Party Photography Tips And Ideas

Next time you head to a party, think out of the box and take some images that aren't the usual selfies or blurry captures. Due to the often dark surroundings and cramped conditions, parties can be a photography nightmare but here, My-Picture.co.uk have provided some top tips for getting the best image out of your next party.

Type Of Images

Parties offer you a wide variety of image choices but the key is to decide what kind of images you'll aim for beforehand, as the dark and loud party probably won't offer you much in the way of the ability to change your lens easily. 

You can choose to go for more staged group shots, or candid images. For group photos, a wide angle lens will be necessary to let you get everyone into the frame. To keep everything sharp you'll need to use a smaller aperture, say f/4 or smaller. This will mean that less light will be able to enter your lens so you should consider using an external flash, rather than the camera's built-in flash, so you don't end up with the 'deer in the headlights' look on all your images. 

If you choose to go for a more candid approach then a 50mm portrait lens or similar will be ideal, plus you'll be able to use smaller apertures that let in more light as keeping lots fo the frame sharp won't be as necessary.

Look Out For Interesting Characters

Parties tend to mean the congregation of lots of different people, all of whom have a different style and look about them. Seek out the more quirky characters in the crowd for really enticing portraits that will be really interesting to viewers. 

Add a bit of authenticity to your photos by isolating the character from the crowd, creating a conflicting sense of loneliness in the jovial party atmosphere. You could also try using a fisheye lens for portraits to bring a fun, warped view of the party into play. Move around and keep your eyes open for new photographic opportunities. 

Catering For Low Light

When shooting in low light situations, using a high ISO will be key to allowing you to use the shutter speeds and aperture you need. Lots of modern DSLRs often perform well at ISOs up to and above 3200. If noise in images is an issue, this can often be remedied in post processing software. 

Shooting in RAW if possible might help too, as this will give you more versatility in range and lots more options to adjust the image after it's been taken, unlike JPEG.