MR SCRUFF@DURHAM, UK

[glass_eye.]

hey guys this is my first thread. Just a short one:

this is my first time taking photos in a club and will be taking photos of the DJ as well as the punters. i'll be using a Canon Eos 400d with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. i've got a 430EX flash unit as well.

i've been reading the posts on this site and was wondering if there was any other tips that could be passed on. from what i've gathered i'm going to be using the camera on manual f/8 iso 200/400 and about 1sec shutter speed to 'drag the shutter'. hoping to use the flash as well.

are there any setting like exposure on the flash unit that should be used. i was going to use 2nd curtain.

is there anything that i'm missing out on or should be aware of before i jump in?

thanks a lot, any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[londonblue007]

I recommend also having the 50mm f/1.8
It is the only lens I use and I love it. Shoots amazing shots and is a must have. I'm not a big fan of flash in club/concert shots, unless you are shooting crowd shots... It just doesn't do anything for me or the artists really.

thats all I got. Good luck!

[glass_eye.]

here are the photos that i managed to take that night. any C&C would be awesome.

In the first one their faces aren't clear. any advice on what i'm doing wrong. it was 2nd curtain with 1-1/2 sec shutter.

[glass_eye.]

here are a couple more...

[glass_eye.]

Heres a final one of the man himself:

[René Damkot]

In the first one their faces aren't clear. any advice on what i'm doing wrong. it was 2nd curtain with 1-1/2 sec shutter.

Forget the second curtain sync. Makes no difference whatsoever in a setup like this. It'll only screw up your timing, and the people are likely to move away halfway during the exposure, since they think the (ETTL) preflash is the actual photo being taken....

Also, your shutterspeed is too low for the amount of ambient on them.
A long shutterspeed might work, as long as the subject is backlit, or the BG is brighter then the subject. Here the long shutterspeed is causing motion blur.


You could try using Av with a -1 EC or so, or just use Manual on camera, and set a shutterspeed a bit faster (like 1/8 or so). You might also want to dial in a bit of +FEC: The flash exposure is on the low side IMO.