 176 aesthetics: full shot lists, lighting, wardrobe, and director’s notes, in one PDF.

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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

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