Nightclub Photography - A Basic Guide

Wow! That's such a good write up -you've told the reader literally everything they need to know, I feel I could have a half decent crack at this having read the post! :thumbs:

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this - it's not what I shoot, or want to shoot (p*ssed up people really annoy me, I'd be rubbish shooting in a club lol) but I loved reading it...!
 
PMK said:
Great write up, thanks!
This picture is great, would it be possible to provide the EXIF? The reason I ask is because I am a little confused how the subject is sharp with the shutter so slow? I'm a noob in this field, but am really interested in trying it out. Thanks
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Here you go, exif intact in this one.
talk054.jpg



BalSanghera said:
Thanks for posting this, will make for interesting reading. Any chance of turning it into a pdf? I can do it for you if you dont mind.
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Cheers, what do you need a pdf for?

Wobbler said:
Wow! That's such a good write up -you've told the reader literally everything they need to know, I feel I could have a half decent crack at this having read the post! :thumbs:

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this - it's not what I shoot, or want to shoot (p*ssed up people really annoy me, I'd be rubbish shooting in a club lol) but I loved reading it...!
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The first people to get on good terms with is the doormen, then you can be as forceful as you need to be. :lol:
 
very good post i will keep this in mind for the future :D
 
Many thanks for the post, I have an (first time) event coming up soon and that has steadied the nerves a bit.
 
Brilliant write up

Lists most if the things I had to learn the hard way by taking lots and lots of pictures

I also use a light sphere, because it seems to be more predictable lighting compared to my whale tail.

Been thinking about shooting off camera (either using my camera in commander mode, or wired) but Im not sure how I'd get on without having free hand.

My general set up befoe I fine tune is
f 4.0, shutter 1/40, iso.800, flash set to manual and 1/32.

Like you say ambient lighting is the key - which I am still learning
Really wanting to go wide angled too - saving the pennies

Thanks for the great tips

Ollie
 
Thats a great write up, It's given me loads of new ideas. Thanks!
 
excellent post this needs to be a STICKY . club stuff is not my thing but this was a great read anyway.
 
Great tutorial!

I have a question more about the business side of things, but how does it work with regards to model consent? I assume as it is a private location, they (the punters) effectively give consent when they enter the venue?
 
As previously mentioned, thanks for this helpful and well presented guide. Its the most straight to the point and clearly written article I've come across to date.

A related question for you if possible.

How do you approach your nightclub photography PP? Assuming some obvious things like a touch of sharpening/noise reduction/saturation to be a given (maybe, if you want!?), is there anything else you rely upon to "pop" your pictures?

I am using Lightroom more and more these days and specifically wondered if you recommend any particular presets or tweaked presets?

Also, could I draw your attention to this thread? http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=3911246#post3911246

Another question perplexing me right now is how to operate at the f2.8 end for real shallow DOF without blurring up and softening your subjects, especially when there are 3-5 of them in that lovely little semi-circle they often stand in when being togged.

All wisdom gratefully received and thanks again!

Many thanks indeed.
 
an excellent write up, thanks for taking the time!

i dont have a flash but want to buy one, would this be good/usable for nightclub photography?
Speedlight YN460-II

ive only been into photography since sept last year and havent got a flash yet or any real idea how to use or set one up :)
a friend of mine does a dnb night in oxford that i can be official photgrapher for so im dying to get in there and take a load of snaps!
 
Cheers guys.

That flash will be ok, but it is manual only I believe so you will need to work a bit harder.
 
Thanks for that tutorial! I have tried to do nightclub photography with my little Canon 350D and always found that I never had a lot of ambient light in my pictures, but then again I never had a flash gun. So a decent flash gun is a must have and hopefully with the right settings for my camera I'll get some good pictures :)

I'm hoping to get the 580ex flash soon for my camera.
 
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Owen256 said:
Just one question though when shooting in Manual, leaving the shutter speed on like 1/20th and adjusting the aperture do I still need to change the shutter speed or will the flash compensate for this change?
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As long as your flash is in ETTL or ETTL II mode it will compensate automatically :) bear in mind though the more you stop down your aperture, the more power the flash will have to use to expose each shot correctly (actually the flash is the same brightness, just longer). This will obviously drain your batteries faster and will make the recycling time slower.

bass_junkie83 said:
This picture is great, would it be possible to provide the EXIF? The reason I ask is because I am a little confused how the subject is sharp with the shutter so slow? I'm a noob in this field, but am really interested in trying it out. Thanks
Click to expand...

It's just a slow shutter (probably 1sec or something). Dial in a long shutter and set aperture/ISO accordingly to expose the background how you want it and the flash will 'freeze' the subject.

I do some nightclub photography and what the OP has written is pretty much exactly how I work. Although, I don't like going too wide on shots so I probably wouldn't use anything quite as wide as 10mm (bear in mind I'm talking about APS-C crop sensor here), plus you ideally want faster lenses so you can keep your shutter faster to avoid motion blurring of the background and light bleeding etc. I've found that using the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L on APS-C sensor is a perfect combination, it works fantastically on my 550D. The 18-55mm kit lens will work well providing you have the IS switched on. The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L would work equally as well on a full frame camera but there's no way I'd take the 5DmkII into a busy night club full of drunk revellers considering it's 3x the price of the 550D.

As far as flash guns go don't bother with anything less than the 430EX II. You can buy these relatively cheap now (I got mine brand new for £180 about 18 months ago) and they will be fine in most situations. If you plan to be shooting a lot of photos in succession then definitely consider the 580EX II. It has rapid fire mode (allows it to fire before it is fully recharged providing the ETTL determines you don't need full power for that shot), it has better bounce capability having 82% more power output than the 430EX II. And it also has the catchlight reflector card built in which comes in very useful.

My 2p. :)
 
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Metz 50 AF-1, any good for this type of work on a Nikon D3100?

As above I wouldn't want to spend loads on a SB-700 or 900 (in the same way that the D3-S will NOT be used for this type of work when I buy it early next year!) but want to make sure I get full functionallity and not just Manual.
 
For that money you could purchase a 430EX II, I'm a Canon man and know nothing about Nikon but surely they have a direct competitor to the 430EX II which is around about the same price?
 
Thanks for this, can anyone give me some recommendations for the settings to use with a 40d and a Jessops 300AFD flash?

Each time I do some flash work I find that the flash is far to powerful and blows out the photo to much even when bouncing it off the celling.
 
ignore double post
 
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jimmy83 said:
Thanks for this, can anyone give me some recommendations for the settings to use with a 40d and a Jessops 300AFD flash?

Each time I do some flash work I find that the flash is far to powerful and blows out the photo to much even when bouncing it off the celling.
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See Bass Junkie's post # 2 - Basic settings.

I'd start there and then adjust to taste :)

Re: Flash too powerful...Turn it down :D or reduce your ISO a little.
 
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Turn it down?
 
Russ77 said:
Yes...... turn the flash output down.
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I dont believe I can on the flashgun itself. Can you set the power output from the camera?
 
Are you using the flash on ETTL mode? Sounds like it's just firing at full power each time.
 
Great Post....never new southend could look that posh :thumbs:
 
DemiLion said:
I'm fairly sure that you are. The strobe is ETTL only.
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Kinda got my head around Flash Exposure Compensation. On my flashgun is has an ETTL light on it which comes on when I take a shot. So yes I guess your right.

I didnt even know I was using it tbh, and still unsure of its use. :o
 
I have just finished updating and revamping this guide. It seems I cannot edit the original posts, so it is up on my blog.

Nightclub photography guide

It is essentially the same guide, but with a bit more detail in some areas and generally tidied up.
 
Anyone know how you do the long shutter & freeze people on a Nikon with the SB900? :)
 
Scout n' About said:
Anyone know how you do the long shutter & freeze people on a Nikon with the SB900? :)
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It shouldn't matter which model camera/flash you're using tbh, use the basic settings and adjust as necessary :)
 
Spent the guts of an hour last weekend trial & LOTS OF ERROR trying to get the effect I want without any joy lol :bang:

Good job I had the 2nd body to fool around with, and one to "get" photos

Trying to get the motion of people dancing/moving behind 2 or 3 people posing for the camera

Usually I roll 24-70 f2.8
ISO 800
Manual
1/20
f7.1

Flash -0.7
Rear
TTL/FP
 
Scout n' About said:
TTL/FP
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If the SB900 is showing 'TTL-FP' it sounds like you've set the D90 to 'Auto FP' (flash can be used at shutter speeds that are higher than the normal flash sync speed). Did you try it with Auto FP off (e5 in D90 menu) and a slowish shutter speed?
 
Scout n' About said:
Spent the guts of an hour last weekend trial & LOTS OF ERROR trying to get the effect I want without any joy lol :bang:

Good job I had the 2nd body to fool around with, and one to "get" photos

Trying to get the motion of people dancing/moving behind 2 or 3 people posing for the camera

Usually I roll 24-70 f2.8
ISO 800
Manual
1/20
f7.1

Flash -0.7
Rear
TTL/FP
Click to expand...

I'd say your shutter speed is too fast and your aperture is too high..... Try =< 1/10 and f5.6
 
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