Panic! At The Disco chose two female fan photographers to shoot their shows

4 December 2018, 13:42

Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco performs live on stage during day two of Reading Festival at Richfield Avenue on August 25, 2018 in Reading, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco performs live on stage during day two of Reading Festival at Richfield Avenue on August 25, 2018 in Reading, England. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images). Picture: (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
Nicky Idika

By Nicky Idika

"I'm so thankful for this amazing opportunity! Probably two years ago, I would've laughed if I knew this would happen."

Fans show a lot of love to Panic! At The Disco and, as it turns out, the love goes both ways. Panic! road manager Zack Hall shared a post on Instagram explaining how a fan/photographer named Stephanie Estrada got to shoot some amazing photos for the band while their usual photographer was unavailable for a couple of dates.

"Tonight about 40min before Panic went on stage I saw this girl sitting backstage with a few of her friends and saw she had a good camera," Hall wrote on Instagram. "I walked up and asked her a few questions on the spot and asked her to shoot for us tonight since we didn't have Jake for these two shows in Florida".

Hall praised Estrada's photos and encouraged people to check out her other work. Estrada shared her excitement over the opportunity on Twitter, writing "I can't believe this still happened to me last night!!"

While it may seem like Estrada was a random fan with a nice camera, she and others clarified on Twitter and Instagram that she is a local photographer who has been working hard for years. "I'm so thankful for this amazing opportunity! Probably two years ago, I would've laughed if I knew this would happen. I'm beyond grateful and hard work pays off eventually."

In a separate Instagram post, Estrada explained that she wanted to quit music photography in the past "because female photographers don't get recognised" but that the opportunity from Panic! "made it all worth it".

Hall went on to highlight another talented female photographer from Florida named Angela Goldstein, writing, "tonight we were lucky enough to find another young talent in Tampa who shot the show for us. Like I said last night you should follow her and check out her work."

We love the idea of specifically highlighting the work of local female photographers and creating amazing opportunities for them. Perhaps Panic! might consider adding a second touring photographer, a woman, to its regular roster.

Make sure to check out Stephanie's work and Angela's work as well!