This past September I had the privilege of photographing the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Having shot music events of various sizes over the past few years, I quickly recognized that this wasn’t going to be a typical “concert” by any means. It was a 2-day event, packed with 10 “A list” artists each night, performing anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes each. Fast paced and on a large scale, I knew from the outset that in order to “capture” the event in a cohesive and artful way I’d have to draw from all facets of my shooting experience and documentary style. Given that I had virtually unrestricted access to run around the arena and get the shots I wanted, the challenge was on me to document and present the concert in a unique way and to deliver something different than the typical concert coverage. (Often you are restricted to just the “pit,” the narrow area between the stage and first row of fans, or another position, such as the soundboard or a particular side of the arena.)
I arrived at the venue 5 days before the first show, and documented them actually building out the 100% custom staging. It was really awesome watching them piece all the elements together, like a puzzle really. My goal was to document all the little details and parts that make up such a concert…
