Night Club Photography Tips and Techniques

[DwightMcCann]

Well, there seem to be a lot of guys with some great Night Club Photography Tips and Techniques who would like a FAQ or Sticky but just can't seem to start one themselves so here it is!

First Tip: Read the Concert FAQ here.

Now, everyone with something to contribute do it!

[yap'in]

I just read the last post on the other thread ... was wondering how to start it up

My 2 Cents for what i do

- Be sure to shoot in Manual Mode
- Shutter speeds from 1/10 - 1/4 of a second
- Aperture from 4 - 6
- ISO 400 +++
- Flash is a must

also, dress to impress wherever you go ... i've seen dudes come into a "dressy" nightclub wearing collegiate clothing and a crummy baseball cap.

i took this lastnight at Andy's Pool Hall down here in Toronto ... good music if you're ever in town
ex: 1/8, f4.5, iso800

[ItsMike]

Originally Posted by yap'in

I just read the last post on the other thread ... was wondering how to start it up

My 2 Cents for what i do

- Be sure to shoot in Manual Mode
- Shutter speeds from 1/10 - 1/4 of a second
- Aperture from 4 - 6
- ISO 400 +++
- Flash is a must

I agree! Drag the shutter if possible..

[Rukes]

Originally Posted by DwightMcCann

Well, there seem to be a lot of guys with some great Night Club Photography Tips and Techniques who would like a FAQ or Sticky but just can't seem to start one themselves so here it is!

First Tip: Read the Concert FAQ here.

Now, everyone with something to contribute do it!

Going to be tough to get everything into one, since unlike concert photography, there are so many more styles of nightclub photography

You have the basic direct-light candids like the hipster photography trend, the oldschool raver type pics with a majority of nightlife photography, the oversharpened low-aperture photos, and the colorful high-aperture photos, etc...

Will work on writing something up to help

[Lefty Ray]

Make sure all batteries are fully charged.

[cool_dude07]

Originally Posted by ItsMike

I agree! Drag the shutter if possible..

Ok, why do you 'drag' the shutter? Please explain..

Ty

[bacchanal]

Originally Posted by cool_dude07

Ok, why do you 'drag' the shutter? Please explain..

Ty

The idea is to let the flash freeze motion and expose for the subject while leaving the shutter open longer to let in ambient light and create a more 'balanced' exposure. This will often give you light trails or colorful backgrounds, both of which aren't necessarily a bad things in nightclub photography.

My tip would be to use a flash bracket and bounce the flash if possible. I don't use a bracket (yet), and my wrist can get a little sore after holding a 30D + 17-55 in one hand for a couple hours (580ex in the other hand).

Also, use colored gel samples (such as the Rosco swatchbook) to balance the flash color temp to the ambient light color temp. People have different ways of mounting the gel samples to the front of their flash, but I just stick mine inside a Stofen Omnibounce.

[djharmonix]

I'm a beginner in club photography but already did a few contracts...

I work with a Canon 5D, 24-70mm 2.8L and 580EX with lightsphere II diffuser.

I use manual settings, 1/90th of a second, F4. ISO800 with flash on ETTL. Exposure on central metering.







You can see more on my PBASE account:

http://www.pbase.com/nicolasshapiro

[narlus]

last one's nice!

[yap'in]

this thread is slowly slipping away

[DwightMcCann]

Originally Posted by yap'in

this thread is slowly slipping away

Yes, so we are now trying to keep bare Tips & Tricks (rather than discussion) in the main FAQ I started way back when which also has quieted down ... most tips for clubs are useful for small band venues so there is plenty of overlap. So just go edit in your stuff along with the pictures to demonstrate!

[yap'in]

i got a funny question

who uses the flash straight on? because i've been doing the que card and rubberband trick (as ghetto as it is) and seems to work quite well ... i'm noticing djharmonix is flashing straight on ... i could be totally wrong

should i invest in one of those plastic diffusers?

here's a sample of the que-card/rubberband trick

[yap'in]

****...i just reread his post and it said lightsphere II diffuser

[PhotosGuy]

Anyone with Club/Nightlife photography questions?

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Re: Flash Photography 101, Chapter 3 - A Systematic Approach to Bounced Flash

Party Shots

See the links & finished shots at the end: First event coming up

The Johnny Headband Band

First time concert shoot at HoB tomorrow. Any last min advice?

How to generate sales

[35Pixels]

how do you get an overall lit up body when you shoot Vertically? Sometimes only the head is lit up? What focus mode do I use? Does metering mode matter? what are you Flash Settings to capture a well lit overall person in the dark?

thank you

some of my favorites in the event/nightlife are
www.ambrel.net (only for people/candid)
www.caesarsebastian.com (for crowd/DJ/people)
www.rukes.com (crowd)
www.angeladam.com (people)