After an opening set by Rob Lemon, Swedish superstar DJ and producer Avicii rocked a full house at the Pageant with his brand of soaring, banging house music. If you've ever wanted to witness mass insanity wash over 2,000 people all at once, just go see Avicii drop his smash hit “Levels” live.
Just massive energy from the crowd while Avicii rocked his own tracks and remixes. When they say that EDM is the new pop music, it's definitely producers like Avicii they're talking about.
Photographer's Notes:
Cameras Used:
- Nikon D3
- Nikon D700
Lenses Used:
This show with Avicii and support by Rob Lemon was a blast to photograph. For DJ/club shows like this, the people spinning the music might be the main attraction, but the real subject for events like this is the crowd, their energy and the overall atmosphere.
Most of the nightlife photography you see uses direct flash, but I prefer to use ambient lighting only for these sorts of shoots, even if makes me at the whim of chance and the stage lighting of the moment. If anything, shooting for atmosphere like this can take more patience, but I feel as though it much more accurately captures the vibe of the event, so I greatly prefer going no-flash whenever possible like this.
I used all three of my f/2.8 zooms for this show, and all had their particular uses. Due to Avicii's relatively high DJ booth on stage and its position in the middle of the stage, the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR was essentially for the requisite close-up DJ shots. For general atmosphere and wider shots, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 ruled.
For the ultra-wide look to capture the whole stage and audience, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 was the natural choice. I also pulled out this lens for some of the crowd shots, especially nice to catch all the upraised hands for those crescendos.
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