Pole Dancing Shot

[Triptoph]

This is my girlfriend pole dancing at the nightclub Silver in downtown Glasgow as part of a little exhibition from a local pole dancing studio (user name "pixx" on these forums)


Difficult to get a decent shot in such low light. I had a 580 EX II used with a 17-55 f/2.8 IS to take this one. C&C welcome and appreciated.

[cdifoto]

No pic. :(

[Triptoph]

And now here's the actual image :P

[cdifoto]

Ahh there it goes. Got any of her face/swinging around this way?

[Triptoph]

Well, that is my favorite of the lot, made easier by the fact that she is actually holding that position still :)

I positioned myself more towards the back of the club so that the audience made up the background instead of the ugly DJ stage, but that also meant that a lot of the things she did were facing the wrong way.

Here's another where she's at least facing the camera, and since that is also a poor shot I've included another random portrait.

[Triptoph]

Anyone got any tips for taking shots like this event in a dark room? I believe I was using partial-center metering (not sure what the official term is - like spot metering but using a larger area in the center), which was very hit and miss.

[Riff Raff]

If you're using a flash, then you shouldn't even need to worry about metering much of the time. Just set it to manual on the settings you like based on how much ambient light and depth of field you want to see. For indoor low-light action, I'll usually try something like ISO 800 f/2.8 1/160 and see how that looks. If there's particularly fun lighting going on (e.g. the colored lights here) and they're holding relatively still, I'll also try dragging the shutter a bit at around 1/40 or so (and hope it doesn't overexpose, depending on just how low your low-light is).

[cdifoto]

Nice nice. Lucky you. :)

[Triptoph]

If you're using a flash, then you shouldn't even need to worry about metering much of the time. Just set it to manual on the settings you like based on how much ambient light and depth of field you want to see. For indoor low-light action, I'll usually try something like ISO 800 f/2.8 1/160 and see how that looks. If there's particularly fun lighting going on (e.g. the colored lights here) and they're holding relatively still, I'll also try dragging the shutter a bit at around 1/40 or so (and hope it doesn't overexpose, depending on just how low your low-light is).

It was very dark in there, and the lights were moving quite quickly :) Thanks for the tip Shawn, I'll give manual a shot next time; That makes a lot of sense.

[Triptoph]

Nice nice. Lucky you. :)

Thanks :)

[JSJR4]

Nice shot. Lucky guy

[Compact Diss]

One tip. Don't bring a camera into Squires in Revere, you might leave but the camera won't...

[Triptoph]

I called ahead to make sure I could bring my gear, as you usually can't at those places :)

[Burrelly]

Never been in there before. I was meant to be doing shoots for a few pole dancers but got far to busy with music photography.

Not bad shots though. What camera were you using?

[Triptoph]

I was shooting with the 30D. By far the largest camera there, took quite a few looks myself :P

[Burrelly]

Ah you get used to the dirty looks. I get it all the time at gigs when im in the pit.

So are you from glasgow or still over in canada?

[Triptoph]

Well I felt a little dirty as most girls there were in transparent undies or lingerie :o

I'm still in Glasgow at the moment, about to head to France and later Gambia and Senegal then back home to Vancouver to settle down for awhile and earn some cash as a software engineer <cry>

[cdifoto]

Well I felt a little dirty as most girls there were in transparent undies or lingerie :o

I wouldn't have felt dirty. I would have felt incredibly happy.

[Burrelly]

Yeah no need to feel dirty. I shoot porn and its all perfectly natural :)

[stathunter]

I want one of those for Christmas. :) Nice pics.

[cdifoto]

I want one of those for Christmas. :) Nice pics.

If you get one of those poles, I'm taking pics of you breaking it in so I can post them on here for all to see.

[stathunter]

If you get one of those poles, I'm taking pics of you breaking it in so I can post them on here for all to see.

Even in my see though boxers?

[cdifoto]

Even in my see though boxers?

Hell yeah. I have G&N privileges.

[Triptoph]

We actually have a pole for our place back in Vancouver... She won it at a pole dancing competition a few years back heheh :o)

[cdifoto]

We actually have a pole for our place back in Vancouver... She won it at a pole dancing competition a few years back heheh :o)

I didn't put nearly enough "lucky"s in my first post.

[Burrelly]

I could try pole dancing but I would break it..... So where do I find a pole dancer to date? ;)

[Triptoph]

Ha! Well you could go downtown to one of the strip joints and try your luck there I suppose. Let me know how it turns out heheh :)

[Burrelly]

I will most likely end up getting a kicking from the bouncers then from my girlfriend when i get home! ;)

[Riff Raff]

Well I felt a little dirty as most girls there were in transparent undies or lingerie :o

I only feel guilty about that when I start using flash more often after I notice what they're wearing. *walks away whistling*

[René Damkot]

If you're using a flash, then you shouldn't even need to worry about metering much of the time. Just set it to manual on the settings you like based on how much ambient light and depth of field you want to see. For indoor low-light action, I'll usually try something like ISO 800 f/2.8 1/160 and see how that looks. If there's particularly fun lighting going on (e.g. the colored lights here) and they're holding relatively still, I'll also try dragging the shutter a bit at around 1/40 or so (and hope it doesn't overexpose, depending on just how low your low-light is).

Hmmm.

I see no exif in the images, but I do see quite a bit of lighting from the tungsten lighting.
You could try to capture more ambient, provided there's enough light to work with, and use flash as fill.

It's always a good idea to bounce the flash.

[Triptoph]

Unfortunately it was very dark, and the ceiling was painted black so that killed the bounce idea. I imagine the ideal situation is having an assistant or two with a couple slave flashes around the girls... not sure how that would work though, just a thought :)

[René Damkot]

Remember a ceiling that's painted black will still reflect light. Only a few stops less then a white one...
If you have a powerful flash, high iso and wide aperture, it might work okay. (I've bounced my 580EX in places like that with good results)

Using an assistant is an option, bouncing off someones clothing is an option. I've read about a photographer bouncing off his own Tshirt. (I think on POTN) ;)

[Triptoph]

Awesome, great ideas! Thanks! I use a 580 EX II so it may be decent enough to bounce I guess; wouldn't have thought that would work.