night club photos (NWS) (2)

SpiceSack wrote in post #14375154
Some nice stuff man! Were you using the 30 on a full frame? Usually the club I work at is so crowded that 17mm isn't even wide enough for me. Good luck getting the gig!

Thanks man! Actually, I was shooting with a 60D. Wish I had something wider for some group shots, but not too much missed.

Question here, for the more experienced photographers. Two to be exact.

HIGH ISO - LOW NOISE = THE SECRET?
How are you achieving such beautiful shots at such High iso's? Are you using any special software such as any of the Topaz applications? Just.. I've been working around 3 months now, and I LOVE the atmospherical shots of high ISO's pictures, but I'm clearly struggling, and I think it's down to my hardware. I am working with a 7D and a 15-85mm f3.5 kit lens, which clearly isn't the most ideal set of equipment for high iso atmosphere shots, but currently I'm so strapped for cash that forking out on a beautifully expensive prime is a pipe dream.

All I' m asking is, if I want to improve on my ambient pictures (what with noise and all) where's the key? Software, lens or body?

STARTING WITH A STO-FEN. WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP FOR MORE DIFFUSED SHOTS?
Lastly, I've been working with a sto-fen diffuser and E-TTL off camera corded 430EXII for the last 3 months, and have grown to love and now hate the 'flash' lighting it gives off. Of course I bounce at every chance I get (however I assume you guys aim directly in long shutter scenarios?). What's my next step? What's the next device I can experiment with?

FYI, by 'flash' lighting I mean that it's completely obvious that the flash has been used. Personally I want to push towards taking pictures where you can hardly tell that a flash has been utilised.

GCWB:

1. While your lens, is rubbish, you really should not have much noise if you shoot at 1600/2500 ISO. Most of the images are resized for web format, which does eliminate much problems. I have friends who shoot with the 7D in clubs and produce great images. Alot of your problems may be directed to how you process your RAW files. Can you post some photos you have taken, then I can give you better feedback.

2. Diffuse your light more. Get a Lumiquest big bounce. That's my moneymaker. That and a second flash.

3. Find your shooting style and learn to work with it. 99% of my shots are at f/4.5 f.5.6. I use a old 28mm canon prime, non USM, from 1987...yes..1987. The lens gets the job done.
If you go to www.nullochvoid.com you can see the shots I have taken with it.

GCWB wrote in post #14377277
HIGH ISO - LOW NOISE = THE SECRET?
How are you achieving such beautiful shots at such High iso's?

Any digital SLR on the market today has brilliant high ISO capabilities. Combine that with small web res images and (like fminus said) you can hardly notice the noise.

My tips would be:
stick to native ISO's if possible
expose correctly
don't use fill light in PP if you're at the top of your native ISO range

When you do need noise reduction lightroom is pretty good

I've printed 3200 from a 50D at A4 size with only lightroom's default processing and people don't believe the results. I mean, I had to show one guy the PP and exif data in lightroom before he would believe me.

Visiting this thread makes me miss shooting night clubs
Clubs here aren't even close to what you guys have in your cities

My usual settings:
ISO 800
2.8-4
TTL Flash
And SS: between 2s to 1/250

And GC- If you want to go that route, use your bounce card and bounce as well, or get another flash and hold it in your other hand

fminus wrote in post #14377940
GCWB:

1. While your lens, is rubbish, you really should not have much noise if you shoot at 1600/2500 ISO. Most of the images are resized for web format, which does eliminate much problems. I have friends who shoot with the 7D in clubs and produce great images. Alot of your problems may be directed to how you process your RAW files. Can you post some photos you have taken, then I can give you better feedback.

2. Diffuse your light more. Get a Lumiquest big bounce. That's my moneymaker. That and a second flash.

3. Find your shooting style and learn to work with it. 99% of my shots are at f/4.5 f.5.6. I use a old 28mm canon prime, non USM, from 1987...yes..1987. The lens gets the job done.
If you go to www.nullochvoid.com you can see the shots I have taken with it.

-IMG-

There is a shot at 2500iso...f/4.5 with a 1/15th shutter speed. With my same, "crap", lens. I plan on upgrading to the USM version sometime, but I am in no rush.

It's all about using proper lighting.

You're right, however I've found that 1250 is my comfortable limit, as 1600 and above brings in ambient lighting on my subjects. Have I come to this decision too soon? I usually hang around at f/3.5-5.4 and 1/4 to 1/20th for just normal portrait work. Obviously variating on the ambient and the scene.

If you click my Facebook link in my signature you can get a look at my recent work. I upload my work every weekend for both nights I work. This weekend I am working detonate with the likes of Nero, Skream, Andy C, Flux Pavillion and Netsky (the list goes on). I've got to say, I'm very nervous, and would love any pointers.

I've borrowed a 10-22mm f/3.5 for the occasion, to get some extra wide crowd and DJ shots.

A second flash? I've always thought about pushing it further like that... last week I was using my 7D's wireless trigger function with a flash in the DJ booth. Results were very varied (was just experimenting). I guess I'd have to purchase one of those rigs to hold up two flashes.

Thanks for the advice, it's fantastic to get responses from you guys. Definitely who I aspire to be as good as one day. My next lens is going to be a fish-eye, I've heard the hype and I definitely want to give it a go.

ryon wrote in post #14378961
Visiting this thread makes me miss shooting night clubs
Clubs here aren't even close to what you guys have in your cities

My usual settings:
ISO 800
2.8-4
TTL Flash
And SS: between 2s to 1/250

And GC- If you want to go that route, use your bounce card and bounce as well, or get another flash and hold it in your other hand

Well I'll do anything to get better, I've experimented and I'm usually comfortable with ISO 1000-1250, I love getting that background ambience.

I have mentioned this before in this thread, (a couple weeks back) but there's this guy I really love who works in my neighbourhood. He's both a competitor (a far more experienced and older one who actually studies Photography) and a guy I look up to. Whilst I don't know him at all, and have tried to contact him to squeeze a few tips to no avail, his style is fantastic.

http://www.facebook.co​m/johnnysphotography

I've spent so many weeks experimenting attempting to get the consistent results he achieves. At first I thought I was doing it completely wrong, but I've come to learn that the clubs I work in have a lighting system which makes his style (light trails) nearly impossible unless I'm in certain areas of the club (the dynamic coloured lighting in the background, and not on the faces). Otherwise the ambient shines on the faces of my clubbers and I get horrible ghosting or artifacts. I know for a fact that he uses second shutter curtain (stalked him once).

Just wish I could perfect his style!

I know what it is, something similar to 1/4 to 1 second SS, f/low as possible and an ISO of around 600-1250. Second shutter curtain and a quick rotating movement during the shutter speed, making sure to stop rotating right before the final flash. Just haven't perfected the technique, I think a second flash would make it perfect, covering more of the subjects faces/bodies.

Sorry! I babble!

Guys please answer ^_^

1. Why does a prime capture colors better than a reg lens? I usually shoot with my 24-70 2.8 but i threw on my 50mm 1.8 and the color on the same settings were waaaayyyy better and more vibrant, why?

2. What does everyone use for noise software? Ive eben using Lightroom and I used to use neat noise, is there a trick to the settings? It does ok but when I try to reduce severe noise it makes everything blurry. Im shooting on a 7d and never go above 1000 iso but then i see bradsanity and others on lower model cameras (60D) and higher isos and it looks way better.....

3. any tricks you guys use to get people to take fun shots? I take pics for a local bar once a week and i feel like im in a rut. its a smaller town so its hard getting people to be crazy and have fun, if it were vegas i know i could get some interesting shots!

please help guys....this thread is turning more into a bragging thread with lots of pics and little information. we all live in different parts of the u.s so theres no conflicts of interests.

heres alink with a couple albums of my stuff maybe theres an obvious critique to my night stuff?
http://www.facebook.co​m …llingerPhotogra​phy/photos


Haha, I know this is cheating becuase its not a nightclub pic but this is the type of pics i normally do, i figured a half naked girl might get you guys to stop and read my post lol.

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asheebee30 wrote in post #14379805
...this thread is turning more into a bragging thread with lots of pics and little information. we all live in different parts of the u.s so theres no conflicts of interests.

Chill dude, you're not the first person who's questions have been missed. This is an open forum, anybody can read the information we post here so we could all be helping our competition. Actually, I know that I'm helping my competition, Brandsanity works in the same city as myself.

1. No idea, but I've noticed my 24-70 also produces less vibrant but possibly more accurate colours. My 11-16mm, 30mm and 50mm all produce more vivid colours, so did my 10-20mm before I sold it.

2. answered above.

3. Be fun and talk to people. Some crowds take direction well, others just want to stand in the generic club poses. If you're lucky you'll get some people that just come up with decent poses on their own (rare in my experiance).

asheebee30 wrote in post #14379805
i try getting candids of people and end up with them with arms in front of their faces or them makeing stupid faces....epic fail most of the time.

That's what happens when you take candids of people. If the shot isn't right just take it again.

Haven't been here in a bit it seems... took the 5DII and 24-105 out for a run last weekend

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I don't use anything other than lightroom - and there's definitely no trick to it! I leave all my exif intact so you can see exactly what settings were used... I just don't worry about noise too much, if a shot requires you to go up to 6400 ISO to get the shutter speed then it's so be it! I avoid 12800 (now) though. Like others have said - I think high ISO with pretty much any current DLSR will give perfectly usable images at web size. I only do a slight bit of noise reduction in Lightroom, but never go past 30 as I find this makes the images go blurry which is worse than having some noise IMO.

Another thing aswell, I take LOTS of pictures of anything that isn't a standard portrait. My camera is always set to high speed continuous, and for a crowd shot I might fire off 10 in a row consecutively then pick the best few. If I know certain images definitely won't be getting used, I just delete them on the spot to save editing time.

Here's a few more from last night... They're actually noisy as hell!

srika wrote in post #14348873
I need a lighter lens. this 24-70 brick is really killing me.

i think i will pick up a Tamron 17-50 2.8. Anyone have any other suggestions welcome.

So I ended up getting a 17-40L. Will have to see what this thing can do tonight! shot with it for a bit and I already am loving its light weight and versatility - its much easier to use than the clunky cumbersome 24-70.

Norkusa wrote in post #14376042
I'd like to know this too. I know a lot of photographers consider it unprofessional, but I think having 1 or 2 drinks makes it a little easier to mingle with the crowd and get more personal shots.

it can vary. Of the two gigs I have right now, for one, I am not allowed to drink anything while on duty because I am considered an employee of the venue - and being an 'up-scale' establishment they do not want that. It really would look unprofessional for me to be drinking while taking photos in there. I am dressed in a sportcoat and representing the venue. For the other one, they give me 10 drink tickets. lol. And I had another gig that I quit a few weeks ago, I was getting 10 drink tickets on that one as well. So as you can see, it really depends on what the employer requires. But I definitely like having a drink or two, I do think it helps my creative output and socializing.

Here are some photos from the past 2 weeks -

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My setup for a few weekends ago. I'm no club photog by any means, but I think my shots came out pretty well for a first timer.

The bounce "card" is just a piece of that arts & crafts foam that I cut myself and velcro'd onto the speedlite.

Anyone else care to share? I understand some wouldn't want to.

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Brandsanity wrote in post #14380552

Dude, how the hell do you get around a club that packed?!?

Pushing! Believe me, it's ****ing annoying at times. That picture is taken from the DJ booth and the entrance to the room is in the far back corner. People are constantly dragging you towards them for a pic. I spend most of my time in another room that isn't quite as packed...

You wouldn't believe it, but the song actually playing there is Chris Brown - Yeah Yeah Yeah LOL. The place isn't half as crazy as it looks