At a concert, good lighting is your best friend. With the right combination of light, smoke and effects, producing great photos becomes much easier. In this photo, Olivia Rodrigo has a dynamic, energetic pose. Smoke and effects add to the atmosphere. The lighting worked in my favor, creating a dramatic cone of white light that highlighted her against the red background.
How I got this shot
Photographing this required some planning and anticipation. During the concert, I was in the photo pit, constantly moving to find good angles. Rodrigo had been using the runway a few times, so I anticipated she was going to either face it or walk down it. I ran to the very front of the runway early to get a clean, head-on photo. I got into position and started taking photos. Luckily, the lighting changed at the perfect moment, creating that beautiful cone of white light with the red background and smoke. This is a great example of how anticipating a performer’s movements and planning your shot pays off.
Technical details
Equipment: Canon R5
Focal length: 70mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure: 1/1250
ISO: 1250
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