Help with 'party' assignment

[James Gardiner]

i want to apply for an intern position with my hopefully future employer and it involves shooting at parties and events. I was looking for any advice or tips anyone had which would be greatly appreciated. The parties and events will take place in well lit galleries to dark and dingy night clubs. Looking for focus on people and quirky objects and scenes. Also any tips on getting good skin tone and quality would be great.

I would be using a canon 350D and i own a canon speedlite 430EZ flash but im not sure if its suitable or not.

Cheers

 

[Michael Touchette]

take LOTS of pictures.. you never know what will look good on the back of a 3 inch screen but not so much once you see it full size. Get a fast lens for those dingy night clubs

 

[elemental]

take LOTS of pictures.. you never know what will look good on the back of a 3 inch screen but not so much once you see it full size. Get a fast lens for those dingy night clubs

I agree- glass is the question here (although the flash is definitely going to be helpful). If you're lacking in the fast department, a (roughly) 17-55mm f/2.8 (depending on brand) will go a long way, but is a big investment. My lens of choice would be a fast normal prime. Unfortunately, this gets tricky on crop bodies. Is Canon going to have their 35mm f/1.8 knockoff ready soon? A Sigma 30mm f/1.4 might also be useful. I would still want to supplement this with a wide zoom, but speed on that one would be less critical.