Night Party

Hey all. I have Canon 550D / 18-135 / 430EXII. I tryed to get some photos at night club, and the results was not like i wished. I look for some universal lenses for events. Like birthdays in small rooms, and night clubs.
I checked a lot of info before i create this post. I found:

• Tamron AF 17-50mm 2,8 XR Di II LD ASL
  
• Sigma 17-50mm F2,8 EX DC OS HSM
  
• Sigma EX 30 / 1.4 DC HSM
  

can't see the pictures.

looks like 500px is down.

You should be able to take great party pictures with your current lens and flash. Second curtain sync and dragging the shutter is the key to those great night club shots you've seen.

The 30mm might feel a bit too long in a cramped indoor environment. The f/2.8 zooms you mention are only 2/3 of a stop faster than your 18-135 at its wide end.

What u think about SoftBoxes? Like this.

I use the 35f2 for this purpose. I want photos without flash, and you should be able to do this with your camera with the Sigma 30f1.4. I have also read that you may need microadjust on your camera to get the benefits of the Sigma, or it may need to be sent in for calibration. That is partially why I went for the Canon lens.

xiSeah wrote in post #13517687
What u think about SoftBoxes? Like this.

I don't think you'd want to carry around a softbox with you at a party, right? Bounce flash off of walls and/or the ceiling. Use a bounce card on the flash as well to direct some light forward.

for images like this i would carry softbox at night party

the backlight like there i cant get with my equipment.

The best i could do was pictures when behind target was projector:

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

here is what happening when i shot with second curtain and without projector in back:

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

What ISO are you shooing at? Try going higher if you're not at 1600-3200 already. 2nd curtain shutter drag is also much more effective if your subject is not well-lit with ambient light.

A lot of people use diffusers, lightspheres, or bounce cards. You can make one yourself. I took a piece of printer paper and wrapped it around my flash then taped it to make a hood/diffuser. Then you can use the flash direct, but still get soft light.

xiSeah wrote in post #13518801
for images like this i would carry softbox at night party

Holy crap, nice shots. What exactly were you using for a softbox?

Nothing, this is not my photos. This is what i want to take myself.

I was shooting with 1600 ISO.

I got this. It has almost no sense.

Of course better lighting would help, but it actually looks like you are OVERexposing the subjects in some of the pics, thus making it more difficult in regards to maintaining a fast shutter and lower ISO.