Canadian photographer captures Taylor Swift in full Eras Tour mode for show at Kou Studios Dec. 7. Find out more
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It was on the Los Angeles set that Sidhu was inspired to become a photographer, and set about chronicling Swift’s growing stage career.
“That planted the seed that, you know, maybe I could do some visual work with her, of her,” said Sidhu.
Prior to Vancouver Sidhu, who was raised in Mississauga but has recently moved to the San Francisco area, has also put on shows in Miami and Toronto.
“When the final leg (of the Eras Tour) was coming together, I realized I had this collection of photos, kind of an era, like a collection of eras of my own photography work, which is the theme of her tour,” said Sidhu, whose day job is a director-producer for TV, film and commercials.
“I thought it would just be a nice culmination moment, with the tour ending, to be able to showcase this work, which I realized had been going back for 10 years and three tours. That people would be interested in seeing the evolution, the visual evolution of the tours and the photography work.”
Sidhu became a Swift fan back in 2008, when the singer-songwriter released her second studio album, Fearless.
“We’re roughly the same age, so when she was a teenager putting out music, I was a teenager listening to it,” said Sidhu. “I kind of evolved personally and professionally, frankly, with her.”
For each show she has photographed over the years, Sidhu joins the other media photographers for the standard three songs in “the pit.”
“I’d like to think so,” said Sidhu when asked if she thought Swift recognized her. “She’s very media savvy, and she knows the photographers are there to take photos. And she’s obviously giving the photographers a good angle. I’m probably one of the few that have been consistently showing up for the last 10 years. And I’m also a woman. I’m a woman of colour, so I like to think I’m pretty identifiable among the other photographers.”
When it comes time to shoot a show, Sidhu does her homework before entering the stadium.
“I do a lot of research ahead of time,” said Sidhu who watches videos from shows.
“Taylor Swift, luckily, is very highly choreographed, so there’s not a lot of improvisation in terms of where she’s standing… with this lyric, she’ll be on stage left, and with this lyric, she’ll be on stage right. So, I have all that memorized going in and can position myself for what I think would be the best angle shots.”
Sidhu, who has photographed other megastars such as Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Ellish in concert, says a Swift show is next level in size, sound and sheer crowd energy.
“My first thought immediately is, I’ve never been surrounded by this many people, ever. And they’re all screaming,” said Sidhu, who will be in the audience for Swift’s final show here.
“You just feel that intense energy that I don’t think can be really replicated anywhere else in the world, of like 70,000, majority women, screaming for something extremely positive and happy. And, you literally feel that energy in your body as you’re walking into the stadium, being walked to the pit area. And then, the second feeling is, you know, what an incredible privilege it is to do this. Taylor Swift is the biggest artist in the world. And, you know, the opportunity to be a few feet away from her to take incredible, beautiful photographs— I never take for granted.”
With 10 Swift shows to her credit, Sidhu seems like a credible expert to ask, why is Swift so wildly popular?
Sidhu points to pent-up demand for live shows after COVID and Swift’s exceptional job at growing her fanbase and delivering content. In the last handful of years, she has released four new albums and released re-recordings of older ones.
Sidhu also points to timing as the tipping point between being popular and peerless.
“She’s a millennial woman who started making music when she was a teenager. Many of those women who started listening to her back then, you know, they have families and they’re mothers, and it’s something that they can share with their children now,” said Sidhu. “Her concerts are kind of like a big tent experience. It’s family friendly, it’s positive, and I think it’s created sort of a general, mainstream, sort of option for people to really enjoy themselves.”
3 top tips to get the most out of seeing Taylor Swift live
Sidhu shares her tips for the upcoming Eras Tour concerts in Vancouver.
• Wear earplugs: “Your ears will definitely thank you. You can still hear really well with earplugs.”
• Comfortable shoes: “I know everyone wants to put on a great outfit, but you’ll be thanking yourself if you can pack yourself something flat, flat shoes or running shoes, because it’s a lot of standing and dancing for three hours. ”
• Be present: “I understand everyone wants to capture the moment on their iPhone, but just also try to see as much of the concert you can with your naked eyeballs. It’s just a very special moment in time. Literally, everyone will have an image of this concert that you can get later, if you really want to. So just try not to watch the whole concert through your phone…”