She sent a longshot email fresh out of university. Since then, she's photographed Taylor Swift at 3 tours
Taylor Swift has millions of fans worldwide, but Brampton, Ont.'s Jasmeet Sidhu has gotten closer to the musical icon than most.
"As a photographer, you're so lucky because you get to be front row," the 36-year-old said. "You're basically pushed up to the stage."
Sidhu has photographed Swift at concerts during three separate tours: 1989, Reputation Stadium Tour, and Eras, which kicks off in Canada on Thursday.
"This is going to be the Woodstock of our generation -- that concert that people talk about 10, 20, 30 years from now," she said.
It all started more than a decade ago with an email she wasn't even sure she'd get a response to.
She had just finished her graduate school at Columbia University in New York and decided to move to L.A. because she wanted to work in music videos.
"I cold-emailed this music director Anthony Mandler just explaining that I really enjoyed his music video work," she said. "At the time he was doing a lot of work with Rihanna, and Jay-Z and Beyonce."
Mandler offered Sidhu a chance to shadow him on set during the production of Swift's "I Knew You were Trouble" music video.
She went.
But the die-hard Swiftie knew she had to play it cool.
"I was like, a long-term relationship with this music video director is better for my career than five seconds of 'fangirling' over Taylor Swift on this music video set," she said.
That discipline paid off. She used the contacts she developed to gain concert access during three separate Swift Tours – in 2015, 2018 and 2023.
A laptop shows a selection of photos Jasmeet Sidhu captured of Taylor Swift during her performance. (Image courtesy of Jasmeet Sidhu)
That compilation is now part of an exhibit at the CN Tower, where we spoke, and at Toronto's Eaton Centre.
Her artistic journey started in high school - when she signed up for a high school photography elective. One of her first photos was of a waterfall near her house, which she developed in the school's dark room.
And gently encouraging her were her immigrant parents from Malaysia, who had so little when they came to Canada that the kids had to sleep on a single mattress.
But what they did have was the will to dare their daughter to dream.
Jasmeet Sidhu is seen with her family posing for an image the day they got their Canadian citizenship. (Image courtesy of Jasmeet Sidhu)
"I mean, it is a long path," Gurmeet Sidhu, Jasmeet's mother, admits. "It was not an easy path. It was up and down," but ultimately "fruitful," she adds, admitting that she beams with pride when she sees her daughter's photo.
It's a path that has also turned Gurmeet's mother into a Swiftie.
"On the radio, when I see a Taylor Swift song, I make it loud in the car and listen to her," she said.
Although Sidhu takes concert photos professionally, and has also photographed Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sia, it's not her full-time job - just a very busy hobby for the photographer, who initially wanted to become a doctor, and recently moved to San Francisco with the hope of starting her own tech company.
Jasmeet Sidhu captured this photo of world-famous musician Ed Sheeran in concert (Image courtesy of Jasmeet Sidhu)
And while she reaches for another dream, she wants to keep inspiring the next generation in her own way, just as Taylor Swift does.
"That's why when people come up to me, or email me asking for advice, I try to be generous with my time because someone once upon a time was generous with their time," she said.
Her main advice: keep making connections, even if you aren't guaranteed a reply.
"Every single action you take in a creative career has to be an opportunity of your own making. So how do you create those opportunities? You have to reach out to people."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
N.Y. prosecutors charge Luigi Mangione with murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, court records show
Late Monday, Manhattan prosecutors filed murder and other charges against Luigi Nicholas Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, according to an online court docket.
Union dropped wage demand to 19% over four years in Canada Post negotiations: CUPW
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has reportedly dropped its wage demand to 19 per cent over four years, CUPW negotiator Jim Gallant told CTV News.
Taxpayer-funded Eras Tour tickets returned by federal minister
While tens of thousands of fans packed Vancouver's BC Place for the last shows of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour this weekend, a federal cabinet minister wasn't one of them.
Alan Young, lawyer and scholar known for landmark legal challenges, dies at age 69
York University says Alan Young, a lawyer and legal scholar known for leading the challenge of Canada's prostitution laws before the country's top court, has died at age 69.
What the upcoming holiday GST relief will mean for consumers
The federal government's GST break will arrive this Saturday, just in time for the last stretch of holiday shopping.
Canada Post strike on day 26 as union sends new proposals
With the Canada Post strike nearing four weeks, the postal service says it doesn't see an end in sight.
'Looking for the Weinstein of Quebec': impresario Gilbert Rozon's civil trial begins
Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon's civil trial for sexual assault opened Monday at the Montreal courthouse with his lawyer portraying him as the scapegoat in a hunt to find Quebec's Harvey Weinstein.
AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton to receive Nobel Prize in physics today
British Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton and co-laureate John Hopfield are set to receive their Nobel Prize for physics at a ceremony in Stockholm today.
Israel's Netanyahu takes the stand in long-running corruption trial
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand on Tuesday in his long-running trial for alleged corruption, setting off what's expected to be a weeks-long spectacle that will draw unwelcome attention to his legal woes as he faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes and the fighting in Gaza continues.
Local Spotlight
Man, 99, still at work 7 decades after opening eastern Ontario Christmas tree farm
This weekend is one of the busiest of the year for Christmas tree farms all over the region as the holidays approach and people start looking for a fresh smell of pine in their homes.
Saskatoon honours Bella Brave with birthday celebration
It has been five months since Bella Thompson, widely known as Bella Brave to her millions of TikTok followers, passed away after a long battle with Hirschsprung’s disease and an auto-immune disorder.
Major Manitoba fossil milestones highlight the potential for future discoveries in the province
A trio of fossil finds through the years helped put Manitoba on the mosasaur map, and the milestone of those finds have all been marked in 2024.
The 61st annual Christmas Daddies Telethon raises more than $559,000 for children in need
The 61st annual Christmas Daddies Telethon continued its proud Maritime tradition, raising more than $559,000 for children in need on Saturday.
Calgary company steps up to help grieving family with free furnace after fatal carbon monoxide poisoning
A Calgary furnace company stepped up big time Friday to help a Calgary family grieving the loss of a loved one.
'A well-loved piece': Historic carousel display from Hudson’s Bay Company store lands at Winnipeg shop
When a carousel setup from the Hudson’s Bay Company became available during an auction, a Winnipeg business owner had to have it.
Sask. doctor facing professional charges in circumcision case
A Saskatoon doctor has been accused of unprofessional conduct following a high-cost adult circumcision that included a request for the patient to text unsecured post-op pictures of his genitals.
Regina home recognized internationally for architectural design
Jane Arthur and her husband David began a unique construction project in 2014. Now, a decade later, their home in Regina's Cathedral neighbourhood has won a title in the Urban House and Villa category at the World Architecture Festival.
Calgary director Kiana Rawji turns her lens toward slums of Nairobi with 'Mama of Manyatta'
Two films shot in Kenya by a director and writer based in Brooklyn who grew up in Calgary are getting their Calgary premiere screening Saturday.