Introduction, and tips for taking pics in nightclubs.

fisheye82 · Jun 1, 2003

Hello everyone!
I'm a new member here, just started getting into photography 1,5 years ago. My camera is a great condition Nikon FE, which was originally owned by my father.
I'd like to ask anyone here about taking pics of DJs and in nightclubs, questions such as:

1. Which film is best in low light situations such as a nightclub.

2. I guess a fisheye lens is great for these sort of photos, but would anyone recommend something else?

3. Any helpful tips would be appreciated!

Thanks!

TwistMyArm · Jun 2, 2003

Well the higher the ISO the better the film will be in low light conditions. An 800 ISO film might be alright.
A lot of clubs use black lights and I've never done any photography in those sort of conditions, but some of the other people here might be of more help.
I know that some people use wide angle lenses to photograph interior architecture of buildings. You may consider something a little more standard such as 55mm if you're going to be photographing the DJ, but I'm not certain of this. The fish eye would probably provide some interesting shots.
As far as a tip or suggestion might go I think if you tried some time laps photographs they might turn out to be really cool. A time laps of the DJ spinning and the lights flashing could make for a really sweet photo.

manda · Jun 2, 2003

Ive never taken any pics in clubs myself but I do visit a site which has lots of regular photographers posting pics from the australian events each week. In the Mix is the best australian clubbing site.
most of the guys who take the pics and share them on the site also hang out in the forums, so perhaps they might be willing to share their tips if you PM them or start a thread there.
The url is http://www.inthemix.com.au

Hope it is some help

metroshane · Jun 2, 2003

I have taken lots of pic in clubs...but sadly have never found the secret. In my endevours, I've always had to choose flash or no flash. Flash meant flat boring contrasts but focused images. No flash means nice contrast and colors but you lose the ability to have clear focus. I've even used up to 3200 ISO and in most club settings, the light is still too low.

Here are some pics I took with my digital and got really lucky with the colors. However you can see that since I opted for no flash, camera set on ISO 400 (the most my digi will do), the pics aren't as clear as I'd like.

http://photoasa.com/cgi-bin/photo.fcg?uid=8990&v=6036&d=192.1.1.61

dlc · Jun 2, 2003

I think that some clubs would not allow flash. If not, Fuji NPZ is probably your best bet. Flash would let you use a slightly slower film if you have a good flash.