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Billie Eilish, Samia, Adele, Paramore and David Byrne feature in new photobook to help music charity

21 January 2026, 14:10 | Written by Best Fit

New York based music photographer Shervin Lainez has revealed his first photo book For the Record, set to benefit the charity MusiCares, who provide a safety net of critical health and welfare services to the music community in the US.

The Washington DC-born Lainez moved to New York aged 22 to shoot bands, having never studied photography before, and has gone on to shoot some of this century's biggest artists - including Adele and Billie Elish - as well as cover features for Best Fit with the likes of Samia, Ashe and Zara Larsson. Lainez's photographs have also appeared in SPIN, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Billboard.

"Essentially this is a collection of photos that document the last 10 or so years of my shooting life," Lainez tells Best Fit. "I wanted them to exist in print instead of just on screens. I chose 90 photos that encapsulate my collaboration with musicians of all genres, ages personality types.

"It was exciting to choose which photos would print well - then I realised they were all taken with the hope that they would end up on an album cover - hence the title For The Record."

Shervin Press 1 Medium

For the Record also features a foreword from Regina Spektor, who notes, "When someone takes your picture - it may appear a casual thing - but they are connecting you to your own life... Shervin is able to, over and over, take images that help musicians build their worlds. Those worlds are diverse and only Shervin knows the combination of skills and traits that it takes to help such a varied group get those ideas out. I'm not sure exactly how he does it, but what I do know is that when you're with him – you are with one of the most kind, funny and generous individuals you can ever hope to meet."

MusiCares - who will benefit from sales of the book, provides mental health and addiction recovery, health and human services to musicians across the US.

For the Record is available to order now in a hardcover, 200-copy edition for $40 from shervinfoto.com/book

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