Photographing a party - help!

[Stutterfly]

I'll preface this by saying; I'm a concert photographer. That's what I've done, that's what I know how to do.

Ok so I've been hired to photograph a birthday party tomorrow night (for an adult, not a kid)

The location is this place; (pic #1, #2, #3) and it will be devoted to the party on the night. I am allowed to use flash, and on the advice of a friend I have hired a SB-900, to go with my D700 and for lens I think I will use my 24-70mm f2.8, but I will take my 50mm f1.4 as a backup.

I have a couple of photographer friends who regularly do portraiture, and I notice that hey don't mount the flash, they hold it away from the camera + subject. Is this normal? The best way?

I can take photos - posed or candids - I have before for fun. It's just the flash thing that's throwing me a tad.

Wow, move into a different field of photography and I'm a complete noob!

 

[Propsguy]

I find it makes a huge difference to hold the flash away from the camera and use the ceiling for a bounce whenever possible... you tend to get falloff mid body if you hold the flash completely vertical, so I try to keep the flash about 20 degrees from vertical... makes for fairly even light. If there is no usable ceiling (it's dark or 20' high) then use walls for bounce whenever you can... just try to enlarge the light source whenever possible and people look better. I also keep the flash and camera in manual mode... fire off a few test shots to see what your flash EV needs to be for given distances, record that in your brain, and stick with it... I find the results more predictable than letting the camera decide for me...

You may also want to bring along a couple of little gels for your flash.... adding a little warmth helps sometimes... may not be necessary in your case, but good to have.

I'll typically shoot parties with a wide aperature, and fairly slow shutter speed, using the flash to stop the action. This way, I can blur the background and still see the ambient light, particularily if there are "party lights" around the room that add depth to the shots...

Good luck...

Paul

 

[Stutterfly]

Thank you All helpful. I've been told by the birthday boy that his guests will pose for me - possibly as they enter the venue so I can sort of 'set up' in one area, which would help I guess in terms of not having to reset it as I move around.

Any tips on good poses to use or ideas for big group shots would be appreciated. If it were outdoors I'd bring a step-ladder with me, but alas...