At just 21 years old, Olivia Hagar has stepped into one of the most competitive spaces in the music industry — concert photography. From the small town of Clarkston, Michigan, Olivia is finding her balance as she pursues a B.F.A. at Michigan State along with her photo dreams.
Her passion started out with a deep love of live music. She realized the high energy created in a performance space was addicting to her. Olivia was intrigued by the idea of bringing that energy back to life through the art of photography. She dreamt of helping people relive the moments they got to experience with their favorite songs as the soundtrack. It wasn’t until May of 2024 that Olivia found herself in a mental funk — having just moved across the country and working for a company where she didn’t feel valued.
“I was feeling lost and without purpose, away from my home and my family and friends,” she explains. “I decided to pick up a new hobby and bought myself a cheap camera on Amazon in an effort to find some purpose in my season of worthlessness.”
Not long after this, Olivia saw that one of her favorite music artists was playing a concert at a venue close by. While she wasn’t making much at her day-to-day job, she said she “had to go.” Being bold in her pursuit, Olivia reached out to the artist’s management, and after a lot of convincing, she was able to attend the show as a photographer. Little did she know, it would end up being “one of the greatest experiences” of her life.
“I wish I could describe the feeling of being down in the photo pit at a concert for the first time,” Olivia states. “It’s like the adrenaline rush you feel in your chest as you ride a rollercoaster. It’s so loud, bright, and busy — getting to take pictures at the show got me out of my head and into my heart, and led me to the realization that there are things in this life I might not know I love if I don’t try.”
That feeling is the whole reason that Olivia continues to pursue her love of photography. The music evokes emotion while a photo can do just the same. She finds that photography offers limitless possibilities for creative expression, and it can be a powerful tool of storytelling.
As a full-time college student, it’s difficult to find time for photography, but it has become her escape. She has learned to mesh her passion with her personal life — creating impromptu photoshoots with her friends in the halls of her apartment, brainstorming ideas while listening to a math lecture, etc. Olivia has been able to see the overlap in her social life and professional life as she’s had opportunities to bring friends and family to shows. She “loves getting to share that excitement with them.”
Olivia’s heart for creativity knows no bounds. She once read that anybody is capable of creating art, because essentially art is just bringing something into the world that hasn’t been created. While she originally struggled with comparison and doubt, this helped her accept that she, too, was an artist, and her art had just as much value to the world as everyone else’s.
“Art is limitless,” Olivia proclaims. “It knows no boundaries and holds beautiful truths. As an artist, we are able to tell the most profound stories through our work, and getting to share that with the world is a blessing in and of itself.”
Aside from her incredible photography skill, Olivia also is pushing for more professional female representation in the music industry — I will let her words speak for themselves here, and I hope you hear her loud and clear.
“When I go to shoot a show, at this point it is almost guaranteed I’ll be surrounded by men in the photo pit. Because of that, I am often having to prove myself. Prove to security I’m not a groupie, prove to my fellow photographers I know how basic camera settings work, and prove to myself that I’m good enough to earn my spot there. Women are vastly outnumbered in this industry, especially young women. As sad as it is, I feel I am treated differently in the professional setting because of this. I have been physically grabbed by security, yelled at and hit on by men in the crowd, and constantly am having to defend myself as men try to explain to me how my own camera works. This is me desperately calling out to all fellow female creatives, please, don’t be afraid to work in this industry. Please don’t let the current lack of women representation turn you away, because the more women that step up, the more change we’ll see! The music industry so desperately needs female representation, now more than ever. If you have any interest at all in concert photography, I say go for it! Women are deserving of equal opportunity, and are worthy of respect, especially in the creative industry. It’s time we get treated as equals in this line of work.”
While her biggest goal is to go on tour with an artist or band someday, Olivia is simply focusing on graduating with her B.F.A. and freelancing for various publications and magazines. Her dreams and aspirations are taking her places, and it is inspiring.
“Photography has shown me that creativity is limitless, and there are no boundaries in that act of true self-expression.”
Keep up with Olivia on her Instagram, and you can find her work at oliviahagarphotography.myportfolio.com