Shawn Mendes Concert At Rose Music Center 2015 – My First Ever

Photographing concerts in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus had been a dream of mine for years. Since 1993, concerts have been a huge part of my life. I love using my iPhone to capture photos as an audience member, so getting a media pass was the next step. In 2015, I made my concert photography dream come true.

For the Shawn Mendes concert 2015, he played the brand new Rose Music Center At The Heights in Huber Heights Ohio. Months before the show, I worked my way into CincyMusic.com to get a media pass. A few days prior to the show, I was granted credentials to photograph Shawn Mendes!

Photographing Shawn Mendes Concert 2015

The night of the show, I arrived with my equipment and picked up my pass from Will Call. I greeted the other photographers and the management of The Rose. We then made our way into the concert venue and down to the pit. I couldn’t believe I was about to photograph my first real concert.

I expected a large setup including amplifiers, drums, lights, and more. What I found was a Shawn Mendes banner, a guitar, and a stool. This was not exactly the big show I expected. Shawn came out to a sold-out crowd of young screaming girls, and we were off and running. I was able to shoot the industry standard 3 songs, and I captured what I thought were amazing concert photos.

As with so many things in life, the more you do, the more you get to do. Shooting these shows ultimately led to dozens more concerts, so far as well as a second publication to shoot for.

One thing I always notice with newly popular acts is how plain and boring their instruments are. The guitar in the photos below is probably nothing like what he is playing in 2023. The more popular an artist gets, the nicer the equipment they can afford.