Nightclub Photos

[phoenix]

Hi guys,

As mentioned in a few threads now, i've got a job doing some night club photos. The client are really happy with the outcome but as always i'd like to get them better and better. So here are three that are pretty close to all the others so you can CC them to your hearts content. I realise its not really all that "arty" or creative but any info on getting them better would be great. I'd love lots of feedback!

Thanks!

[surenj]

great effort considering bad light...I am not sure how to improve unless you use more lights or faster lens to reduce flash effect and get more of the background brighter..

[Joshman]

great effort considering bad light...I am not sure how to improve unless you use more lights or faster lens to reduce flash effect and get more of the background brighter..

i'm with surenj on this one, gotta try and reduce the flash effect, is this direct flash lighting? or bounced flash? another suggestion is to dial down the flash a touch, and use a slower shutter speed. both of these will have the effect of bring more of your back ground in.

also, if you have a tripod and can set it up, try doing an extended exposure of the dance floor.

another one would be (assuming you are using an external flash unit) set it to slave and take it off your camera and hold it to the side/above/below the axis of the lens.

just a few ideas to play with.

other than that, good photos mate, look forward to see what you produce in the future!

[phoenix]

great effort considering bad light...I am not sure how to improve unless you use more lights or faster lens to reduce flash effect and get more of the background brighter..

i'm with surenj on this one, gotta try and reduce the flash effect, is this direct flash lighting? or bounced flash? another suggestion is to dial down the flash a touch, and use a slower shutter speed. both of these will have the effect of bring more of your back ground in.

also, if you have a tripod and can set it up, try doing an extended exposure of the dance floor.

another one would be (assuming you are using an external flash unit) set it to slave and take it off your camera and hold it to the side/above/below the axis of the lens.

just a few ideas to play with.

other than that, good photos mate, look forward to see what you produce in the future!

It's direct flash. It's a bit hard to see but in one club the ceiling is very high and in the other its black, so it's not great for bouncing. I've dialed down the flash and am using 1/8 shutter speed and 1100 ISO. I'm hesitant to go any lower though. I'd like to see more of the background. I'm keeping on testing don't worry. I'm looking forward to getting my D300 and raising the ISO up to 1600 and seeing the results. I feel like i've got all the basics covered so better equipment should help.

The idea of taking the flash off and using it in slave mode i'd thought of. I've tried, but it's a bit impractical at the clubs. I hardly have enough room as it is. I'll have another go though. On friday afternoons i do the after work crowd which is much less busy, so i'll have a play around then i think.

Thanks for the advice guys. It's been quite an experience thats for sure. Over the last 4 weeks i've done more different types of photography than i've done in 5 years, so it's been great!