26, @hellorozette Photographer and photo editor at Time Out LA
Standing in a photo pit, waiting for the right moment to capture someone onstage is hardly the most comfortable position to be in. Photographer Rozette Rago, however, portrays her subjects with a curious sense of serenity and comfort. She’s currently the photo editor at Time Out LA, but her roots are much closer to music photography. The Los Angeles-based photographer has shot over hundreds of musical artists by now — from Duran Duran to Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, U2, and FKA Twigs, to name a few. Music photography has its own set of challenges, all of which Rozette believes boils down to flexibility and an ability to improvise. It hadn’t been easy to move from Manila to Los Angeles — she says she always feels like she’s a few steps behind — but she stuck it out on her own, and the work has clearly paid off. So to her younger self, she would tell her, “The insecurity is normal, but it goes away as you become more confident in yourself as a person and as a photographer.”
— Marga Buenaventura (Photo by Jessica Mendoza)
