Nikon D80 Nightclub/ Party Environment - What Settings?

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Yellowsnapper

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John Stables
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I'm due to shoot at a party on Friday night, not sure what the lightings going to be like.
But i need to know what settings to use for all the changeable features of my camera, as this'll be the first time im shooting outside my home and im really new to photography.
 
It'll almost certainly be quite dark and if it's 'people shots' your after you'll almost certainly need flash. And for atmos shots you should turn the flash off and see what happens using the camera#s auto settings.
 
If your shooting people, then ALWAYS use a flash (flashgun preferably but use the pop-up if you don't have one).

The settings I usualy use are:

Shutterspeed: 1/10 or 1/8
Apature: 4 (the widest, just set it to the widest for your lens).
ISO: 640
Whitebalance: Flash (you can use Auto but I find it dosen't always work as well.

You want to get the people clearly (so use the flash to freeze them) but also give the camera a chance to get the background/surroundings in so don't shoot at too high shutterspeed, too low ISO or to narrow apature.
 
8utters said:
You want to get the people clearly (so use the flash to freeze them) but also give the camera a chance to get the background/surroundings in so don't shoot at too high shutterspeed, too low ISO or to narrow apature.
Click to expand...


^^ Good advice.

And on that basis, to start with I'd set the camera mode (dial to left of viewfinder) to S (for Shutter priority). Then set shutter speed accordingly (rear dial to right of viewfinder).

On the D80 there is an auto ISO function (check the manual). You might want to switch this off or at least specify the max ISO you're prepared to let the camera choose for you. (ISO relates to light sensitivity - a low number (100, say) is least sensitive and needs most time to register an image BUT is highest quality. As the ISO number increases, the camera becomes more responsive to light but quality (in terms of image grain and detail) are affected.)

Also on the D80 is a Noise Reduction (NR) function. This attempts to minimise the graining effects of high ISO images. But it uses camera processing time between shots, so if you think you're likely to shoot a rapid sequence of shots it might be worth turning off the NR function. Otherwise you'll be waiting for the camera to finish its processing whilst the action continues without you.

I'm sure you'll capture some good people images but don't forget about abstracts if you get the chance: lighting, smoke, bubbles, drinks, signs - all can become subjects. Think about composition too. 45 degrees can massively change an image, not always for better mind you.
 
I do Bar photography at weekends and my settings are generally:

f/3.5
1/100
ISO-100

Although there isn't a real need for anything artistic, just sharpness at the moment.
 
Thank you all so much for your advice.
It went really well last night.... granted, there are a fair few pictures that i'm not that proud of, but all in all I was well impressed.

Cheers!
 
Why not meter the ambient light manually, or at least set it below 1/30 (lower the better) and use an aperture of 4.5 thereabouts, then switch on ttl bl flash/balanced fill. The flash will freeze the people, and the ambient lighting will be captured. Add some movement once you get comfortable and you can get some good effects with the nightclub lights that clubbers tend to like to see, captures the mood.

Then post the results :D


oh... you've already done it. doh.
 
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