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Hi all been asked to photgraph a nightclub in full swing so could do with some advice here. Will be using a canon eos 350d with 18-55 lens built in flash. What is the best option with the settings here? Manual? AV? I could just put it on to night time portrait (Thats what most pics are going to be) but I would love to be a bit more creative.
Thanks all
Melv
One area your going to struggle with is the on-board flash, As you can't bounce it, Also it's output power will probably fall short, So you will light things close to you but the background will be unlite, Even if you use redeye reduction your gonna get some red eye with a head on flash.
You could try the night portrait mode, I am unfamiliar with these type of pre-sets, So can't say how that might work ( probably not that good by what I have read )
If I had to use the set up you describe, I'd use aperture priority and try to stay within f5.6 to f8, set the ISO to 400, with the flash up and on you shoud get at least 60s or 125. on the shutter speed, depending on how the 350 sync's.
MIGHT be an idea to set your living room up with a similar lighting arrangement to that of the club, And try some tests, Before going for the real deal.
Make sure your battery has been fresh charged.
You can always check what going on using the Histogram OR images on your LCD, and adjust the camera as required to compensate.
Apart from that Be Lucky these sort of venues are a right pain in the BUTT. 
best get a speedlite flash if possible then take shots on rear curtain synch if you are getting creative.
I shoot bands on tv setting on fast shutter with no external flash just the fill in on top of 30D.
It freezes the action, although I take a tripod when I can to avoid blur. ISO800
I imagine nightclub lighting might be similar?
www.myspace.com/thespygenius
has some band shots I have done if you want to have a look
Quote: One area your going to struggle with is the on-board flash, As you can't bounce it, Also it's output power will probably fall short, So you will light things close to you but the background will be unlite, Even if you use redeye reduction your gonna get some red eye with a head on flash.
Erm, the built in flash is fine. You only get red-eye if you're far from your subject. You normally can't bounce in a nightclub anyway. The walls and ceiling are normally black and far away. :S
I'd say, use Av mode, wide-open, a high ISO (maybe ISO1600. Nightclubs are DARK!) evaluative metering, built-in flash and get in close to your subject using the wide end of your lens.
If the exposure is long, try waving your camera around during the exposure. That way your subject will be sharp with the flash, and you should have trails of light through your image for added interest.
It can be a bit hit and miss, but well worth it considering the results.
That's what i'd do anyway. Good luck!
Quote:
It freezes the action, although I take a tripod when I can to avoid blur. ISO800
This puzzles me. Surely if your subject is moving, a tripod won't help? :S
Just puzzled, that's all.
Actually, thinking about it, I think you're camera sets the sync speed to 1/30sec minimum, so it may be worth switching to M and setting a shutter speed between 1/8sec and 1/2sec to taste.
The flash will take care of itself on evaluative metering.
Hope this helps.
I do/have done alot of club shots virtually every weekend over the past few years and I tend to use (M) mode, with iso 400, f6.3, shutter - at between 0.8 and 1/30th depending on how creative you want to get and my speedlight on manual at 1/64th flash - for people shots at about 3 to 5 ft distance, for crowd shots I wack the iso up to 800 or open up the apperture a bit.
The best thing to do is just experiment around the settings and see what you get (you can always delete stuff if you don't like the results)
Depending on the time you might want to buy the 50mm f1.8 - can get them for less than £100 now and will enable you to take pictures where you will also be able to get the lighting effects of the club in the picture too.
I shoot photos for a Indie club (which is in a nightclub) with my 350D and use the 50mm f1.8 with ISO800 and can freeze the action of the guitarist pretty well.
I also second what boony has to say too, I'll always carry a camera bag with me too and when im moving around the club ill always put the camera away and zip it up - lost count of number of times ppl have accidently spilt some of their drink over me.
OK all using your advice i trialled and errored to get what I wanted in the bar areas I found AV mode withe aperture open ISO 800 gave the best results however using this in the darker areas AV mode gave me blurrier images but gave a swirling effect to the lights in the club which was not undesireable. Flicking to "M" mode gave me the more clearer shots so it was a case of flicking between the two modes for different situations but the balance was good. Images can be seen here http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/coventry/demand-nightclub/2007/jun/23/gallery-22122...
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