08/03/2021
BEHIND THE LENS • Dermot Kennedy
Anyone who is lucky enough to see live will tell you how completely captivating his performances are. You walk away knowing you’ve been part of something special and I’ve not seen many artists leave it all on stage on the same way Dermot does. Every performance feels as if it could be his last such is the intensity and presence felt on stage.
I captured this portrait after Dermot’s fantastic performance on the stage at festival in 2018. I rushed from the photographer’s pit after his performance round to the back of the stage where, after checking with his management team to see if Dermot would be up for a couple of portrait shots, I waited for his arrival. Sometimes you can spend too long looking for the perfect backdrop for a portrait. I prefer to capture whatever is in scene to provide a sense of authenticity to the situation. And the backstage of the marquee stage was full of blue textured material that I thought was perfect as a backdrop. After a bit of post gig small talk I took some shots of Dermot looking down my lens. However, this was my favourite shot of the set, and was one of the first taken, as I caught Dermot with his eyes closed as he adjusted to the bright light outside after coming off stage.
I will be releasing new live prints of that I took the following year at the same festival so, if you’re a fan then keep your 👀 peeled for updates soon.
📸 by me
Print available on print store. Link in bio.