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photographing in a busy nightclub....advice please
I'm doing some shooting in a busy nightclub tonight, recruiting work for a local calender(more raising awareness but we may find some potential models there too) and I need some tips, I don't have any room to set up studio lights as it's going to be packed, so I'm thinking of shooting with on camera flash and bouncing off the ceiling, it's about 15ft high and I think it's white.. is this too high? am I overlooking something easier..... I don't want everything to look crappy and washed out, even though the quality of the pics isn't hugely important (anyone worthy will be recalled to a proper shoot) but I don't want my photos to look awfull anyway....it's a reputation thing....any tips? I also have a 28-70 which is f2.8 all the way through......any chance that I could blag it with that and no flash? please reply ASAP as I'm shooting in 3 hours!! *edit* I'm shooting on an eos 10d and using 420ex dedicated speedlight */edit* Apr 16 06 10:16 am Link Jon- try a pocket bouncer lumiquest.com You should be able to find a local distributor on their site. Apr 16 06 10:18 am Link Be careful not to elbow any drunken, excitable patrons, or you may encounter a bouncer grabbing you by the pocket! Apr 16 06 10:29 am Link lol.....I'll be more worried about getting stuff knicked any tips on how to focus in very low light? Apr 16 06 10:35 am Link Set your lens on the hyperfocal distance - since you are using flash you should be fine no matter what. This way you don't have to worry about focus and just shoot when you can. Keep in mind most people hate flashes going off in the crowd areas because their eyes are set for the low light...when a bright flash is popped it surely attracts attention. You have a tough gig but you should be fine :-) Cheers- D Apr 16 06 10:39 am Link Jon Roberts wrote: Large depth of field or markings on your focus ring... If your focus ring already has it, you can use distance measurements at f10 the DOF will be large enough for you to guess distances and still get in focus. Apr 16 06 10:41 am Link James Jackson wrote: I won't be walking around I'll set up a base around the sign-up tables, luckily I'm not scouting, I just shoot who they send me! Apr 16 06 10:54 am Link Jon Roberts wrote: You could always borrow a bar back. Apr 16 06 11:01 am Link Jon Roberts wrote: I know this is already over but I can give advice for future. I have been shooting in karaoke bars/clubs for about 4 years. The easiest thing to do, unless you are close to a stage where the lights are on, is put your camera in program mode and use your on camera or pop up flash. I have used my ProMaster, tried M mode, A, S, etc. Auto or P works best in these conditions because you don't have to worry about it and you can rarely see anything through a viewfinder anyway. Point and shoot and it usually works! Apr 16 06 11:06 am Link Doug, I admire your honesty!! you're not too late there's still time. I'll be using my eos 10d with 420ex dedicated speedlight I get the funny feeling tonight is going to be hell on earth.... 2 hours to go! Apr 16 06 11:11 am Link I have shot clubs with the 50mm 1.4 (usually set at 2 or 2.8) or the 15mm 2.8... I use a flash on top (the 580ex)... and an ISO usually between 800-1600. Never had problems even in the darker clubs. -JS Apr 16 06 11:14 am Link I was going to say that if you're in a club, go ahead and drag the shutter a little. Keep your stop around 8 or 10, shoot at 1/15, set your strobe for 1/4 if the subject is within 8 feet of you, and the shutter will allow a little of the ambient light in which should keep the background from looking totally black. If your subject is closer, drop the strobe to 1/16 OH yea, USE A TRIPOD, or bump the shutter up to 1/30 and crank the ISO to 1600. It'll be pretty grainy, but better than 3200. I've used the 10D for ages and it's only failed me once, WHEN THE SHUTTER DIED AT A BALLET RECITAL... Best luck! Apr 16 06 11:21 am Link This info sure would have been helpful on Thursday. I tried the nightclub thing...let's just say for the shots that I got, I should have been home in the bed! The focusing really killed me. Apr 16 06 11:25 am Link I always just drag my shutter and feather the light off of my subject with the wide angle diffuser over the flash. Usually works really well. The biggest thing is to play with it before a big shoot and get your feathering right. Pull the flash off the camera on a cord and hand hold it so you can change it instantly to your liking. You'll get some really awesome results depending on your back ground lighting situation. Shawn Apr 16 06 11:36 am Link i agree that you should try dragging the shutter. your camera probably has some sort of slow-sync mode that will do it automagically. watch for point light sources in the background - you don't (or maybe you do) want to end up with streaks. Apr 16 06 11:41 am Link If you have to use the flash and can't get the pocket bouncer, tape a few business cards together so that when the flash is pointed straight up, the cards are at 45 degrees and they will bounce about 35-50% of the light right onto the subjects. Old, easy trick. Apr 16 06 11:51 am Link UCPhotog wrote: yup building this one as we speak!! Apr 16 06 11:53 am Link Drag the shutter.If you have it, set the camera to time value,auto exposure and the camera will pick the right ap for you. Your Iso may need to be turned up a bit also. You will get awesome ambient lighting effects if you play a little. Good luck and have fun. B Apr 16 06 12:04 pm Link annnnnnnd rellllaaaxxxxxxxxxx just got back @ 1:30AM....only had to few headshots all night and had a very smalll area witha a 7.5' tall white ceiling, just perfect for some bouncy flash! also had time to experiment a little and all you advice has helped alot a big thank you to everyone who had some input in the thread....it's much appreciated hope I can do the same for you one day..... thanks again Jon Apr 16 06 07:20 pm Link Gotta plug the Lightsphere here... perfect for diffusing flash in an uncontrolled space. Only disadvantage is that it's essentially omnidirectional, so you might want to fashion a "back" for it to avoid annoying people not in the shot. Apr 17 06 12:44 am Link night dungeon (clubs) work sucks. I shot a few events at clubs on Hollywood blvd. What you see is what you get. Apr 17 06 12:51 am Link Double Post Apr 17 06 12:56 am Link I shoot concerts in Tv mode. My 20D seems able to grab a stop or two. Shoot in RAW if you are able to open and process raw files. This really helps when light values change often and abruptly. If you had a budget, setting up fixed strobes and triggering by radio signal would be the ticket. A cheap unrelated strobe flashing in the background would allow your strobes to go unnoticed by the patrons. Apr 17 06 12:56 am Link I think I am late on this...and you have already got everything figured out.  Hope you had fun!  Shot at a bar. Handheld. 50mm f1.4 lens shot at f/4, ISO 400, handheld 1/30th. Apr 17 06 12:58 am Link I suppose it's too late now but I shot clubs and nightlife for the San Diego Union-Tribune for several years using a fast lens, very fast color film, manual focus and no flash at all. I generally exposed at ASA1600 with the lens from f1.2 to f4 letting the camera do its aperture-priority thing. Club lights were varied and plenty, and gave interesting effects. Flash will wash out club lights entirely so you'll lose the club atmosphere. It's best if your camera can meter with the shutter open, but very few film cameras and no digitals can. It's also best to use tungsten-biased film or white balance tungsten. My club photos. -Don P.S. There are some rotten scans there as I did them quick to deliver . I should rescan sometime if I'm ever interested again. Apr 17 06 01:05 am Link Richard Tallent wrote: Lightsphere? I googled it, but came up with too many odd things. Tell us more or link, pleeeease. Right now I've got a Lumiquest Softbox and Lumiquest 80-20. Both really great products. You can check out those at Lumiquest.com Apr 17 06 01:08 am Link I wish I were in your shoes tonight. I LOVE this type of work. I was a photojournalist for 21 years and of course that type of work sent me into any and ALL type of situations. First, relax and get ready to have some fun. Second, push your ISO up to about 800. Third, you will need a fast lens. Put you camera on aperture priority, and dial your lens to f2.8. Fourth, pay attention to the ambient light. Your flash will need to be one stop hotter than the ambient. This will allow your shutter speed to drop to 1/15 or lower. Fifth, lean on that motor drive. When you put all of these components together, the first image in the group is a throw-away. It's about the third (from a burst) that offers the best expression and sharpness. The cool thing is that on the back of your camera is a small screen that shows what you just shot. Use it to your advantage. In the old days of film, I would go shoot all night long and never know what I had until later. Don't be afraid to move -- but don't be afraid to brace yourself. Keep your elbows in. Hold your breath. Squeeze the shutter release. I know you are already back from your gig. I hope that you had a LOT of fun -- and that your pictures are excellent. Tony Apr 17 06 01:16 am Link SmartAz Photography wrote: One other thing to note. Add some sort of diffuser for the flash, and I have found that I can push the ISO up to 1600 and eliminate the noise using Noise Ninga. Apr 17 06 02:58 am Link |
