Album Cover Analysis
Sam Smith - In The Lonely Hour:
Deep in thought - emotional/personal
‘In The Lonely Hour’ - focus on him being solitary
Dark clothes - grief/loneliness
Look likes praying - troubled/worried/hopeful
Not looking at the audience - doesn’t want to connect with them, private
Camera angle - looking down, sad in some way
Main focus on him - only him on cover, name is bigger than the album title, centered
Bleak colours, slightly depressing, emotional lyrics
Lighting is highlighting the singer - attention on him
Reflecting on memories or something in his past
Sleek clothing, simple, ‘classical cool’ image/style
Capitalized text adds to sharpness of image
Camila Cabello - I have Questions:
She's centred on the cover but only a silhouette drawing your attention to her
She's hunched over, knees drawn up in a foetal position - implies she's crying
The black ink dripping from the chair and over the background also symbolises tears
Her name and the title are lining the bottom of the cover, showing they're equally important yet are still second to the imagery at the centre of the cover
The blue bird could suggest a freedom that she can't find as birds usually have a connotation of freedom to them, the fact it's the only colourful aspect to the cover also suggests that it's the only complete thing, it knows what it is and it's place in the world
The picture links to the name of the song as there is no colour on her, suggesting that she feels like she's missing something and has questions that she wants answering to be able to feel complete - like the bird
The text of the title is handwritten, giving it a more personal feeling - the fact it's harder to read might also link back to her own hardships
The background is a collection of music sheets, looking worn and old, indicating that this song has been waiting to come out for a long time
It's assumed they’re the lyrics of her song but are in too small of a font to see; this could indicate the lyrics are unimportant in themselves but the imagery you personally imagine from the song is more important
