Low light photography

love2groovedj · Apr 16, 2012

I recently bought a dslr for use when I'm out djing , I choose the best party snaps I've taken for my website. I was a total beginner but I'm slowly getting to grips with low light nightclub style photography, and although I'm making progress, I'm up for taking any advice others may have so feel free to jump on this thread if low light shooting is your thing and share your tips and tricks

rexbobcat · Apr 16, 2012

Get a fast lens (aperture f/1.8 and faster is preferred), but make sure that the autofocus is pretty fast.

Use higher ISO settings to get a correct exposure with less motion blur (unless that's what you want), because it allows you to use a higher shutter speed.

DiskoJoe · Apr 17, 2012

Yeah use a prime and a flash and jack up the ISO as needed. I manual focus in clubs and drag the shutter. AF usually fruits out. If you have a tripod set it up and do some motion blur shots too. Lots of fun. A fisheye is good. You can get funky looking shots and use it in tight corners. Real handy for clubs.

DiskoJoe · Apr 17, 2012

and post some pics! This is the photoforum. Share some photos!

mikeduk · Apr 17, 2012

another vote for prime lens. you can get a 50mm f/1.8 for around $100 which would be great.

mcap1972 · Apr 19, 2012

Go with primes only. You can start with Sigma 30mm 1.4.

subscuck · Apr 19, 2012

mikeduk said:
another vote for prime lens. you can get a 50mm f/1.8 for around $100 which would be great.

No, it wouldn't. The 1.8 is very hit or miss with AF in low light, and AF is mind numbingly slow in any light. Don't even get me started on it's jagged, gut churning bokeh quality on oof bg's. Spend the money and get a fast prime that will perform well under the conditions you bought it to perform well in.

love2groovedj · Apr 19, 2012

Thanks for jumping on the thread guys, I'm
Using my 18 -55mm kit lense at the mo but will be buying my first prime tomo 35mm 1.8 fstop for bigger aperture, I would have liked 1.4 but it's out of price range at 1100 quid! Lol
The Af problem
In low light is major, I notice most of u mention this, but my flash gun has Af illuminator assist and throws a red grid out which enables the lense to focus ok, although in manual it's point and shoot which is much faster, I'm finding that alot of the shots are not focused well, will a prime lense improve this?? I have to say I'm a total novice and I'm not a natural at all with photography , but I absolutely love taking pics !!!!! And although I might shoot 500 a night, I'll have 10 that I'm chuffed with. I'm
Hoping to
Improve this ratio lol, back to the prime lense, 35 or 50mm??? Which one do I get ??

love2groovedj · Apr 19, 2012

Oh and how do I upload pics so u can have a look at my shocking technique ? Lol

subscuck · Apr 19, 2012

Deciding between a 35 and 50 is really a matter of space. Is the average venue you'll be shooting in large enough that you'll always, or most always be able to move back far enough? If yes, go with a 50. If, on the other hand, the venues are smallish and space is at a premium, go with the 35, or a 30 like the Sigma. A better quality lens will AF much more reliably in low light than a kit, or a pos like the much vaunted but at the end of the day disappointing 50 1.8. Seriously, the only reason people are so high on this lens is because at $100 it's the first prime they buy. So, naturally it's the "best lens I've ever bought!" because they only have their kit lens to compare it to. Once they shoot with a real 50, they understand the 1.8 is good value for the money, but far from a good lens. It's a very flawed lens.

fokker · Apr 19, 2012

Spend the money on a 430EX and learn to use it effectively, then get either a flash cord or remote triggers so you can move the flash off the hot-shoe for more options.

IMO the kit lens is fine for what you are doing. Sharpness is not an issue in these types of photos, and usually by using flash and dragging the shutter you will get a nice mix of background light colours.

Even if you get say a 50mm 1.4 lens, you will still struggle in a lot of nightclub lighting without a flash, and your depth of field will be so thin that you'll be constantly missing focus. An external flash also helps with AF-assist, a very useful feature in these situations.

Edit: I've assumed you're using canon, if not get the euivalent of the 430EX in whatever flavour you like (eg SB-600 for Nikon)

love2groovedj · Apr 20, 2012

I'm already using the sb600 with my d5100 and have been trying it off camera to, using the flash in manual but I don't have a diffuser yet, I think it would help alot with how harsh the flash light can be
I'm lookin at a 35mm
1.8f stop Nikon dx lens, it's 200 quid, does anyone know what sigma lenses are like? Will I get more for my money? Or should I stick with Nikon lenses. Obviously I'm aware that whatever lense I choose must be compatible with my camera body

love2groovedj · Apr 20, 2012

subscuck said:
No, it wouldn't. The 1.8 is very hit or miss with AF in low light, and AF is mind numbingly slow in any light. Don't even get me started on it's jagged, gut churning bokeh quality on oof bg's. Spend the money and get a fast prime that will perform well under the conditions you bought it to perform well in.

Ok so can u give me an example of what lense and the price range? Nikon 1.4 f stops are lots of money and although I like the best , I've gotta be realistic so what would u get with a budget of 400 quid?

MTVision · Apr 20, 2012

love2groovedj said:
Ok so can u give me an example of what lense and the price range? Nikon 1.4 f stops are lots of money and although I like the best , I've gotta be realistic so what would u get with a budget of 400 quid?

Actually - from what I've heard the Nikon 50mm 1.8g is a really great lens for the money. The Nikon 50mm 1.4g is a great lens as well but it's a little pricier and I've heard the 1.8 is faster at focusing. I think the 1.4g is fast enough!

The 50mm 1.4g costs about 500.00 dollars not sure what it would cost for you.

You mentioned missed focus in an above post right? A new lens won't fix that. How you are focusing, your shutter speed and other things can help with that. With a flash your limited to a shutter speed of 1/200 but flash stops motion for the most part. You have the Nikon d5100 - have you changed any of the autofocus settings? The camera comes set up with the camera choosing everything including what to focus on. You should look up in the manual how to use single point focus. That means you would use one focus point and you would choose between the 11 - it's a lot more accurate then letting the camera do it.

love2groovedj · Apr 20, 2012

Yea it's set for single point centre weighted Af , and The Af assist illuminator on my flash gun helps, the reason I want a better f stop is so I can try low light shots without the flash gun,