Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: Illinois State University

Title of entry: Leah Marlene at the Braden Auditorium

About this entry: Leah Marlene opened for Peach Pit at the Braden Auditorium during Illinois State University's 2024 Homecoming. Throughout Homecoming Week, our photography team emphasizes pushing out creative and authentic content as quickly as possible to drive visibility and engagement on our social media channels. Our goal is to have our photos seen by students, alumni, and other community members to drive engagement in Homecoming festivities, foster a sense of community and belonging at ISU, and make our events "cool" for lack of a better word.

I covered this show alongside one of my student photographers and pushed these images out to our social team by the next morning. Many people shared this post with others, mostly to show, "hey look, I was there!" But most importantly, I think the lone image of Leah stands out for the creative techniques employed in creating the image, as well as the poise of the moment it captured. Instead of focusing on the massive crowd and notoriety Leah had drawn during her time on American Idol, the focus was on the artist; just like her performance, which was without a band. As a gay musician, many students resonated with Leah's music that night, even if they hadn't heard her music before. As my subtle nod to that inclusion, I used a prism in front of my lens to create a rainbow on the image as she performed.