Nightclub Photography + Lightroom 4 Pre-sets?

[jacoba]

I'm looking to get a bit of advice here. I have recently begun shooting at two different nightclubs about 2 months ago. Since then I have learned to balance the flash exposure with the ambient exposure and my photos have come a long, long way. They are looking much better these days, and I am going through the Strobist's blog at the moment learning more as I go along. I have no doubt that my photos are going to keep getting better from this point, but I do have a few questions.

Looking at photos from nightclubs in larger cities the subjects seem to pop more. The two venues I shoot at are terrible for ambient lighting as they are not lit well at all. Although I have begun to balance the flash exposure with the ambient light, I feel my subjects could pop a lot more and be a lot sharper. I generally shoot at ISO 1600/3200, aperture f3.5-5.6, & with shutter speeds from 1/4 - 1-25, or so.

My question is, does anyone have any advice for certain lightroom presets? Are these big scene nightclubs making their images pop with certain filters, presets, or other software? Or are they just shooting with crazy full-frame cameras that have amazing lenses? I'm just using the Canon Rebel T3i with the kit lens, but it does the job for me--considering I don't have a whole lot of cash to blow on amazing lenses.

Any help, or insight would be appreciated. The next step up for me will be to take the flash off-camera, for which I am currently using a Gary Fong pop-up diffuser. I'm just waiting on the TTL cord in the mail.

Thanks in advance! I'll respond to everyone in a timely manner.

 

[frommrstomommy]

Can you share some of your images?

 

[Robin_Usagani]

First advice, dont use gary fong diffuser. It will eat up your flash battery. Really learn how to bounce the light... OR sometimes aiming the flash directly to the subject will look good too. This shot was done with a flash aimed directly to the subject with dragging the shutter and purposely move the camera.

 

[jacoba]

First advice, dont use gary fong diffuser. It will eat up your flash battery. Really learn how to bounce the light... OR sometimes aiming the flash directly to the subject will look good too. This shot was done with a flash aimed directly to the subject with dragging the shutter and purposely move the camera.

Interesting. I have access to the clubs during the day when there is nobody around. I'll give this a try and experiment.

I've gotten a lot of advice from others who shoot nightclubs around here with diffusers--and a couple of friends in other cities. I guess that would definitely separate my look from theirs if I didn't use one. The only thing I have against this is that bouncing the flash constantly will be a pain for each shot. Not only that, but one of the venues especially is not going to be easy to bounce in. They both have a lot of crap on the ceiling; duct work, metal, pipes, etc.

I'll let you know the results!

 

[jacoba]

Can you share some of your images?

Just processing a bunch of photos from Lightroom now. I've got to go out for Mother's Day for awhile, but when I get back I'll post some when they are finished.

 

[jacoba]

Here's a few random shots. The first two are from a Swollen Members concert I shot. The second two are of two bartenders and the DJ from a random night. I tried posting actual club photos with people in them, but the files are too large and I'm lazy today. This should give you a bit of an idea of what I'm working with at the moment though.

The first two used no flash. The second two used flash.

 

[pixmedic]

the two on the right are too dark. even for club photos. especially the pic of the two girls. what equipment are you using?
if your at ISO 3200 already, and your shutter speed is already low, all that's left is either more/better use of flash or larger aperture.
you need lenses f/2.8 or faster to really shoot well in those kind of low lit conditions.

 

[jacoba]

the two on the right are too dark. even for club photos. especially the pic of the two girls. what equipment are you using?
if your at ISO 3200 already, and your shutter speed is already low, all that's left is either more/better use of flash or larger aperture.
you need lenses f/2.8 or faster to really shoot well in those kind of low lit conditions.

Much obliged. And yeah. I really need a new lens, for sure. It's just the Canon Rebel T3i with the kit lens. And yeah, it's crap for shooting in the club. It's basically all I have to work with at the moment though.

I appreciate the input though. I have the theory correct, I just need the hardware, I guess.

P.S. I borrowed a 50mm f1.8 for the first two photos without the flash. Unfortunately, it's not viable to borrow it every week since the other photographer is sort of a buddy/competition.

 

[Marpheus]

I'm not a pro, however if I was you I would get myself a flash rather than a new lens, and even if there is not much to bounce it off - I would expect better results from a slightly hyper illuminated RaW image, that can be processed using any free shareware- such as Fastone image viewer.

And the T3i is a very nice camera, even with the basic kit lens

 

[Derrel]

You need a reliable flash with a GN of 110 at ISO 100 in Feet. You know, something along the lines of a Vivitar 285/Sunpak 383/Canon 580 EX-II, Nikon SB 900--something, anything, in that class. Bounce flash in clubs??? I would say no, not really.

The two shots on the right are way under-exposed. You need a reliable power supply if you want to do this much. Something is very wrong at the fundamental level when a two-girl full-length shot comes out 5 stops under.

 

[Marpheus]

I'm not a pro, however if I was you I would get myself a flash rather than a new lens, and even if there is not much to bounce it off - I would expect better results from a slightly hyper illuminated RaW image, that can be processed using any free shareware- such as Fastone image viewer.

And the T3i is a very nice camera, even with the basic kit lens

This photo is from a very dark club....and the photo itself is very dark.... Yet it is sharply focused( IMHO ) using a basic lens

 

[cptkid]

You need to get a speedlight.

With a speedlight you could be shooting a ISO 200/400, 1/30sec @ F3.5-5.6

No problems.

 

[Mach0]

You need to get a speedlight.

With a speedlight you could be shooting a ISO 200/400, 1/30sec @ F3.5-5.6

No problems.

Still wouldn't pick up much ambient to set the mood.

OP- back when I used to cover night clubs I set my ISO from 800-1000. If you are using your kit lens, I would try even 1200 ISO. I also used a stofen omnibounce. The light source is still small but it gives a bare bulb effect and spits light out all over and is small. The light is definitely not soft but was pretty acceptable for a night club. The minute you go over f 4.5 and approach 5.6- you will struggle with acceptable shutter speeds unless you crank the ISO. I will suggest a faster lens if you can't get the shots you want with the kit lens. Don't be afraid to drag the shutter. Most people will pose and hold still but the dancing ones will require a faster shutter. Don't worry about noise tooooo much. Most of them will be posted on the web so you can downsize them and if you do so the correct way, you will minimize the appearance.

 

[cptkid]

You need to get a speedlight.

With a speedlight you could be shooting a ISO 200/400, 1/30sec @ F3.5-5.6

No problems.

Still wouldn't pick up much ambient to set the mood.

OP- back when I used to cover night clubs I set my ISO from 800-1000. If you are using your kit lens, I would try even 1200 ISO. I also used a stofen omnibounce. The light source is still small but it gives a bare bulb effect and spits light out all over and is small. The light is definitely not soft but was pretty acceptable for a night club. The minute you go over f 4.5 and approach 5.6- you will struggle with acceptable shutter speeds unless you crank the ISO. I will suggest a faster lens if you can't get the shots you want with the kit lens. Don't be afraid to drag the shutter. Most people will pose and hold still but the dancing ones will require a faster shutter. Don't worry about noise tooooo much. Most of them will be posted on the web so you can downsize them and if you do so the correct way, you will minimize the appearance.

Change the shutter speed then. As the OP would be using flash, set the flash to rear curtain sync and use speeds of 1/5 sec or ever slower then.

No point bumping the ISO when there is no need to.

 

[Mach0]

Change the shutter speed then. As the OP would be using flash, set the flash to rear curtain sync and use speeds of 1/5 sec or ever slower then.

No point bumping the ISO when there is no need to.

Unless you are looking for certain effects of a dragged shutter and rear curtain sync, 1/5 of a second will result in motion blur and camera shake. Yes, rear curtain will aid some but a faster shutter will be nicer. Not every photo needs to have a sense of motion.