night club photos (NWS)

If you're gonna keep your flash on camera, a Sto-Fen will do the trick. I get massacred for espousing my ethos of "less is more" for carrying gear into a club, but the Fong gadget is a bit much for club operations.

And of course, my biggest bit of advice is to get your flash off camera. ST-E2, or Off-Camera Shoe Cord. Either will do ya fine. ST is obviously wireless.

RagingBull wrote in post #8251575
I owned the sigma version which a a bit heavier than the kit lens I recently got the 17-55 2.8 Canon....that thing was heavy as hell the first night but you'll get use to it.

Your pics looks nice 2 me whats exif data?

Thanks!

First one is at ISO 200, 22mm, f4.0 and 1.6secs. Second one is ISO 200, 19mm, f4.0 and 1.4secs

pod_canon wrote in post #8251753
If you're gonna keep your flash on camera, a Sto-Fen will do the trick. I get massacred for espousing my ethos of "less is more" for carrying gear into a club, but the Fong gadget is a bit much for club operations.

And of course, my biggest bit of advice is to get your flash off camera. ST-E2, or Off-Camera Shoe Cord. Either will do ya fine. ST is obviously wireless.

Ok cool. I've found the type of cord you're talking about on eBay (it's my only option as I dont use Amazon and the camera store near me fails)

Assuming I ordered it and it arrives on time, good stuff. But for the sake of the arguement, if it doesnt come before next Friday... what position would I be in without an off-shoe cord?

Thanks again everyone

shadowkipper wrote in post #8251819
Ok cool. I've found the type of cord you're talking about eBay (it's my only option as I dont use Amazon and the camera store near me fails)

Assuming I ordered it and it arrives on time, good stuff. But for the sake of the arguement, if it doesnt come before next Friday... what position would I be in without an off-shoe cord?

Thanks again everyone

stoffen should do the trick then.

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the help.

I'll be sure to post some shots here if I can get any good ones =)

Also, in general, I like all of your work, there's some major talent coming out of this thread from everyone

shadowkipper wrote in post #8251492
Hey guys.

A friend of mine is an organiser for the local Youth Council an they're having some 'UV' night for the teens in a weeks time at this local place called Club Ruin.

Anyway, he's asked me if I want to shoot for it and I've done some work for him before so I'm totally up for it. Only problem is,I'm nervous/confused as to what setup I should be running with.

Im not getting paid for this as he's my friend and etc so I'm not providing commercial work but I'd like to get some good shots and get my rep out there etc

I've recently invested in the 17-40mm L for my 400D and I've yet to try tha properly in low light/club conditions. I've also got the 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8 and the 70-200 f4. Oh and a 430Ex.

Anyways, I dont want to have to take my gear as I'm limited to one body and its a small-ish club as far as I know. I'm curious as to how the 17-40 would perform under the low light if I've got the ISO cranked up to 800/1600, shutter at about 200 or so and the flash either bouncing off the ceiling or off a piece of white card on the unit.

Also wondering if its worth taking the 85mm considering the size of the venue. The 50mm would be ideal except I've heard it kinda fails with club/party related shots due to its slowness.

Thanks in advance. In a nutshell, I've done similar stuff before, it's just been a long time since I have so I'm in need of some pointers.

Cheers

The 17-40L is a GREAT club lens! The copy I have is sharp and with a flash it works great @ f4+. It's definitely my go-to lens for all club work. I dont even think you need to get fancy and use and off-camera cord at first. Frankly it's a lot to manage and not having a free hand can be a hassle. I would stick with it on camera and use a diffuser like a stofen or fong dong. Use bounce flash as much as possible and experiment! That's half the fun!
Just make sure to have your camera set to AI Focus so your flash will be able to help your camera focus @ night. I would stick with TTL on the flash at first as well.

Just found a neat little article showing the difference in diffusion between several different types of diffusers, including the Lumiquest Promax System, Stofen Omnibounce and Gary Fong lightsphere.

Personally I would have done a slightly more scientific test but this one works.

Here's a link.

yapin wrote in post #8248652
=yap'in;8248652]
style boys... all about your style

Shush, you are going to kill threads if you bring that up

Question...!

Guys, have you found that occasionally you'll get a glare from random dude out with their friends... it's the typical glare you get either from someone who has a camera and knows what they're doing or, more likely, someone who has a camera and doesn't know what they're doing but thinks they do?

Bit of a weird one I know but it's happened on at least three occasions... I could have got the stare wrong and they probably just want to kill me or something.

or am I just chatting boll**ks??

adsayer wrote in post #8252844
Question...!

Guys, have you found that occasionally you'll get a glare from random dude out with their friends... it's the typical glare you get either from someone who has a camera and knows what they're doing or, more likely, someone who has a camera and doesn't know what they're doing but thinks they do?

Bit of a weird one I know but it's happened on at least three occasions... I could have got the stare wrong and they probably just want to kill me or something.

or am I just chatting boll**ks??

I do get 'random' glares every once in a while, but I doubt they come from photographers. Most photographers I meet while working are much more likely to chat me up: ask what equipment I have, who i work for, etc. I really don't know what the glares are about, but I've definitely gotten some from big "tough guys" who I assume are jealous of all the female attention I get and the ease with which I converse with them. I had one guy threaten me physically but I left him alone. If he had attempted anything he would have been dealt with harshly, police involved. All of the bouncers @ EOS, the club I work at mostly, are friends of mine, so I don't worry about it.

adsayer wrote in post #8252844
Question...!

Guys, have you found that occasionally you'll get a glare from random dude out with their friends... it's the typical glare you get either from someone who has a camera and knows what they're doing or, more likely, someone who has a camera and doesn't know what they're doing but thinks they do?

Bit of a weird one I know but it's happened on at least three occasions... I could have got the stare wrong and they probably just want to kill me or something.

or am I just chatting boll**ks??

Well.......

Ever since I started doing those Rehab pool parties, I have been seeing some snide comments here and there from other photographers in town that work for those nightlife e-zines on people's Facebook. In other words, if I send a girl a pic I took of her and her friends at Rehab and it has my watermark on it, I would get some kid saying things like: "Oh, I took better pics at some private party" (private=nudity) and they go on and on about how their photos are better than mine when in the end, their work is pretty much garbage. Messed up thing is that some of these photogs have better cameras than I do but I take better photos than they are with my Xti. I do get some stares when I am out in certain places with my cam from other photogs too.

I asked this similar question a few pages back and I just came to the conclusion that I must be doing something right to garner haters

I am sure that I will see more of them in time but I just ignore it

Twin Turbo wrote in post #8251023
So, I decided to break out the Tammy 17-50 at one of the places that I work for and report back to you guys. Nothing too crazy. Just some shots of college kids hanging out.

Some things that I am noticing so far:

1.This lens is heavy. I am sure that the Canon 17-40 is heavier though.
2. It looks like I got a great copy.
3. I am spending less time post processing.
4. Focus is pretty darn quick.
5. It's a little wider than the kit lens, which I did notice right away.
6. I am very happy with this lens so far.

What do you guys think?

Heavy!? LOL. It is the 2nd lightest lens I own! The first being the nifty fifty!
It's focus isn't too bad... it is a bit slower than my other lenses but not enough so that I would find it a flaw.

shadowkipper wrote in post #8251710
Thanks for your advice =D

Is it worth lowering the Exp comp for the flash? And as for diffusing, I've got a choice of attaching a bounce card to the top of the 430Ex so it bounces off that and down onto the subject OR use my Sto-Fen diffuser (just your average diffuser cone) and shoot straight at the subjects.

Thanks again

Why not use both? Before I got my presslight I was using the lumiquest. Before I got the lumiquest I was using a stofen style difuser with a white index card ruberbanded to the back. Before that I was just using the stofen and before that I was just using the card.

If I only had the choices you are saying I would use the stofen in combination with the card. Try it out, don't be afraid to bend the card to help direct light downward as well. The cards I used extended out about 5 inches that way I could adjust it by sliding it up and down the rubberband or bending it to direct light where I wanted it.

Mikefromearth wrote in post #8252371
Just found a neat little article showing the difference in diffusion between several different types of diffusers, including the Lumiquest Promax System, Stofen Omnibounce and Gary Fong lightsphere.

Personally I would have done a slightly more scientific test but this one works.

Here's a link.

There's a link here on potn as well from awhile back (maybe some of our mods or others may remember it). A fellow showed side by side shot comparisons of various difusers and the shadows they cast. If I recall correctly he used a board or something so that you could clearly see the sharpness of the shadows the various diffusers cast.

Mikefromearth wrote in post #8252937
I do get 'random' glares every once in a while, but I doubt they come from photographers. Most photographers I meet while working are much more likely to chat me up: ask what equipment I have, who i work for, etc. I really don't know what the glares are about, but I've definitely gotten some from big "tough guys" who I assume are jealous of all the female attention I get and the ease with which I converse with them. I had one guy threaten me physically but I left him alone. If he had attempted anything he would have been dealt with harshly, police involved. All of the bouncers @ EOS, the club I work at mostly, are friends of mine, so I don't worry about it.

See, the photogs around here usually keep to themselves. There have been some where we crossed paths and nodded our heads and that was it. At times, I do get a lot of female attention and that gets some dudes feeling short changed a bit. I do get people asking me if I work for 'so and so' magazine and when I tell them that I freelance and give them my card they seem a little shocked that I don't work for an e-zine or something.

One thing that I learned is to know and become friends with the security staff at whatever venue you are in.

I think that all of this boils down to jealousy. In fact, just the other day I was checking out most of the e-zines in town and I must say that and I am not too impressed with the photography. I'm just saying