Which of my lenses for nightclub photography??

TimB

TimB

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Hi all,

I'll start by saying I have never taken photos in a bar/club type environment before, apart from with a point-and-shoot on my nights out so any advice is welcome!

I'm more into landscapes, city at night, urban, and cars/bikes. That sort of stuff.

However, my friend who organises club nights around the city has asked me to shoot a few of his events as he is sick of asking for a photographer and getting either 18 year old students turning up with a bridge camera and claiming they are 'a professional photographer' or organising a real Pro who simply doesn't turn up because the wedding he has been doing 'finished late'...

So I've said I would do the first couple of nights for free to see if he was happy with the results and that I was happy doing such a thing.

I've read a couple of good nightclub photography tutorials which give some good tips on technique but not so much on the equipment.

I have currently:

Nikon D90

Nikon 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR AF-S
Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF-D
Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 DX Pro

Nikon SB400 Speedlight
Yongnuo YN460 Speedlight
(both fitted with a Stofen)

So, my aim is to take just the camera plus 1 lens and 1 flash into the place as I just can't risk the theft or breakage issue of taking spare gear with me just to try out.

The clubs are smaller and very lively places that usually get pretty packed. Fairly dark but with a lot of coloured club lighting in use.

The club wants mostly shots of the customers enjoying themselves, but also a few from inside the DJ booth and looking over the crowd etc.

I suspect the 50mm won't give me enough of a wide view to get in what I want, especially if it's busy, but the fact that it's F1.8 might come in handy.

The 18-200 would give a good range and the fact it has VR genuinely makes a difference at night for a steady shot.

The Tokina 11-16 is a lens I love, and I'm inclined to think that in a small crowded nightclub it might give some great shots due to its zoom range of 'wide-ness' especially from inside small DJ booths etc.. But is it too limited in its range?

Anyone any suggestions or done this sort of thing before?

Thanks!
 
I would go for the Tokina 11-16mm. If you say it's a small club then this lens would really capture everything! Just go close for shots of people. You probably won't have a choice anyway if it's crowded! ;)
 
I have much more experience in removing people from these establishments without the aid of content aware but in my limited experience I'd use your 11-16 or 18-200. 50 is too wide. However, having said that, as with all photography a lot depends on the venue and your own style- I don't like 50mm regardless:lol:. I'd get your mate to organise a couple of trips (ie free entry with management) out-with his events so you can get a feel for it. At the end of the day the focal length has to suit your own style and the only way to decide that is to go and do it.
I would have thought most of the time you would probably want to shy away from shallow depth of field- most shots are of more than one so f4 or thereabouts is more handy but again it depends on what you want to achieve. I also like to use flash but now and again I do without as my camera can cope with high ISO- currently about the only benefit of using good Nikon kit:D
 
Hey there Tim!
I've been doing photos for nightclubs for a while so I'd like to think I know a thing or two about night club photography :P

IMO the best lens for nightclub photography would be your 18-55 kit lens..because:
1. it gives you the wide-ish angle at 18mm for that crowded club look,find a stool or a chair and jump on it!
2. the normal customer shots comes out the best at 24mm ish
3. its CHEAP. so if a drunkard decided to throw alcohol all over your camera it won't be that painful..(trust me it happens...)

If you dont have a kit lens with you I'd deffo bring the 11-16, as 11mm end gives you a reallly funky look,perfect for DJ deck shots! the 18-200 is wayy too big and heavy!

Do use your flash! they freeze the action on the customer's face, so you can dial the shutter right down to 1/2 or even a second to play with the ambient light coming from those expensive lightings in the club! dont be afraid to use Low ISOs as the long shutter will compensate!

What I normally bring to a shoot is my Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (HOODed & UVed in case of drunkards...) with a Sigma 500DG-ST flash (with diffuser if the ceiling of the club is high, otherwise bounce it off the ceiling for that nice soft look).

Hope this helps!
Good luck!

p.s. alcohol is your best friend! wait for the customers to get tipsy, then start taking the pictures:thumbs::thumbs:...
 
Take the tokina! It's got enough versatility with the wide angle and that's all you want to be honest! make sure your packing a fast flash aswell!

I've done plenty of nightclub stuff with my kit lens, it's not that bad :D
 
I did a bar last month, more like a club but small. I was mainly shooting couples/groups. Nothing fancy wanted, just faces enjoying themselves. Using advice from here, I used my 18-55, YN465 with Stofen-type diffuser, bounced where possible.
Most shots were at the wide end.
1/25, f7.1 ISO200 eTTL flash.
I did find the lens hunting for focus once or twice in some darker areas with dark clothing but it's a 3.5 at the wide end, so your 2.8 has 2/3rd stops advantage.
I had a bit play around away from the advised settings but tbh, those settings were fine for walk around shots so I set and forget after a few mins :)
 
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Thanks for the help so far everyone :)

It looks like the Tokina might be winning, although I'm sure I still have my 18-55mm kit lens somewhere...
 
:plusone: for the tokina... f4 or f8, plus flash should be fine... May need the heads to be in the middle third if possible. Rear sync flash if you want ambient lighting.

ps: I have the lens but haven't taken the shots, so you may want a few volunteers for practice shots.

ISO low if using flash, higher if not....

Good luck and enjoy!
 
Another vote for the tokina here. I used to use it when I was ona crop body, very good lens.
If it is not very busy and you have a bit more room to work with, you can go for something a bit longer. I wouldn't use the 18-200, that's a bit OTT, but something in the kit lens range would be more usefull.
 
The tokina is ok to use. You said about f1.8 being useful well not really as i use a 16-85mm and usually work around f5.6 and have had some amazing shots. If you get your iso and shutter speed to a good balance you will get some nice shots.

Good luck and a tip would be when walking through a crowd make sure you hold your camera up in the air above everyone's head. ;-)
 
I did quite a bit of nightclub photography a year ago, a very fun place to be as you can just wander on/around stage, behind bars (free drinks all night, woop!).

Anyway, I had good success with a simple 18-80mm kit lens and a flashgun. Invest in a nice flashgun if you haven't already, buy something like a sto-fen omni-bounce and set your camera to use rear curtain sync to get some nice photo's of people with a good background.
 
Tokina would be great but as said make sure it is protected. I always leave the flash on the hotshoe to leave one hand free to protect me and my kit. Deffo take a zoomas they tend to like zoom blur etc, which is always handy to fill an empty background (they really dont like there clubs looking empty, even when they are empty !).
2 rough settings :-
ISO1600, F5.6, 1/100th
ISO1600, F8, 1/2 sec (for zoom blur etc, can also use rear curtainn sync on the flash)

HTH
 
TimB said:
Hi all,

I'll start by saying I have never taken photos in a bar/club type environment before, apart from with a point-and-shoot on my nights out so any advice is welcome!

I'm more into landscapes, city at night, urban, and cars/bikes. That sort of stuff.

However, my friend who organises club nights around the city has asked me to shoot a few of his events as he is sick of asking for a photographer and getting either 18 year old students turning up with a bridge camera and claiming they are 'a professional photographer' or organising a real Pro who simply doesn't turn up because the wedding he has been doing 'finished late'...

So I've said I would do the first couple of nights for free to see if he was happy with the results and that I was happy doing such a thing.

I've read a couple of good nightclub photography tutorials which give some good tips on technique but not so much on the equipment.

I have currently:

Nikon D90

Nikon 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR AF-S
Nikon 50mm 1.8 AF-D
Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 DX Pro

Nikon SB400 Speedlight
Yongnuo YN460 Speedlight
(both fitted with a Stofen)

So, my aim is to take just the camera plus 1 lens and 1 flash into the place as I just can't risk the theft or breakage issue of taking spare gear with me just to try out.

The clubs are smaller and very lively places that usually get pretty packed. Fairly dark but with a lot of coloured club lighting in use.

The club wants mostly shots of the customers enjoying themselves, but also a few from inside the DJ booth and looking over the crowd etc.

I suspect the 50mm won't give me enough of a wide view to get in what I want, especially if it's busy, but the fact that it's F1.8 might come in handy.

The 18-200 would give a good range and the fact it has VR genuinely makes a difference at night for a steady shot.

The Tokina 11-16 is a lens I love, and I'm inclined to think that in a small crowded nightclub it might give some great shots due to its zoom range of 'wide-ness' especially from inside small DJ booths etc.. But is it too limited in its range?

Anyone any suggestions or done this sort of thing before?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

a 17-50 f2.8 type lens and your tokina 11-16 is a good combo.
 
Out of those 3 lenses personally I'd use the 11-16 as it covers roughly the correct focal length (if anything it's a little too wide for my liking) and it has f/2.8
 
2.8 better for the AF (at least on mine) than 3.5 up. Doesn't mean you have to shoot at 2.8, though ;)
 
duttytd said:
When would you use f2.8 in a club though? Come on guys be realistic
Click to expand...

I split about 50:50 between wide open available light prime stuff at f1.4-2 and f7.1 flash stuff. Too much of either and you're just stuck looking a bit dull.

I doubt you'll shoot much past 100mm unless you're in a properly huge club. Sticking to the wide end is what I do but thats just my style I guess. Just take the 11 - 16 and a flash.
 
Definitely the ultra wide.
I started with the 17-50mm 2.8 non-VC before I got the 10-22mm and I didn't find it wide enough, especially shooting in the DJ booth or when it gets packed and you're around in the dance floor and you're taking photos of people about 1' away, and that's where the smaller minimum focussing distance helps as well.

My shutter speed is usually around 1/5 - 1/2 second, aperture stuck at 4.5 and because I'm only uploading to Facebook I shoot ISO800 to get it as much ambient light as possible.

I use the YN468 with stofen diffuser (with half a piece of tissue inside; I found it helps to minimise the shine on peoples faces) pointed at the subject, first curtain flash.
I'm might buy the YN565 very soon though as I'm sometimes wanting the flash more powerful.

Stick a filter on the lens as well because I've had splashes of drinks at it.
 
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