Lapdancing Bar!!! Shot Advice

chewyuk

chewyuk

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Neil
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Believe it or not, I have landed a job to shoot a lapdancing club. (Careful use of language);)

Mostly promotional material for the owner of the club and a number of his restaurants.
The restaurants I can do, but shooting with very limited light, can anyone help with recommendations/hints/tips at all please ...
Anyone done anything like this before ?

Dancers may be asking for portfolio's as well ....
I know what you all think :) But I promise I'm not kidding.

Cheers for any help/advice you can give...

Neil
 
Watch out for camera shake!!:lol:
 
Are you taking interior shots of the club or shots of the girls......ummmm..... performing?

Two totally different sets of problems. :)
 
Just interior shots or shots of the dancers in action?
 
Both !! Interior shots of the club - think I can probably manage these and the girls - Possibly performing, but clearly dressed. Going to set up the whole thing prior to 'clients' turning up.
This is a 'posh' Table dancing place not a round the back of a dark alley kind of place ! - If that helps at all.
 
chewyuk said:
This is a 'posh' Table dancing place not a round the back of a dark alley kind of place ! - If that helps at all.
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Sorry - over to Daz then - I only have experience of the latter. :lol:
 
wide angle lens and get them to promise not to use any red lights on stage whilst you're shooting (as it were :nuts: )

seriously, even classy night clubs look like crap in daylight - make sure the lighting guy is around so you can try different effects.

you may want to have some fake punters around too, so you can take shots of the girls dancing for them
 
I think its worthwhile checking that all the dancers are well aware of the situation? Sure they are otherwise the company would be fully liable.
 
Who's a lucky boy then?! ;)

I think the fake punter suggestion is quite good. And I'm thinking a tripod might come in handy to handle the low light levels. Otherwise you'll have to consider taking some lights with you to supplement the club lighting. The girls on stage should be pretty well lit while performing by spots.
Extra lighting might be advisable if the girls want some portfolio shots off stage too...

What's the worst that could happen? You get home, find your exposure was slightly out, and have to go back to do it again!! :D

Good luck, and have fun!
 
This is a 'posh' Table dancing place not a round the back of a dark alley kind of place ! - If that helps at all.
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Cant be in Cardiff then!! ;)
 
All these posts and not one about having a stiff tripod. :lol:

Seriously, you will need to see how much light you have and take LOADS of shots. Usual upping the ISO (not over 800) and using your tripod is all obvious advice that im sure you know. Just go there and take as many as possible with differnet settings.
 
Damn, CT really does have my number. :lol:

The interior shots should be pretty easy as while the light levels will be low, I'd imagine there aren't any windows to cause nasty blown out sections.

A good tripod is obviously a must, a hand holdable flash with diffuser and a ND filter will be handy too. You'll likely find that if you set the aperture to get the DoF you need, the camera's shutter suggestion will be more or less on the money. Keep the ISO as low as you can, which will give you lovely long shutter speeds. You can fill in any dark areas but wandering round and blasting them with the flash. If the shutter is open long enough the camera wont see you but if it's a bit too short, that's where the ND filter comes in handy. A polariser would work just as well too of course.

The "action" shots will be far more difficult. Go too high on the ISO and the noise will be nasty. Too much flash and you'll have flat lifeless shots with no atmosphere. Assuming you aren't going to take a studio setup, I'd go with the fastest lens I have, used wide open, push the ISO as far as I can without getting noisey and turn down the flash as far as I can go and still get everything safely in the histogram.

..... and don't forget to keep checking the frame edges for unwanted intrusions. You might be a tad more likely to miss them on this one. ;) :lol:
 
dazzajl said:
..... and don't forget to keep checking the frame edges for unwanted intrusions.
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Nothing like an unwanted intrusion in a lapdancing bar!! :naughty: ;)
 
Nothing like an unwanted intrusion in a lapdancing bar!!
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Exactly :thumbs:

The pets are even worse than the ins. ;)

Oh, forgot to say, with the shots of the girls, if you're using flash, keep the shuuter speed as low as you can. A background that's a little soft from camera movment looks better than one that's sharp but really dark with horrible light fall off and huge shadow areas. :)
 
Most importantly is to post pictures on here!!!
Dean:)
 
Oh! and dont shoot everywhere:lol:
Dean:)
 
Fake the 'performance' shots with the club closed - use 'proper' studio lights rather than the stage lights for most of them with a few of those thrown in for 'atmosphere'. Slow flash-sync for 'arty' shots, faster speeds for 'folio' shots. Experiment and have fun - what a rubbish job!!!
Don't try to do performance shots with punters there or you'll just annoy everyone - not everyone who goes to these clubs wants everyone else to know about it - the presence of a camera may upset people, even if you are officially there.
 
Dino f said:
Oh! and dont shoot everywhere:lol:
Dean:)
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I've just spat coke ( the brown stuff in cans not the white powder :D ) all over my screen now Dean, thank you very much! :lol:
 
:) Cheers All.
No official punters will be there, it will be a complete set-up with a few of the 'door-men' posing. I am an offical reckie tomorrow night !!

Dazz, you are right, I wasn't planning on taking a studio set-up as I don't own one, but from what Arkady is saying perhaps I should consider it....

The Club shot's I'm cool about, action ones I'm a little anxious !!
 
As it's going to be a staged shoot, ask the girls to hold a pose for a few seconds, just to avoid image blur....unless that's what you are wanting. With the lighting being low and possibly flashing, it helps if you know in advance when they are going to "hold still" and when they are....not. A strong beat in the music is often a guide. Talk through their dance with them beforehand. Sounds fun.
 
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[S2]This thread is pointless without photos[/S2]


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(well someone had to do it....)
 
learn to read the histogram, fast glass, high iso and manual exposure. stay away from the flash
 
Dazz, you are right, I wasn't planning on taking a studio set-up as I don't own one, but from what Arkady is saying perhaps I should consider i
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Well if you fancy a drive over the bridge, out wiltshire way you're welcome to borrow some lights and stuff.......

and no, that's not on condition that I go with them. :lol: :lol:
 
I've got a lovely job in frome tomorrow that's going to go on pretty late. Do you have a date set yet for this shoot? I'm sure we can sort something out.

gimme a call if you like, 07974 179 004. 50/50 I'll be able to answer most of the time but if you can leave a number, I'll get back to you soon enough. :)
 
Showing a curious interest in this job Daz? :lol:
 
curious?

I'm sure I could find a diagram or two on the web to illustrate if you'd like. ;) :lol:

Sadly I wouldn't have the time to go........ even if I was offered the art director job . ;)
 
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