Behind the Album Art: a Conversation with Jo Lees
As I was wrapping up the recording of Don’t Tell My Child, my mind soon went to thinking about the look and feel of the album. At the time (Jan 2021), with Covid in NYC at another peak of about 5,000+ new cases a week, I was facing a lot of limitations. While I had the fondest memories of working with an incredible creative team, shooting at Drift Studios for my last album, I knew this would be a different kind of experience.
As I thought about who I wanted to work with, there was really just one person that came to mind. I’d met Jo shortly after becoming a mother, and I was immediately a fan of the gorgeous photos she took of her beautiful children around NYC. I loved her mind, her heart, and her eye. So I was thrilled when she agreed to take on this project.
Jo turned what I’d seen as the limitations of the project into the beauty of it. She sent me ideas for the look, actual links for the outfits, and was truly the creative director of the entire affair. At first I was self-conscious and reluctant to shoot at my apartment, but Jo convinced me to do it. And I’m so glad she did. It was the right choice for the music I’d made.
My favourite part of working with Jo, was that we were both pregnant at the time of the shoot (Jo just over a month ahead of me). There was something wonderfully redemptive about two pregnant ladies making art in the midst of a pandemic.
Here’s Jo.
What drew you to becoming a photographer?
When I was about 15, my parents gave me a small digital camera. I took it on vacation that summer and started photographing every place we went. When I got back to London, I decided to do an internship at a photo studio and with the help of their junior assistant, I put in my first ever eBay bid on an old Nikon film SLR. I used to take that camera out every weekend around London and fell in love with photography through shooting the city’s architecture. I love how London has incredibly old buildings nestled alongside the brand new ones. After a while, someone introduced me to Magnum Photos – those old film shots combine history and art and storytelling in such an inspiring way – I think that was when I decided photography was what I wanted to do.
How has becoming a mother affected your photography?
Besides having my 18-month-old throw my DSLR and favourite lens in the bath a couple of years ago… I think motherhood has made me realise how important my creativity is. I now have to make much more of an effort to be creative. It doesn't fit easily into my day like it used to, and this has made me realise how much of a life source it is. I value my creativity more than I have before because I see that it’s a part of me in a way that I took for granted when there weren’t any tiny humans stretching me to the very edge of my capacity.
How did you come up with the concept for the album art?
After looking through a moodboard Mara made, I realized that ‘Home’ needed to be central to the art. Home was the place where Mara and Mia formed all their bonds and the place where she was growing Philip. Home was also the place that Mara was confined to while this album was trying to take form. The idea of shooting at home, without trying to hide that it was home, felt both intrinsic and also sort of redemptive. I suggested shooting on film (which clients never want to do) but Mara jumped at the idea, which made me so happy. It was a really special part of the shoot; being able to work in my favourite medium and execute a very specific vision. Mara believes in her fellow artists in a way that few do, and this allowed us to work really fluently together.
How did you prepare for the photoshoot?
I pulled images from other shoots that had a similar aesthetic or vision, and narrowed down a rough shot list. I wanted to contrast the softness of home with some strong natural light so we had to plan the shoot around the right windows at the right time of day. I also knew we would be limited by having kids in the mix – if there are kids on the shoot, they let you know when the shoot is over, and then it is over! Working with film helped with the time constraints, though, as there are a finite amount of shots that can be taken. Thankfully it all worked out with the rolls we had and before YouTube ran out of Peppa Pig episodes.
What has it been like working during the pandemic?
I was pregnant for most of the pandemic, so I was being extra cautious and chose to only shoot outside, which actually meant things felt fairly normal. I did have to cancel a few shoots for weather but for the most part, I was able to just keep going. I did a small project for the first ten weeks of the pandemic – when we all thought maybe it would be over by then – where I shot my kids every day. It was a fun practice and enabled me to record some of the positive, sweet aspects of being kept away from the world.
Will you be working on any upcoming projects?
I’m working on prioritising my personal projects, as these are always the first things I drop when life gets stressful – it’s a discipline for me but now that I’m realising how important my creativity is and how I need to exercise that muscle, I’m trying to get better at making the time. I’ve been working on a documentary project in Harlem, which I will hopefully be able to invest more time in. And then I’ll be doing family shoots and portrait sessions throughout the fall, along with consulting for a few start-ups in social media and branding, which is another area of my work that I love.
Don’t Tell My Child
An album about the messy reality of becoming a mother.
