I was back at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the other night for a concert featuring country music star Scotty McCreery. American Dream brought me in to photograph the show, and I also captured some video throughout the evening.
The concert took place at Dream Live, the new American Dream Performing Arts Center. It’s an exciting addition to the entertainment lineup at the mall, and I was looking forward to checking out the new space and seeing what it was like to shoot a live performance there.
First Impressions of Dream Live
One of the funniest things about Dream Live is how deceiving the entrance is. You’re walking through American Dream, surrounded by stores, and then you come across what looks like a regular door in the mall. It almost feels like you’re about to walk into another store.
Then you step inside, and suddenly you’re in a massive, three-level open theater.
You would never guess what was waiting on the other side of that door. From the mall corridor, there’s very little indication of just how big the space actually is.
Dream Live is a multi-level performing arts venue with a capacity of approximately 3,000 people. Located on the second and third levels above American Dream’s Garden Court, the space was designed to host everything from concerts and comedy shows to theater productions and other live events. The venue includes VIP seating, luxury suites, elevated viewing areas, and bars spread across multiple levels.
The production setup is equally impressive, with a professional L-Acoustics sound system and dedicated lighting and video capabilities. It’s a venue built to accommodate a full-scale live production, even though its entrance gives you almost no hint of what’s inside.
From a photography perspective, having a theater with multiple levels and different vantage points makes the space particularly interesting to explore. I had access to the entire venue, from backstage all the way to the top of the theater, which gave me plenty of opportunities to capture the concert from different perspectives.
It’s one of those places where you really need to step inside to appreciate the scale of it.
Behind the Scenes With Scotty McCreery
One of the best parts of the assignment was having access to the entire venue. I had the run of the place, from backstage all the way to the top of the theater, which gave me plenty of opportunities to photograph the event from different angles and perspectives.
Before the show, Scotty McCreery spent time meeting with fans backstage, taking pictures and signing autographs. It was great to capture those moments and see the excitement from fans getting the opportunity to meet him in person.
Having access beyond the stage always makes an assignment more interesting. I can photograph the performance itself, but I can also capture the interactions and moments surrounding the show that help tell the bigger story of the event.
The crowd brought a great atmosphere to the venue, and between the performance, the backstage interactions, and the opportunity to explore the entire theater, it was an exciting night of shooting.
Photographing the Concert
For the assignment, I primarily focused on still photography while also shooting some video throughout the night. Covering both gives me the opportunity to document the event in different ways, from individual moments frozen in a photograph to the movement and energy of a live performance.
Having access to different areas of Dream Live was particularly useful for capturing a variety of perspectives. I could work on tighter shots of Scotty on stage, look for candid moments backstage, and experiment with wider compositions that showed off the scale of the theater.
The Camera Gear
For this assignment, I brought my Sony A9 with my 24-70mm lens. It’s a versatile combination for event photography, allowing me to work across a range of situations without constantly changing my setup.
Sony also lent me a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for the shoot, and that turned out to be a great addition. The extra reach allowed me to get tight shots of Scotty performing while keeping some distance from the stage. The f/2.8 aperture was especially helpful in the low light conditions, giving me more flexibility when photographing the performance.
I also brought along a 16mm f/1.8 lens to experiment with capturing the entire space. Since I had access to the venue from backstage to the top of the theater, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to create some wider images that showed the scale and layout of Dream Live.
For flash photography, I used my Profoto A10, which was useful for the still photography side of the assignment, including the backstage portions of the evening.
Between the three lenses, the Sony A9, and the Profoto A10, I had a versatile setup for covering the different aspects of the event. From close-up performance shots to wide venue images and candid moments with fans, I was able to approach the night from several different angles.
Another Night at American Dream
American Dream continues to be an interesting place to work, with new entertainment experiences and venues adding to what the complex has to offer. Dream Live is an impressive space, especially once you get past that unassuming entrance and see the theater for yourself.
Getting to photograph Scotty McCreery, capture some video, meet the challenge of shooting in a new venue, and explore the space from top to bottom made this a fun assignment from start to finish.
I’m looking forward to seeing what other opportunities come out of Dream Live and what I’ll get to photograph there next.
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