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Nightclub Photography – advice please!!
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I’m involved in setting up a new club night in Dublin. One of the things I would like to do is take good photos on the night and put them on the website for people to see.
Here are some example of the type of thing I’m after: http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/watch/photos/2009/jul/22/gallery-radioslave/
http://www.subjectevents.com/main/component/option,com_joomgallery/Itemid,35/catid,12/func,viewcategory/I have a Canon 400D, a Canon 50mm 1.8, and a Sigma 17-70mm. I’ve taken great shots at parties and weddings etc, but I know this is different and not sure if my photos will be up to scratch.
I’m going into a friends gig tonight and will bring my camera and get some practice. Can anyone give me some pointers as to what settings to use??
One thing that was suggested is that I get a flash as this improves these type of photos considerably. Is this true, is it essential? What is the cheapest I can get a flash for, I’m on a serious budget here!
Thanks
Hi Colly. Personally, I would avoid using flash for this type of photography. It tends to give a very harsh lighting, possibly “washing out” the effect of the coloured lights used by the club, dj and kills the atmosphere of the shots. I would use a lens which would give a good shutter speed i.e. f/2.8 or faster. You can stop down the lens a bit if you want to add movement (blurring). Another reason I wouldn’t use flash is, it draws attention and people in a clubbing environment may not feel comfortable about being photographed. Candid shots look better anyway. This is just my opinion, maybe other members may like to offer alternative advice. Good luck with it anyway.
You will definitely get more moody, character shots without flash but unless you are using the latest Nikons the noise levels will be very high. If you are still looking for a flash we stock and sell the Nissin flash for Canons and Nikons as a budget unit. Give Mark a shout in the shop and tell him what bike you ride (Extra Discount).
Must catch up with you again.Hey,
This is the type of photography I do. I work in bars & clubs and from my short expierience so far i find the best combo is low fstop medium shutter speed and a soft flash. The result is: you can clearly see the subjects, when they look at themselves on your website they’l want to see ther faces, use a difuser to soften the flash..ive even seen photographers put cloth over the flash to soften it haha.. due to the low fstop and medium shutter speed you still include the club lights and atmosphere..
Thanks that sounds great. Cloth over the flash might not be a bad idea at all!
I’m surprised there is not something you can buy that fits over the popup flash to soften it a bit.
Is there any settings on the 400D to adjust the flash?Ya there are small diffusers that you can get for the pop up flash.. here are two types:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pop-up-Flash-Diffuser-for-Canon-30D-40D-5D-1D-400D-450D_W0QQitemZ370218134369QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Photography_DigitalCamAccess_RL?hash=item5632b86b61&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Pop-Up-Flash-Diffuser-for-Canon-Nikon-3-Colours-UK_W0QQitemZ370239815508QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CamerasPhoto_CameraAccessories_CameraFlashUnits_JN?hash=item5634033f54&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14I don’t know much about the pop up flash because I use an external one but if you play around with white balance and the flash exposure compensation settings you should yield some results. Check the manual and google is your friend!!
Fantastic thanks! That’s exactly what I was looking for – I was not searching with the right words though. I’ll definitely get one of them – I think for portrait shots of people it should make the light a lot softer so you can get a nicer shot without strong light and shadows.
Cool, can’t wait!
I also found this one: http://store.garyfonginc.com/puf-01.html – called the Puffer
Looks pretty good, now I have to find where to buy it where they are not going to rip me off with postage!
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